Bookies are betting on 2016 being the hottest summer on record
Sunglasses at the ready: the UK could be about to experience its hottest summer ever, bookies reckon.
Ladbrokes oddsmakers put the chances of the UK setting a new temperature high before the end of this month at 1/4, The Sun reported.
Meanwhile, it's 6/4 that this summer will be the hottest on record.
The news came after the UK sizzled in scorching temperatures over the weekend, with parts of North West Wales hitting 28 degrees Celsius.
In the capital, temperatures rose as high as 24 degrees – while in Cardiff, the mercury hovered around 20 degrees overnight.
At the end of last month the Met Office released its contingency planners' outlook for the summer, suggesting an increase in the chances of higher-than-average temperatures.
However, it added that "that can't be taken as indicating a strong likelihood of a hot summer".
"Indeed, the perception of good weather often relates to the seasonal rainfall. For example, even though the UK had a run of "poor" summers between 2007 and 2012, half of these summers had temperatures above the long-term average.
"Looking forward to this summer, the chances of below- or above-average rainfall appear to be very similar." Worth betting on, though…