Met Office issues heatwave health alert as temperatures hit 30C

The UK is currently enjoying very balmy temperatures of up to 30C - leading the Met Office to issue a heatwave warning alert.

The Met Office with Public Health England issued a level three heatwave for the East of England, while London and the south east are on a level two alert.

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Hot weather in the high 20s is set to last until Saturday, especially in the east and south east of England.

While this is fantastic news for holidaymakers and beachgoers, the health warning has been issued particularly for the elderly or vulnerable, suffering with breathing or heart conditions.

The Amber level three heatwave alert reads: "There is now high confidence that temperatures are increasing today (Tuesday 23 Aug) with the highest temperatures across eastern parts of England.

"High daytime temperatures along with warm overnight temperatures mean that trigger criteria for eastern England are very likely to be met, with moderate confidence that criteria will also be met in south east England and London.

"Warmest conditions are likely to be across central/west east England as well as London and northern parts of south east England on Tuesday.

"On Wednesday and Thursday (24 and 25 Aug) the warmest conditions are expected across the east of east England as well as London and central/east south east England. The highest temperatures are likely to be more isolated on Thursday as more cloud is expected."

An Amber heatwave action is "triggered when the Met Office confirms threshold temperatures for one of more regions have been reached for one day and the following night, and the forecast for the next day has a greater than 90% confidence level that the day threshold temperature will be met. This stage requires social and healthcare services to target specific actions at high-risk groups."

The Met Office's advice? "Stay out of the sun. Keep your home as cool as possible – shading windows and shutting them during the day may help. Open them when it is cooler at night.

"Keep drinking fluids. If there's anybody you know, for example an older person living on their own, who might be at special risk, make sure they know what to do."

You can read more about how to stay safe in the heat at gov.uk