UK heatwave: How long will it last and what are temperatures like this week?

Temperatures soar in the UK, as the Met Office predicts the mercury will climb to the mid-30s today.

This forecast makes the UK hotter than Ibiza - which has predicted temperatures in the mid to late 20s.

Let's take a look at how long the heatwave will last and the temperatures for the week ahead.

The hottest day of the year could be recorded several times over as the mercury climbs towards 34 degrees in the south of the UK by Thursday.

However, the record for the hottest June day ever looks set to remain intact, as temperatures will not quite reach the 35.6c seen in 1976.

Met Office forecaster Luke Miall said: “We’ve got high pressure to the South East of the UK over the next few days which is going to be drawing our air up from the continent”, and the warmer climates of France and Spain.

Tuesday’s top temperature is expected to be around 29C in the South Wast of England, with other areas quite widely getting into the mid 20s, the forecaster said.

The hottest day of the year so far was 28.9 degrees reached last month, and Mr Miall added: “It’s likely tomorrow will beat that in the South, do it again on Wednesday and then again on Thursday.

“Thursday will probably be the hottest day in the region of 33 or 34 degrees”, but he added “that’s not quite the June record from 1976”.

“Although it’s fairly uncommon to get 34 in June at the moment, it doesn’t look like we’re going to break any of the records.”

The Met Officer said things will start to cool off towards the weekend.

“By Saturday most places will be seeing the fresher air coming across for the weekend, so although it might still be humid at times I think generally temperatures will be falling below heatwave,” Mr Miall added.