The mercury reached 36.1C in Gosport, Hampshire, on Wednesday afternoon, smashing the UK’s previous June record of 35.6C set during the scorching summer of 1976 and equalled that same year in Southampton. The new high – recorded between 3pm and 4pm and described as “provisional” by the Met Office – surpassed a 50-year-old mark that had stood since Britain’s legendary ten-week heatwave. Wisley in Surrey hit 36C, Wiggonholt in West Sussex 35.9C, and Charlwood in Surrey 35.7C, while Wales recorded its hottest day of the year at 33.3C in Cardiff Bute Park.
The record triggered a rare red extreme heat warning – only the second since the alert system began in 2021 – covering parts of southern and central England and south Wales until midnight Thursday. The Met Office warned of an “exceptional spell of hot and humid weather” with “impacts to the general population highly likely”. A wider amber warning stretched as far north as Manchester, and new amber warnings were issued for Friday and Saturday across south-east and eastern England, and parts of the Midlands.
“UK records hottest June day ever at 36.1C, prompting rare red warnings and at least 1,000 school closures.”
At least 1,000 schools across England and Wales closed or sent pupils home early, with 100 shut in Somerset alone. Network Rail advised passengers to travel only if “absolutely necessary”, and the UK Health Security Agency issued its second-ever red heat-health alert for six regions, warning that even healthy people were at risk. The heat forced the cancellation of an extreme heat conference at the London School of Economics – part of London Climate Action Week – because of the red warning. A notice on the LSE website read: “We regret that this event has been cancelled due to the red extreme heat warning issued by the UK Met Office.”
On the same day, King Charles attended a climate reception for London Climate Action Week, as the country sweltered under the unprecedented June heat.
The heatwave was not confined to Britain. France recorded its hottest day since records began in 1947, with the national heat index hitting a new high of 30C, surpassing the previous record set in August 2003 and July 2019. Across Europe, more than 350 million people – nearly two-thirds of the continent’s population – experienced temperatures above 30C, according to AFP calculations. Red alerts were issued in France, Spain, Italy, Croatia and Poland as warm air swept up from North Africa. The extreme heat forced the closure of the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre in Paris. The World Health Organization warned that the extreme temperatures were “putting lives at risk”.
The Met Office’s chief scientist, Professor Stephen Belcher, said climate change had led to more frequent and intense heatwaves. “To see temperatures like this in the UK in June is sobering,” he added. Met Office chief forecaster Matthew Lehnert said: “This is exceptional heat for June with temperature records expected to be broken this week. Red warnings are reserved for the most severe events.” The heatwave – driven by a “heat-dome” settling over western Europe – is forecast to continue into Friday, with a further high of about 38C possible, before conditions gradually ease over the weekend.