Amber heat health alerts to kick in across England ahead of fifth summer heatwave – latest news

The Met Office says the UK is now on course to record its hottest summer on record for average temperature, with only average conditions needed for the remainder of August to surpass the record, which was set only last year.

A new high in records that go back to 1884 is even more likely for England and Wales. Met Office senior scientist Mike Kendon said:

double quotation mark Another record-breaking summer now looks increasingly likely for the UK, following the second-warmest June, and second-warmest July on record and yet another heatwave imminent.

We’ve seen temperatures hit 38C in June, 35C in early and late July, and this threshold is looking to be reached again in the next few days.

These statistics are a clear reminder – if one were needed – of the stark changes that we are seeing in the UK’s climate.

The UK’s record warmest summer on record for average maximum temperatures, set in the iconic summer of 1976, also looks under threat, with the remainder of August needing to be only 0.72C above the 1991-2020 summer average to exceed this, the Met Office said. The climate crisis, caused by the pollution from fossil fuel burning, makes every heatwave more likely and intense.

The heatwave at the end of June was the most severe ever recorded in Europe and would not have been possible without human-caused global heating.