Parts of the UK are today set to enjoy the warmest weather of the year so far.
Temperatures are expected to reach 24C (75.2F) in south Wales and the West Midlands.
The Met Office has said the warm spell will include “almost unbreakable sunshine”.
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The sunny weather is expected to match those in parts of Spain and Greece, where temperatures are predicted to reach 24C and 23C respectively.
Forecasters say the favourable conditions will be followed by fine weather for the UK over the bank holiday weekend, with highs in the low-20s. Saturday is expected to be the warmest day.
Temperatures are predicted to be slightly above average for May but it’s not expected to meet the threshold for a heatwave, which is highs of 25-28C (77-82.4F).
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Grahame Madge, from the Met Office, said: “There will be little if anything in the way of rainfall apart from the odd very very light shower.
“For most people, it will be fine and bright with some varying amounts of cloud day by day, but nothing that should trouble anybody.
“It’s probably slightly above average for May but the month has been a different feel with quite a lot of cloud and low temperatures, so it’s great we’re seeing these sorts of temperatures lasting into and over the bank holiday weekend and into the early part of next week.”
He added: “There’s some potential for cloud into the early part of next week that will lower temperatures and brightness a little.”
Monday this week saw the warmest day of the year so far, with 23C (73.4F) recorded in parts of south Wales.
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Read more:
UK to be hotter than Malaga this week
Why has the weather been so bad this spring?
The Met Office declared its first-ever red warning last year as the UK recorded a temperature above 40C for the first time.
The mercury hit 40.3C (104.5F) in the Lincolnshire village of Coningsby on 19 July, breaking the previous record of 38.7C (101.6F) set in 2019 at the Cambridge Botanic Garden.
