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England saw its warmest June and second warmest on record for the UK according to the Met Office.
The month was hot by day and hot by night with June mean temperatures reaching 17.1C, nearly 3C above average. Frequent tropical nights, in which temperatures fall no lower than 20C, helped push mean temperatures up.
The UK's highest June temperature on record of 37.7C (99.9F) was set on Friday 26 June 2026 at Lingwood, Norfolk smashing the previous high of 35.6C (96F) set in 1957 and equalled in the infamous
1976 heatwave.
A rare red extreme heat warning was issued for parts of England and Wales. In some areas of eastern England
this remained in force for an unprecedented three day-run.
Wales also saw their second warmest June on record, recording their hottest June day with 35.9C (96.6F) in Cardiff on Thursday 25 June, beating the previous mark of 33.7C (92.6F).
Northern Ireland equalled their June record with 30.8C (87.4F) in Castlederg, County Tyrone.
This slew of June records follows hot on the heels of the May heatwave in which
temperatures reached 35.1C in Kew, London, external smashing the previous high of 32.8C set in 1922 and equalled in 1944.
June records also shattered in Europe
Trying to keep cool in Paris during record-breaking heatwave
The extreme June heatwave also affected large areas of Europe with new June records set in many countries including Hungary, Austria, Netherlands, Switzerland and Denmark.
France had its hottest ever day on record as temperatures across the country averaged over a 24 hour period reached 30C for the first time. This even beat the extreme heatwaves of August 2003 and July 2019,
according to forecasters at MeteoFrance, external.
Another deadly heatwave
Statistics are beginning to emerge that reveal
the human toll of this latest extreme heatwave.
France's national health ministry have reported around 1000 excess deaths during the with many of those aged over 65.
Spain has recorded 1029 excess deaths attributable to the extreme heat.
The full picture across all countries of Europe may take weeks or months to become clear, however it probably will not be as deadly as the August 2003 heatwave in which it is estimated between 30,000 and 70,000 people died.
In the aftermath of this event, there became much greater awareness of the dangers of heatwaves and national weather forecasting authorities began issuing warnings of extreme heat to help mitigate the impacts.
Heatwaves are becoming more frequent and more extreme due to climate heating. Spanish forecasters note that of the 12 June heatwaves recorded in Spain since 1975, half have occurred in the last decade.
<small>Source: BBC Science</small>
