Parts of the UK are tomorrow expected to be as hot as Turkey, Croatia, Malta and Slovenia, say forecasters.

Recent chilly spells are due to give way to dry, spring-like temperatures as high as 16C across London and the South East.

Istanbul, where continental Europe meets Asia at the Bosporus, is expecting the mercury to struggle to a measly 12C.

Istanbul will have to settle for an uninspiring 12C tomorrow Getty/iStock (Getty/iStock)

“We are seeing milder air and breaks in the cloud coming up from the south after chilly conditions,” said Met Office forecaster Emma Sharples.

“We may locally get temperatures of 16C tomorrow, mainly around the south-eastern parts of the UK.”

The UK is today at its hottest in London, with a 14.7C reading around Heathrow, and at the weather station in Writtle in Essex, which often records some of the warmest readings in the country, is reading 13.7C.

It is 14C today in the Croatian capital of Zagreb, 16C in Malta tomorrow, 16C in the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana, and it is pouring with rain in St Tropez.

The average UK temperature for March is 8.9C, and 9.8C specifically for England.

“It’s going to feel like spring,” said Ms Sharples.

Scientists have warned that the increasing temperatures across the world are the result of global warming and are nothing to celebrate.