A heatwave is on course to hit Scotland with temperatures potentially rising to 30C.

Warm air from Africa is expected to bring some of the warmest days of the year from Sunday.

Temperatures will hit the low 20s at the start of the week before potentially reaching 30C on Wednesday.

The warmest areas are expected to be Inverness and the Highlands.

It comes two months after 27C was recorded in Achnagart in north west Scotland, the hottest of the year so far.

STV weather presenter Sean Batty said: "After the heatwave conditions that swept much of the country during May, the hot weather is on the way back.

"Temperatures will start to rise on Sunday, with the top spot into the low 20s in inland areas of Aberdeenshire and Moray.

"The temperatures will continue to rise into next week with the high 20s and possibly an odd spot closing in on 30 degrees by Wednesday.

"The warmest spot by this stage is likely to have moved towards the Inverness and north Highland region. "It does look like this may be the start of another fairly prolonged settled and warm spell of weather.

"There is of course a large variation in scenarios between different forecast computer models, however there's a similar theme, with high pressure staying nearby."

He added: "The summer solstice was on Thursday, and this means the sun is now at its highest point in the sky and also at its strongest. This means that the sunshine in the coming days will be very intense.

"The UV levels will reach a level eight by Sunday, which is actually very rare for Scotland and can only occur around the few weeks of the solstice during good spells of weather.

"We are also now in the peak of the grass pollen season, and I know it's already been a bit of a struggle for some people in the last few weeks, but with the warmer conditions coinciding with the peak, the levels will become very high in some areas.

"So, in short, get the shorts and sandals looked out again, dust off the BBQ, and top up the paddling pool, the hot weather is back."