It's hotter than Hell out there
SWELTERING Scots spent yesterday soaking up the sun as temperatures soared to the highest of the year so far – and smashed a 20-year-old record.
Aviemore, in Inverness-shire, broke the previous 2018 record for Scotland of 27.5C (81.5F) – set by Achnagart near Kyle of Lochalsh in May by hitting 31.3C (88F) on Wednesday afternoon.
Yesterday’s searing heat made it the hottest day Scotland has experienced in five years and the second warmest day since records began in 1983.
The heatwave is expected to last into the weekend, with revellers at the TRNSMT music festival set to party in the sun over the weekend.
TRNSMT gets under way tomorrow at Glasgow Green, lasting through to Sunday with big name acts like Liam Gallagher and The Stereophonics.
While the extreme highs of 30C (86F) will fade for the moment, a comfortable 24C or 25C (75-77F) could be the norm for Friday and Saturday.
Foreign tourists and locals alike flocked to Miele’s ice cream parlour yesterday in Aviemore.
Boss Michael Miele said his factory was working 14-hour shifts seven days-a-week “just to keep up with the demand”.
The 24-year-old added: “We have had queues out the door and down the street and even round the corner.
“Local trade is huge for us but we have also had people in from America, China and Japan on tour buses.
“Every ice cream parlour in Scotland must be celebrating this weather.”
George Anderson of the TV show, The Beechgrove Garden, warned that the east of Scotland is now in “drought” conditions.
He added: “This hot spell is an example of the extreme conditions we will have to face due to climate change.
“What gets me is how the weather girls on the telly appear to be excited that it’s going to be sunny.
“What they should really be saying is that there won’t be rain for a while.
“In Edinburgh, we have only had about 10-15 mm of rain in the last month. River beds are way down in many cases. Soil is dust-dry, right down to about one-and-a-half feet.”
Mr Anderson added: “The droughts of 1976 and 1977 started like this. Plants tend to stop growing and may actually droop.
“This is their ‘collapse’ mode, where they save water by shutting down their systems.
“One of the big issues is the watering of pots.
“They have to be watered every day to make sure the soil is kept cool.”
Scottish Water said that water continued to be available as normal in all areas of the country.