Britain is braced for a five-day heatwave over the bank holiday weekend, bringing an "exceptional spell of warmth" and highs of 30C.
Temperatures are expected to peak at around 28C or 29C over the weekend in England and Wales, with any temperature above 29.4C marking the highest May temperature recorded in the UK since 2012.
The UK Health Security Agency have issued a yellow heat health alert issued for the East Midlands, East of England, London, West Midlands and the South East from 9am on Friday until 5pm next Wednesday (May 27).
The rarely deployed alerting system provides an early warning for when adverse or extreme temperatures are deemed likely to impact the health and wellbeing of the population.
Greg Wolverson, Met Office Deputy Chief Forecaster, said: “A very warm period of weather will develop through the weekend and into next week for much of the UK.
“High pressure will be in charge of the UK’s weather over the bank holiday weekend, and this should bring fine and settled conditions to most areas.
"The exception will be parts of northwestern Scotland, where it will be cooler and cloudier with some rain at times. There is also a small risk of some thunder in the south late on Friday into Saturday."
The forecaster described heatwave thresholds - defined as three consecutive days at or above a set temperature - likely to be reached in parts of the UK from Sunday, most likely in southeastern England.
Temperatures are expected to peak at around 28C or 29C over the weekend in England and Wales
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The record high temperatures will mean the UK heat will soar above the likes of Athens and Ibiza, known for rocketing warmth during summer months.
The warmer conditions beginning on Friday make for the warmest weather of the year so far, comfortably exceeding the 26.6C recorded at Kew Gardens in early April.
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Holding strong throughout the weekend, forecasting indicates temperatures could remain as high as 29C with sunny skies on both Bank Holiday Monday and the following Tuesday.
Nick Giles OBE, MD Leisure, Ordnance Survey said: “With a long weekend looming, and warm weather forecast, it seems the perfect opportunity to set out on an adventure on foot - equipped for the Great British weather, of course."
Thousands of sun-seekers will head out as the heatwave continues across the weekend
| GETTYEddy Leviten, Executive Director of Tourism Alliance noted how tourism supports 2.4 million jobs across the UK, and a sunny Bank Holiday "makes a real difference to the businesses that depend on visitor spend".
“A warmer, drier weekend should mean busier attractions, fuller hotels, more visitors at heritage sites and coastal resorts, and a welcome boost for towns and cities right across the country", he added.
Further advice to stay safe during extreme heat comes from RAC, with breakdown spokesman Harriet Hernando commenting: “With the weather set to transition from cold to hot as the bank holiday approaches, we’re going to see a lot more traffic on the roads.
"With that comes the risk of many more vehicles breaking down in the heat.
"Before setting out on a long journey, motorists should make sure that their car is summer-ready.
"One of the biggest risks is an increase in cars overheating, especially when sat in queues of traffic with no shade.”