© Alamy Live NewsHolidaymakers and sunbathers flock to Hive beach at Burton Bradstock in Dorset
Forecasters predict the mercury could soar to a whopping 30C as Britain enjoys a glorious Indian summer.
Brits basked in scorching sunshine yesterday as temperatures hit 28.2c - making the UK hotter than RIO.
Records were beaten across the country as revellers enjoying the sweltering day off work were treated to hours of scorching unbroken sunshine and cloudless skies.
Temperatures peaked in London where the mercury reached 28.2C (83f) in Holbeach, Lincs., which was warmer than beaches of Bora Bora, Rio de Janeiro and Sydney.
But holidaymakers who splashed out on trips to Spain were in contrast forced to carry umbrellas as the rain lashed down on the Costa del Sol yesterday.
A Met Office spokesman said: "It was touch and go to beat the record. But millions of people out enjoying the sunshine will be pleased to know, it is the hottest Bank Holiday Monday on record."
And the good news is this hot weather is set to stay.
Forecasters predict temperatures will climb towards 30C by the end of the week - and last well into mid-September.
One said: "In early September, Southern parts will be dry on the whole, with warm temperatures.
"Temperatures may become warm or very warm and humid at times."
Another meteorologist for AccuWeather said there would be brief spikes of heat in September - particularly in Wales, western England, the Midlands and the South.
He told the Daily Star: "Temperatures making a run towards the upper 20s in some locations during September can't be ruled out."
The Met Office three-month forecast adds: "For August-October, there is an increased probability for warmer-than-average conditions.
"Above-average temperatures are more probable than below-average.
"The probability the UK average temperature will fall into the warmest of our five categories is 50-55 per cent."
This comes after motorists suffered a miserable end to the long weekend with gridlocked traffic.
Some of the UK's biggest roads and motorways were at a standstill on Monday as sun worshippers flocked to the coast to bask in the warm weather.
But as some 18 million cars made their way home they faced huge traffic jams, while the mercury peaked at a sweltering 28.2C in Holbeach, southern Lincolnshire.
Prior to that, the hottest temperature recorded on an August Bank Holiday was 27.2C in East Bergholt, Suffolk, 1984, according to the Met Office.
All of the lanes of the M5 were closed near Somerset this morning after a crash involving a lorry and a car, with the roads between Weston-super-Mare and Bridgwater remaining busy for the rest of the day.
Another accident on the A55 at Chester caused 10 miles of tailbacks.
The M62 near Huddersfield was closed by police after a man fell from a bridge.
Most of the other major motorways, including the M25 and the M3 near Southampton, were also congested.
Nearly 100,000 sun worshippers flocked to the sandy beaches in Dorset, Kent and Sussex.
Seafront car parks were full before lunchtime and people were caught bracing manic ice cream queues throughout the day.
Met Office forecaster Oli Claydon said the hot weather is down to a "ridge of high pressure" bringing still conditions and sweltering sunshine.
In 1965, the August Bank Holiday was moved from the first Monday of the month to the last.
In southern England, temperatures should stay around the mid-20s on Tuesday, but moving into Wednesday a "front from the North West will bring a fresher feel to things", the meteorologist said.
The cooling wave will bring temperatures down to the mid-teens as the front makes its way south-east - but showers are expected to be sparse.
There was some confusion over the record because of a "suspect" reading in Cambridgeshire in 1990 - where a temperature of 28.3C (82.9F) was noted.
But that number did not tally with other readings from the area, invalidating the result, Mr Claydon said.
Revellers at Notting Hill Carnival were yesterday warned to be mindful of the hot weather while enjoying Europe's largest street festival, where Peru Two drugs mule Michaella McCollum was seen enjoying the event.
The London Ambulance Service tweeted: "It's heating up out here so please don't forget the suncream, drink water & don't forget time out in the shade #NottingHillCarnival".
There was also travel misery for those using the trains due to a points failure between London Waterloo and Surbiton.
Waterloo station has been hit by chaotic scenes in recent weeks because of problems including signal and points failures, which affect the part of the track that can move, as well as a minor derailment.
Euston was also closed completely, with eerie photos showing the major station completely empty.
The station, which links the capital with Birmingham, Manchester and Glasgow, is preparing for the new £55.7 billion high speed rail route HS2.
Meanwhile Brit tourists were forced to swap their swimwear for umbrellas and coats over the weekend as stormy weather brought floods to parts of the Costa Del Sol.
Beaches in Marbella and Puerto Banus, which are normally packed at this time of year, were abandoned yesterday.
The weather was only expected to worsen with rain predicted for resorts like Benidorm and Denia.
Mark Ryan, 26, from Brighton, who had taken advantage of the Bank Holiday break to fly to the Costa del Sol to see friends, said: "The last thing I had thought of packing for Spain in August was an umbrella.
"I'd probably be on the beach if I was back in the UK now. It's madness."
Londoner Amy Blunt, 35, added: "I've only got four days here in Puerto Banus so I hope things improve.
"I told my friends I'd come back with a tan that would make them dead jealous but with the weather back home, they're likely to be browner than me when we see each other again."
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