Gosport beats record for having hottest June day on record in UK with sweltering 36.1C
Record hottest day in June is recorded
Gosport holds the provisional record for having the hottest June day on record in the UK, the Met Office has said.
The record for the UK’s hottest June day has now been broken for the third time on Wednesday, with a provisional temperatures of 36.1C recorded in Gosport. Wisley in Surrey had seen 36C as records are expected to be broken again in the coming days.
Earlier, a high of 35.8C in Wiggonholt, West Sussex, surpassed the 35.7C recorded earlier in Charlwood, Surrey.
Before Wednesday, the previous top temperature was 35.6C in 1976 and 1957, the Met Office said.
Meanwhile, according to unofficial local readings Hayling Island has seen a high of 39C and Portsmouth 38C.
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.
Met Office science manager Amy Doherty said: “If confirmed, a new June daily temperature record would be significant, especially following on the heels of the recent records set in May.
“The new record provides further evidence that temperatures previously considered extreme are becoming increasingly common as a result of human-induced climate change.”
Temperatures could rise even higher on Thursday, the Met Office said. If they hit 39C, that would make it the second hottest day in the UK on record and the hottest June day on record. If 38C is recorded, that is still in the top five days ever recorded and still hotter than any day of the 20th century.
The record comes amid a sweltering heatwave, with the Met Office issuing a rare red warning for extreme heat for Wednesday and Thursday for an area from London and the south coast to Swansea, Somerset and Birmingham.
Red heat health alerts have also been issued by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) for the East of England, East Midlands, London, the South East, the South West and the West Midlands, and amber heat health alerts for the North East, North West, and Yorkshire and The Humber.
These alerts are in place from 1am on Wednesday to 11pm on Thursday, and mean “adverse temperatures are likely to impact on the health and wellbeing of the population”.
The Met Office has also issued an amber warning for heat on Friday covering much of England, while a yellow warning for thunderstorms is in place for the South West on Thursday evening.