Residents across Surrey and Hampshire are being urged to take care as temperatures are forecast to reach the low 30s this weekend, with a heat-health alert already in place for the region.

The UK Health Security Agency has issued a Yellow Heat-Health Alert covering the southeast of England, in force from today, Wednesday June 17, until Monday June 22, warning that temperatures could affect the health and wellbeing of some people.

The Met Office is forecasting temperatures of up to 32°C across the south and southeast of England on Sunday, June 21 with the possibility of even higher temperatures on Monday, June 22 as warm air continues to build from the south.

Heatwave criteria is defined as three consecutive days meeting or exceeding county temperature thresholds and the Met Office estimates these are likely to be met across parts of the south and southeast by Saturday, and more widely on Sunday.

Deputy Chief Forecaster at the Met Office Gregory Wolverson said conditions this week reflected a familiar summer pattern. "As we move towards the weekend, we'll see conditions become more widely settled and temperatures rise all round," he said.

He cautioned, however, that clear skies were not guaranteed. "We might not all see the wall-to-wall sunshine and blue skies we experienced back in May because there is more cloud around. There is also a chance of thunderstorms developing in places, particularly later each day, which could bring heavy showers and localised impacts."