THE Met Office has said there is a 'likely chance' a heatwave will hit the southwest this weekend.

A latest forecast from the Met Office shows from Friday and over the weekend temperatures will be in the mid-to-high 20s across the southwest region.

The situation remains the same into the start of next week, meaning further dry and sunny weather and temperatures climbing higher during Monday and Tuesday, likely peaking on Tuesday with temperatures possible in the low 30s Celsius in part of England and Wales, and high 20s elsewhere.

Speaking on the latest Met Office 10-Day trend meteorologist and presenter, Alex Deakin said: "The strong July sunshine plus the high pressure squishing the air means that temperatures will be building through Sunday and Monday, likely to be over 30 Celsius and perhaps going up a notch further by the time we get to Tuesday."

Will it be a heatwave?

For an official Met Office heatwave, specific thresholds, based on the region, must be met for three days running. Areas with lower heatwave thresholds, especially southwest England and south Wales are more likely to reach heatwave criteria from Thursday onwards. Elsewhere with the higher thresholds, the chance of an official heatwave is more marginal, although it’s possible they could also reach their heatwave thresholds from Sunday.

Matthew Killick, director of Crisis Response and Community Resilience, British Red Cross, said: “We’re all looking forward to enjoying some warm weather this summer, but it’s important to remember that heat can be very dangerous, especially for children, older people and those with underlying health conditions.

“Climate change means we’re experiencing longer and more intense heatwaves, but a worrying number of people aren’t aware of the risks around hot weather. In England alone there were more than 2,500 excess deaths in the summer of 2020, and unfortunately it’s predicted that heat-related deaths in the UK could treble within 30 years.”

Find advice on looking after yourself in hot weather with WeatherReady or on the British Red Cross website.

Further ahead

It’s likely that much of next week will see further sunny and warm weather, especially across southern parts of the UK. However, how high the temperatures will get is not clear at this stage.

Mr Deakin added: "The most likely scenario with these temperatures is that we stay in that warm or warmer than average zone, but there's a possibility that the heat will build further towards the end of next week."