Met Office weather forecast heatwave UK: Exact date '34C' weather will arrive

The weather agency has issued the health alert warning to large parts of England with the hottest temperatures ever recorded since records began expected in the days ahead.

Parts of England could reach temperatures hotter than Portugal, Jamaica and Cost Rica, experts have warned.

The current hottest day in June was recorded in Southampton in 1976 with temperatures this week expected to exceed the current record.

Met Office health alert amid scorching temperatures

Forecasters said there is “high confidence” that the second half of this week will see scorching hot weather with the alert predicting temperatures well into the 30s.

Across South West England, South East England, the East Midlands and East of England the alert level is 2.

In the North West, North East, Midlands and Yorkshire and Humber the alert level is 1.

It is expected that this heat health warning will be met between midnight on Friday, June 17 and midnight on Sunday, June 19.

A Met Office statement says: “There is high confidence for temperatures to rise significantly through the second half of this week, becoming widely warm or very warm across England and likely hot, or perhaps even very hot in central and southern areas for a time.

“The highest temperatures are expected on Friday, with daytime maxima likely to reach into the low to mid-30s of Celsius across large parts of central and southern England.”