Yellow heat health alerts have been issued for parts of the UK as temperatures are expected to rise and possibly reach 30C by Friday, June 19. The alerts cover the East Midlands, the east of England, London and the South East, the UK Health Security Agency (UKSHA) said.
They are currently in place from 3pm on Wednesday until 8pm on Monday, June 22, with the Met Office warning temperatures in the South East specifically could reach heatwave criteria by the weekend. By then, the West Midlands, parts of the West Country, as well as areas of Wales, are likely to experience warm temperatures around the mid-teens too, the forecaster said.
Jonathan Vautrey, meteorologist at the Met Office, warned rising temperatures and humidity will likely come with overcast skies for many. "By Friday there is potential for 30C across parts of south-eastern England,” Mr Vautrey said.
Mr Vautrey also said "people will certainly be noticing how muggy it starts to feel during the second half of this weekend, and some quite uncomfortable nights for sleeping well, with overnight temperatures in the high teens across south-eastern areas of England".
In its forecast looking at conditions between Wednesday and Friday, the Met Office said: "The weather remains mixed during the middle and second half of the week. There will be further rain, especially in the north and west. Some hot sunshine developing further southeast."
Scotland and Northern Ireland, however, are expected to see more cloudy weather and rain over the course of the week, with temperatures in those parts of the UK unlikely to rise above 20C to 21C.
While warm conditions are expected across many parts of the UK, experts believe the south will likely see the highest temperatures.
The Met Office forecast looking at June 20 to 29 read: "There is the possibility of some very warm and humid weather across parts of south and southeast Britain at the start of this period and perhaps the chance of a few thunderstorms too.
"Generally more changeable to the north and west at first, but there is a signal for high pressure to build more widely as we move towards the latter part of June."
