A 54-hour heat health warning has been issued for Kent with temperatures expected to skyrocket towards the 30s.

The yellow alert is in place from 5pm tomorrow (Thursday) until 11pm on Saturday as very hot conditions are predicted across the county.

Issued by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and the Met Office, the alert is to provide an early warning when adverse temperatures are likely to impact the health and well-being of the population.

This week, the agencies say there are likely to be “minor impacts” across the health and care sector as Kent experiences a mini-heatwave.

These include an increased use of services and a higher risk of mortality amongst vulnerable people and the potential for indoor environments to become very warm.

Temperatures are expected to skyrocket with some places in the county such as Gravesend, Dover and Maidstone being as hot as Ibiza and the Algarve.

The Met Office has said to expect sunny spells across the week, with temperatures set to reach 30 degrees on Friday (July 19) before milder conditions return on Sunday (July 21).

A spokeswoman for the government agency, Nicola Maxey, said night-time temperatures could stay in the low 20s for parts of south-east England – officially classified as “tropical nights” if they do not drop below 20C.

She said there was still uncertainty over how soon the milder conditions would come in, with the possibility that the South East could retain its heat a little longer than elsewhere.

It comes days after a yellow weather warning for rain was issued across Kent which saw heavy downpours and lightning strikes.

Parts of the country have also already well-exceeded July’s average rainfall figures despite only being halfway through the month.

England had 97% of July’s average rainfall between Monday, July 1 and Monday (July 15), with London already having 154% of its months average.

Ms Maxey added: “There are quite big regional differences but overall it is looking like a wet month so far.

“There is a caveat that, with a dry couple of weeks, by the end of the month things could even themselves out.”

She said that two or three heavy downpours often caused much of a location’s July rainfall totals, rather than a prolonged period of wet weather.

St Swithin’s Day on Monday – traditionally said to predict the next 40 days of weather – was another wet one for much of England and Wales.

But the Met Office said conditions next week would be “changeable” rather than just rainy, with temperatures close to average.