The Met Office has issued its verdict on whether a heatwave could soon hit the UK. The weather agency's forecast comes as weather maps WXCHARTS show a 31C scorcher hitting Britain in June.

In its latest three-month outlook covering June, July and August, the Met Office has highlighted an increased likelihood of a hotter-than-average summer, with a greater chance of heatwaves developing. While the first part of this month is expected to bring cooler and more unsettled conditions, forecasters say temperatures could climb significantly later in June, raising the prospect of another spell of hot weather. According to the Met Office, daytime temperatures this week will be markedly lower than those recorded during last week's heat, with some areas seeing temperatures up to 20C below recent highs. Showers, longer spells of rain and even thunderstorms are forecast across parts of the country, with a risk of localised flash flooding.

However, the outlook becomes more promising for sun-seekers as the month progresses.

The Met Office said wetter conditions are likely to become increasingly confined to north-western areas during the second week of June, as high pressure starts to exert more influence across the UK.

Forecasters added that from the middle of the month, conditions are expected to turn drier and warmer, with temperatures rising well above average.

The weather agency said there is a chance of "another period of hot conditions", particularly across southern parts of the UK, depending on the position of high pressure systems.

The agency said that while near-average rainfall remains the most likely outcome for the summer as a whole, the risk of prolonged hot spells is higher than normal as the climate continues to warm.

The forecast comes almost 50 years after the famous summer of 1976, which remains one of the most memorable heatwaves in British history.

Prolonged hot, dry conditions made the event particularly significant, affecting communities, infrastructure and the natural environment throughout the UK.

Despite a run of scorching summers in recent years, the summer of 1976 still holds the record for the highest average maximum temperature.

The UK's five hottest summers by mean temperature have all occurred since 2000, with three of them recorded in the past eight years alone.