Temperatures are forecast to rise as high as 30C in parts of the UK as a potential heatwave develops across the weekend.

Heat health alerts, issued by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), came into effect across much of the Midlands and south-east England from 15:00 BST on Wednesday, and will remain in place until 20:00 on Monday.

The mercury will creep upwards in the coming days as a result of a "heat dome" which has developed across Europe.

By Tuesday, the south-east of England could meet the threshold for heatwave status - with maximum temperatures predicted to exceed 27C for three consecutive days.

Last month, much of the UK faced an unprecedented heatwave, with the record for the hottest May temperature broken with a temperature of 35.1C at Kew Gardens in London.

Both Wales and Ireland also recorded their highest May temperatures, at 32.9C in Cardiff and 30C in County Clare.

According to the Met Office, the spring weather event was "one of the UK's most extreme high temperature events in our observational records".

Temperatures will be rising over the next few days, particularly in eastern and south-east England and the Midlands

On Thursday temperatures are expected to rise to around 25-28C across the Midlands, East Anglia and south-east England, where there'll also be some sunshine.

Elsewhere it will stay fairly cloudy with some rain, easing to showers, with temperatures around 17 to 24C, closer to the average for mid-June.

There will be another bout of wet weather on Friday in Northern Ireland, Scotland, northern and western areas of England and Wales.

It will then turn drier and sunnier for all parts over the weekend with some light winds. Temperatures in these areas will rise a little over the coming days, they will remain at the modest level of 19 to 26C.

The heat across southern and eastern areas of England is expected to build further on Friday with temperatures of 27 to 31C expected.

While less hot on Saturday, by Sunday and Monday temperatures could return to the high twenties and up to 31 or even 32C.

By Monday there could be some big thunderstorms developing across England and Wales.

With the heat persisting into Tuesday across south-eastern areas, some locations may enter official heatwave conditions with temperatures above 27C or 28C for three consecutive days.

The heatwave threshold varies in each county, but it sits between 25C across Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales and parts of the south-west of England, and 28C in London.

Are 'heat spikes' becoming more common?

What is the definition of a heatwave?

An intense heatwave is developing over Europe with parts of France expected to reach 40C on Sunday

British weather is being influenced by a large and potentially record breaking heatwave developing across western Europe caused by a static area of high pressure.

The high pressure can act like a lid causing warm air to get trapped underneath it. This leads to already warm or hot air becomes hotter and hotter, creating a so-called heat dome.

Temperatures across Spain, France, Germany and into eastern Europe will rise into the mid to high 30s in the coming days.

By Sunday, temperatures could exceed 40C in parts of France, including Paris. The June temperature record of 37.6C set in 1947 is likely to be exceeded easily.

Many other locations across France could also see new records being set with this national heatwave.

The area of high pressure will subtly shift position over the next few days and this will allow some of this hot air to come into the south-east of the UK.

Staying safe in water when the weather's hot

What does hot weather do to the body?