Amber heat health alert in force as temperatures set to soar in UK - and severe weather hits Europe

Highs of 34C are possible on Monday - with a 20% chance of beating the hottest June day on record of 35.6C from 1976.

Temperatures could reach 30C today as the UK braces for four days of hot weather, with an amber heat health alert in force.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) alert - the second in two weeks - which covers London, the East Midlands, South East, South West and East of England, will last until 6pm on Tuesday.

A yellow heat health alert also covers Yorkshire and The Humber and the West Midlands over the same period.

The previous amber health heat alert was issued for all parts of England on 19 June, the first time it had been used since September 2023.

The UKHSA alerts are designed to warn health and social care workers about the impacts of hot weather on their services, including possible weather-related deaths in those aged 65 or with long-term conditions. They are not public weather warnings.

Europe is also facing severe weather - with wildfires breaking out just south of Athens on Thursday and authorities banning outdoor activity and non-essential travel for building and delivery staff on Friday.

Meanwhile, storms in France and Germany have left at least three people dead and authorities in Spain are warning residents to stay indoors due to hotter-than-normal temperatures

34C possible on Monday

A heatwave could be possible with the next four days of above-average temperatures, however.

Highs of 34C are possible on Monday - with a 20% chance of beating the hottest June day on record of 35.6C from 1976, according to Sky News weather producer Joanna Robinson.

The likelihood of a record-breaking temperature on Monday could increase over the weekend as the day approaches.

If the temperature does exceed 35.6C it would make it the hottest start to Wimbledon ever - with the world-famous tennis tournament beginning on Monday. The highest temperature for the opening day of the tournament so far came on 25 June 2001, with 29.3C at Kew Gardens