Met Office reveals new June temperature record after Lingwood records 37.7C
A new June provisional record temperature of 37.7C was recorded at Lingwood, Norfolk, on Friday, beating the 37.3C recorded at Santon Downham in Suffolk on the same day, the Met Office said.
This surpasses the highest recorded of 36.7C in Merryfield, Somerset on Thursday.
Subject to verification, the high of 37.3C would be a new record for the UK.
This would beat the previous June record of 35.6C, set in 1976, by more than 2C.
This is important because such records have often been broken by only a fraction of a degree in the past.
Large parts of Britain were engulfed by a heatwave for several days last week; Some public transport was stopped and public tourist attractions were closed due to rising temperatures.
Due to the increase in water demand, a hose ban was imposed in Kent.
Scientists warned on Friday that a heat wave would have been almost impossible 50 years ago.
They said human-caused climate change is fueling more intense and frequent extreme heat events.
At least 571 schools were fully or partially closed due to the heat, including in Somerset, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, West Berks and Worcestershire.
Many hospitals reported critical cases; University Hospital Southampton has had to cancel a number of planned surgeries and some outpatient appointments.
Health chiefs have warned of the impact of the conditions on services as life-threatening emergency calls are reported to be much higher.
Met Office chief forecaster Andy Page said: “This extraordinary heat is unprecedented in June and is another sign of how climate change is turning the dial on extreme temperatures in the UK.”
Eurostar canceled several of its trains between London and Paris on Friday evening “due to exceptionally extreme heat” on its network.
Sheffield’s tram network was also suspended on Friday afternoon due to extreme heat.
Patrols recorded almost a third (30 per cent) more breakdowns than on a normal Friday, the AA said, adding that the heat “had a particularly negative impact on older and poorly maintained vehicles”.
