The Met Office has issued an amber extreme heat warning with temperatures expected to hit more than 30 degrees.

An extreme heat warning issued by the Met Office begins today (August 11) and will be in force until the end of Sunday.

The extreme heat may impact the health of those vulnerable and may affect the wider population by sunburn, dehydration, nausea, fatigue, and other heat related illnesses – according to the Met Office.

The Met Office warns that there may be an added risk of water safety and fire-related incidents, as more people are more likely to visit coastal areas, lakes, and rivers.

READ MORE: Is there a hosepipe ban in South East London?

It comes as months of low rainfall and hot spells have left parts of the UK facing drought, prompting hosepipe bans and warnings on the impact on agriculture, rivers and wildlife.

Grass fires have broken out as the heat and lack of rain have left countryside, parks and gardens tinder-dry, prompting calls for people not to have barbecues and for disposable barbecues to be banned.

The Met Office says parts of England and Wales will see temperatures reach at least 33C over the coming weekend.

Temperatures are not set to be as extreme as those in July which smashed records when the thermometer climbed to above 40C in some areas of the UK for the first time.

Here, we have the hour-by-hour Met Office forecast for today:

7am – Sunny 18°C

8am – Sunny 20°C

9am – Sunny 21°C

10am – Sunny 24°C

11am – Sunny 26°C

12pm – Sunny 28°C

1pm - Sunny 30°C

2pm – Sunny 31°C

3pm – Sunny 31°C

4pm – Sunny 31°C

5pm – Sunny 31°C

6pm – Sunny 30°C

7pm – Sunny 29°C

8pm – Sunny 27°C

9pm – Clear night 26°C

10pm – Clear night 24°C

11pm – Clear night 23°C

12am – Clear night 22°C

Here, we have the hour-by-hour forecast for tomorrow:

7am – Sunny 19°C

10am – Sunny 25°C

1pm - Sunny 30°C

4pm – Sunny 31°C

7pm – Sunny 28°C

10pm – Clear night 23°C

Today

Another dry and clear day after any early mist lifts with increasingly hot temperatures. Coastal areas again seeing cooler conditions with a fresher breeze. Maximum temperature 33 °C.

Outlook for Friday to Sunday

High pressure continues to bring settled weather through the end of the week, with very warm temperatures. Low risk of isolated showers into Sunday. Overnight mist patches forming.

Met Office Deputy Chief Meteorologist Dan Rudman said: “Thanks to persistent high pressure over the UK, temperatures will be rising day-on-day through this week and an Extreme heat warning has been issued.

“Temperatures are expected to peak at 35C on Friday and Saturday, or even an isolated 36C on Saturday. Elsewhere will see temperatures widely into the high 20s and low 30s Celsius.

“Coupled with the high daytime temperatures there will be some warm nights, with temperatures expected not to drop below the low 20s Celsius for some areas in the south.”

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