UK bakes in 35C highs as heatwave to continue next week
The current heatwave is not expected to break any daily temperature records, but on Thursday the Met Office announced there are eight days in 2026 where temperatures will reach or exceed 34C.
There were two heatwaves in May, four in June and two so far; This was a record for the calendar year, surpassing 1976 and 2020. Another temperature above 34C is expected on Friday.
During the June heatwave, temperatures in Lingwood, Norfolk peaked at 37.7C, breaking the previous June record of 35.6C.
Wales also recorded its hottest June day with 35.9C in Cardiff, while Northern Ireland equaled the June record with 30.8C in Castlederg, County Tyrone.
Scotland is just shy of the all-time June record of 32.2 degrees set in 1893. The highest temperature in June was 31.2 degrees at Threave in Dumfries and Galloway.
The hottest temperature so far this July heatwave was 35.5C at Wisley in Surrey on Thursday.
Although temperatures will drop slightly towards the weekend, many places will still hit official heatwave thresholds for much of next week.
People may be making comparisons with 1976, when the UK saw temperatures above 30C for 16 consecutive days, but that record is unlikely to be broken.
The highest temperature ever recorded in the UK was recorded during the unprecedented heatwave of 2022, when a staggering 40.3 degrees was recorded in Coningsby, Lincolnshire.
