June temperature record broken for third time as UK swelters in heat
People use umbrellas to shade themselves from the sun in Windsor. Photo by Andrew Mathhews/PA
By Emily Beament, Press Association Environment Correspondent
The record for the UK’s hottest June day has been broken for the third time on Wednesday, with a provisional temperature of 36C breaking the previous record from the summer of 1976.
The record was broken when provisional temperatures reached 36C in Wisley, Surrey, and Gosport, Hampshire, the Met Office said.
It follows provisional temperatures reaching 35.7C in Charlwood, Surrey, and 35.8C at Wiggonholt, West Sussex, earlier on in the day.
Wednesday’s highs break the previous top temperature of 35.6C in 1976 and 1957, the forecaster said.
It comes as much of England and Wales swelters in exceptionally hot and humid conditions, which have prompted a rare red warning from the Met Office for extreme heat.
The heatwave, which has led to health warnings, school closures and transport disruption, is driven by a “heat-dome” settling over western Europe that has brought extreme conditions across the continent.
The 50-year-old record has fallen as climate change, mostly the result of burning fossil fuels, is driving increasingly frequent and intense heatwaves, which experts say the UK is not prepared for.
Figures are currently provisional and would be verified at the end of the heatwave to check if it is a new national record.
