THE Met Office has issued a six-day Level 3 heatwave health warning for all of Devon.

It’ll turn hot across England and Wales over the next few days as a heatwave develops across southern and eastern areas, with exceptionally high temperatures continuing next week, the Met Office predicts.

The alert level has been increased for Southwest England, as the likelihood of hot weather and warm nights affecting at least the far east of the region has now increased.

The ’Amber - Heatwave Action’ alert, which came into force at midday today (Thursday), and the Met Office says there is a 90 per cent probability of the ’Heat-Health criteria’ being met between noon on Thursday and 9pm on Tuesday.

It is one level below the ’Red — National Emergency’ status.

Amber — Heatwave action is triggered when the Met Office confirms threshold temperatures for one or more regions have been reached for one day and the following night, and the forecast for the next day has a greater than 90 per cent confidence level that the day threshold temperature will be met.

This stage requires social and healthcare services to target specific actions at high-risk groups.

Commenting on how long the hot weather is expected to last, Deputy Chief Meteorologist, Chris Bulmer, said: ‘The hot airmass will remain over much of England and Wales until early next week, so we’ll continue to see maximum temperatures in the low to mid-30s Celsius as the heatwaves continues.

Chris continued: ‘It looks like the heatwave could break on Tuesday and Wednesday as the risk of thunderstorms increases for many areas, although at the moment it’s a bit too early to say for certain, so our advice is to keep up to date with Met Office forecasts day-by-day.’

Advice: Look out for others, especially older people, young children and babies and those with underlying health conditions. Close curtains on rooms that face the sun to keep indoor spaces cooler and remember it may be cooler outdoors than indoors. Drink plenty of fluids and avoid excess alcohol, dress appropriately for the weather and slow down when it is hot.

Advice on how to reduce the risk can be obtained from the Met office’s Heatwave Plan for England page, from your doctor or local chemist, or ring NHS 111.