The UK has seen its hottest day of the year, with temperatures topping 25C in parts of the country.

The mercury hit 25.1C in Porthmadog, North Wales, on Tuesday, beating Sunday’s 2023 record of 24.4C in Plymouth, the Met Office said.

Scotland and Northern Ireland also recorded their highest temperatures of the year at 24.5C in Tyndrum, Stirling, and 24.5C in Castlederg, Co Tyrone.

While temperatures are predicted to remain similar over the half-term, blustery north-easterly offshore wind will make it feel cooler in some areas.

The Met Office previously shot down reports of an 'African plume' heatwave – the result of hot air drifting towards Europe from the Sahara desert – saying while temperatures are heating up, they are not outside what is expected for early summer.

Here, Yahoo News UK explains what we know about how hot the weather could get this summer.

What is the summer prediction for 2023?

One clue we have is this year’s El Niño ocean cycle, which experts warn could trigger a global warming surge.

The El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is a recurring climate pattern involving changes in temperature in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean – with waters warming by up to 3C.

This shift in temperature has a knock-on effect on global weather patterns, with campaigners warning that this summer's cycle could lead to "unimaginable heat".

Read more: ‘Unimaginable heat’: Will this year’s El Nino cause a global warming surge?

Professor Adam Scaife from the Met Office warns that El Niño events are "going to get stronger" as they compound the effects of climate change itself.

Experts have suggested three consecutive years of "La Niña" events (La Niña is the opposite, cooling phase of the ESNO) have possibly "masked" the true scale of global warming in recent years.

Indeed, the warnings for this summer have already started with the Met Office predicting it will again be one of the hottest on record, in part thanks to El Niño.

What will the long-term UK weather be like in 2023?

Early forecasts suggest that this year's El Niño could see global warming reach the crucial barrier of a 1.5C rise since pre-industrial times.

If this happens, it could lead to more heatwaves, longer hot seasons and shorter cold seasons, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Late last year the Met Office predicted temperatures in the UK during 2023 would be between 1.08C and 1.32C above the pre-industrial average - which is pretty close to this threshold.

It suggested that 2023 will be the 10th successive year that temperatures have reached at least 1C above pre-industrial levels.

Read more: Four possible consequences of El Niño returning in 2023

With the UN warning that no "credible pathway" is in place to keep temperatures below 1.5C, the UK could see heatwaves above 40C more frequently.

Those planning a getaway this summer should check in advance to see if there are any drought or heatwave warnings in place at their chosen destinations.

Already this year England saw its driest February ever, followed by its wettest ever March, signalling another year of record-breaking weather.

Read more: Is climate change to blame for the 8,000km long seaweed blob floating toward Florida and Mexico?

Despite March's downpours, areas in the South West and East Anglia still face flood without "unseasonably sustained rainfall" in the coming months to make up for an exceptionally dry winter, the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology has warned.

A handful of areas in the UK have been officially declared as being in a drought since last summer as reservoir levels remain lower than expected, which doesn't bode well for this year.