Climate activists staged a “die-in” protest in Glasgow’s city centre to demand action after the UK recorded its highest ever temperatures earlier this week.

Extinction Rebellion disrupted Buchanan Street, one of the city’s busiest shopping areas, as parts of the UK recorded temperatures higher than 40 degrees.

Activists lay on the ground covered in white sheets with placards laid out on the “bodies” with the “causes of death” including heat stress, famine and water scarcity.

Onlookers stopped to witness the action while a sombre drum beat echoed through the popular shopping area.

Scotland recorded its hottest day in history on Tuesday, with 35.1C being recorded at Floors Castle in the Borders.

It is the highest temperature in just under a 20 years with the previous record of 32.9C recorded in Greycrook, in the Scottish Borders on August 9 2003.

Damien McGovern, a 41-year-old NHS physiotherapist, said he took part in the “die-in” to urge for immediate action.

He said: “If your house was on fire, you wouldn’t sit around and have a chat about it for 30 years or choose to throw more fuel on it to burn even faster.

“So why are we allowing this to happen to our planet?”

Wolf Saanen, 39, from Glasgow, said: “We’ve been sounding the alarm about the global climate emergency for years.

“Now it has arrived on our shores, will those with the power to change things finally listen?”

Val King, 62, from Stirling, said: “In spite of clear warnings from the United Nations that there should be no new investment in oil and gas, fossil fuel companies, with the full backing of the UK Government are pressing on to open new fields.

“Only the Government has the power to make them stop.”

Some parts of Scotland have also been issued with weather shortage warnings following the heatwave.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) said on Friday that “water scarcity is a very real threat as a result of climate change”.