Britain’s sweltering heatwave is set to peak on Friday with temperatures of up to 34C (93.2F).

The country’s Met Office said London, and potentially some places in East Anglia, are most likely to reach this high, making it the hottest day of the year so far.

Away from the capital and the south east, highs of 27C to 30C (80.6F to 86F) are expected across most of England and Wales, making much of the UK hotter than parts of Jamaica and the Maldives.

Thursday was the hottest day of the year so far, with 29.5C (85.1F) recorded at Northolt in west London on Thursday.

Highs of 26.1C (78.98F) were recorded in Cardiff, 21.4C (70.52F) in Edinburgh and 20.6C (69.08F) in Derrylin in Northern Ireland on Thursday.

The UK Health Security Agency and the Met Office has issued a level 3 heat health alert for London, the east of England and the south east.

This alert follows the level 2 issued on Tuesday and confirms the Met Office’s threshold temperatures for an alert will be reached in three regions from Friday.