The current UK heatwave has sparked a “rare” ‘risk to life’ warning from the Met Office with temperatures expected to remain high well into next week.

The Met Office has issued an Amber Weather Warning covering much of England and Wales.

The Met Office said: “Exceptionally high temperatures are possible from Sunday, lasting into early next week.”

An amber warning can mean there is the possibility of travel delays, road and rail closures, power cuts - and even potential risk to life and property.

Met Office Level Three Heat Health Alert

The warm weather is expected to continue through the week in the high 20s for most until the weekend, when the mercury may rise again to 31C in places.

This means parts of the country will be hotter than some of the world’s top beach destinations, including the Maldives and Marbella in Spain.

A Level Three Heat Health Alert has been issued by the Met Office and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) from 9am on Monday to 9am on Friday in the east and south-east of England, with the rest of the nation having a level 2 alert in place.

The four-level system highlights the potential health impacts of these high temperatures.

Experts have warned that the UK needs to urgently adapt to a future with more heatwaves, adding that hot spells have a greater potential impact than other climate extremes such as flooding.