The Met Office has extended its “rare” “risk to life” warning in the UK as Brits brace for what could be the hottest day ever recorded.

The Amber warning, which had initially been issued for Sunday has now been extended to Monday and covers a large area of England and Wales.

There is a 30% chance that Sunday will be the hottest day ever recorded in the UK.

Yesterday (Monday), the Met Office issued an amber weather warning for extreme heat across parts of the UK ahead of further soaring temperatures this week.

The rare warning states there could be a danger to life or potential serious illness as a result of the scorching temperatures.

In reality there is unlikely to be serious, extended risk to life, but the potential is there if people are not prepared for the heat or it is not dealt with appropriately.

Other issues could include road closures and delays or cancellations to rail and air travel.

The Met Office said the warning is in place from 12.01am on Sunday to 11.59pm, when temperatures are predicted to soar into the 30s.

It is being enforced across the East Midlands, east of England, London, South East, North East, North West, South West, Wales, West Midlands and Yorkshire and Humber.

Only the very top of Cornwall falls under the 'extreme heat' cateogry. Read more about that here: Parts of Cornwall subject to 'Extreme Heat' warning from Met Office

Weather forecasting models suggest it is possible – though not likely – temperatures could reach 40C in the UK next weekend.

Met Office Level Three Heat Alert

A Level Three Heat Health Alert has also been issued by the Met Office and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) from 9am on Monday to 9am on Friday in the east and south-east of England, with the rest of the nation having a level 2 alert in place.

The four-level system highlights the potential health impacts of these high temperatures.

On Monday, Met Office forecaster Simon Partridge said: “Parts of south-east England could exceed 35C on Sunday.

“At the moment, we are looking at a 30% chance of seeing the hottest temperature recorded in the UK.”