London could be on the brink of a heatwave this weekend, with the mercury reaching the high 20s

Britain could be on the brink of a mini-heatwave this weekend, with the mercury reaching the high 20s across most of the UK.

A spell of high pressure means most areas will meet the Met Office's definition of a heatwave - defined as three days above a particular temperature threshold, and the sun is set to stick around for the rest of the month.

But the weekend is set to be a scorcher. Starting of with a peak of 26° today, June 9, both Thursday and Friday will see the mercury reach a mere 25°.

The sun sets over the city of London. Yui Mok/PA Wire

The sun sets over the city of London. Yui Mok/PA Wire

And then on Saturday, June 12, The Met Office predicts temperatures will rise even higher, peaking at 26° and reaching a low of 17° at night.

The best is saved for Sunday, when 28° heat is expected in the capital.

And forecasters think that the 25° temperatures will stick around for the next two weeks at least.

Met Office spokesman Oli Claydon told the PA news agency: "There's a definition of what a heatwave is - it is at least three consecutive days of maximum temperatures meeting or exceeding a temperature threshold.

Little Venice, Paddington, in London. Kirsty OConnor/PA Wire

Little Venice, Paddington, in London. Kirsty O'Connor/PA Wire

"It is above 28C (82.4F) for London and large chunk of the south east, it is 27C (80.6F) for the Midlands and going towards the south west its 26C (78.8F).

"In Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Devon and Cornwall and the north east its 25C (77F) - so it is a sliding scale depending on where you are, but we haven't yet met that maximum threshold."

But the weekend is set to be a scorcher with the mercury potentially tipping 30C (86F) in parts of the South East by the beginning of next week.

Mr Claydon said: "But by the beginning of the weekend and going into next week we might start to meet that criteria, by Sunday we might see 28C (82.4F) or 29C (84.2F).

"It looks set to continue into next week, that is outside of our detailed forecast but the indication is that settled warm weather is set to continue."

Mr Claydon continued: "As well as the 28C/29C (82.4F/84.2F) expected in London and the south east, elsewhere in places like Nottingham will potentially be meeting the heat wave criteria with 27C (80.6F) forecast.

The sun sets over the city of London. Yui Mok/PA Wire.

The sun sets over the city of London. Yui Mok/PA Wire.

"Various other places set to meet the heatwave threshold as well."

He added: "There's a chance we might get towards 30C (86F) at the beginning of next week."

If you cannot get out and about this weekend, it looks like there will still be plenty of time to work on your tan, with at least a few more weeks of sunshine on the way, according to Met Office data.

The weather might turn at the start of July, but there is nothing concrete on the cards, Mr Claydon said.

"There are very early signs that the high pressure might start to break down at the end of the month but we are a long way from that yet," Mr Claydon said.

Despite bookies offering odds on this being the hottest June ever, it is too early in the month to say whether we will see record-breaking average temperatures.

Mr Claydon explained that the average maximum daytime temperature for June is 17.3C (63.1F), but that the first eight days of June 2021 have sat a couple of degrees higher than that at 19.7C (67.5F).

The record average maximum June temperature was set in 1940 at 20.5C (68.9F).

"Currently we are not even in the top five hottest Junes on record," Mr Claydon said.