Britain will be baking in heatwave conditions this week, says the Met Office.

A level two heat health warning has been issued for today to Thursday as overnight temperatures look let to soar.

By this afternoon, parts of Dorset will see 26 degree heat, with overnight lows of 21 degrees.

A heat health warning is triggered when there's a more than 60% chance that temperatures will hit 30C on two consecutive days, with lows of 15C or more on the intervening night.

Bournemouth and Poole are likely to be the coolest parts of the country, with highs of 23C, 19C overnight, and showers forecast for tomorrow morning.

But UV levels look set to be very high - level 8 of 10 - and health experts are warning people to stay out of the sun between 11 and 3pm, and to wear at least SPF15. 

Blandford, Wareham and Verwood should all see 26C today and tomorrow.

Public Health England are advising you to:

  • try to keep out of the sun between 11am to 3pm
  • apply sunscreen of at least SPF15 with UVA protection
  • wear UV sunglasses, preferably wraparound, to reduce UV exposure to the eyes
  • wear light, loose-fitting cotton clothes, a hat and light scarf       
    • drink lots of cool drinks       
    • look out for others especially vulnerable groups such as older people, young children and babies and those with serious illnesses
    • never leave anyone in a closed, parked vehicle, especially infants, young children or animals

The technical definition of a heatwave is when the daily temperature exceeds the average by 5 degrees for five days or more. Average temperatures for this time of year are around 20-21C.