Amber heat health alerts have been issued for much of eastern England for later this week as temperatures rise again.

The East Midlands, East of England, London, and the South East are all under the amber alerts from 9am on Wednesday until 9am Thursday.

With the temperature forecast to peak in the mid-30s Celsius on Wednesday, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), which issues the alerts, warns that significant impacts are likely across health and social care services due to the high temperatures.

Yorkshire and the Humber, the West Midlands, and the South West are all under less severe yellow alerts for the same period.

This latest heatwave comes after some of the driest regions of the UK missed their chance of rain over the weekend.

Parts of the northern and western UK saw some rainfall on Saturday and Sunday, with further showers and unsettled conditions expected over the next few days.

But southern parts of the country - where the least amount of rain has fallen - are set to see temperatures climb once again, with more dry and sunny weather in the forecast.

It comes as parts of Wales have officially entered drought status, while parts of southern, central and eastern England remain in "prolonged dry weather", the final stage before drought is declared.

The coming days will only exacerbate dry conditions as another heatwave is expected to be declared, with temperatures peaking around 34-35C (93-95F) in south-east England or the East of England.