Britain could face a heatwave from around mid-May, the Met Office has said, as temperatures start to climb from Saturday onwards.

Meteorologist Marco Petagna said the weather could get “very warm” later this month, peaking around 22C or 23C in the south of England.

“Temperatures are several degrees above where they should be at this time of year,” he said.

He added there was a “small chance” that temperatures could rise into the mid-twenties, meaning a “brief” heatwave.

It comes after an April that has seen average maximum temperatures generally above normal for the month, with showers proving few and far between.

The UK had around a third less rainfall than its average for the month, according to a Met Office blog, with England and Wales the driest UK nations.

Southern England was particularly dry, the forecaster said, with just 36% of its average rainfall.

The hottest temperature this year was set on Good Friday in St James’ Park, London, where the Met Office recorded a high of 23.4C.

“High pressure has been the prime influence of UK weather in April 2022, bringing with it a good period of calm and settled weather,” Dr Mark McCarthy, of the National Climate Information Centre, said.

April also saw more days of air frost than February – an average of 5.9 days compared to 5.4 days during the second month of the year.

It is only the sixth time April has been frostier than either January of February since 1961.