UK records its hottest June day, beating highs from 1957 and 1976

The UK has broken its all-time temperature record for June, as the World Health Organization chief says Europe’s heatwave is “putting lives at risk”. Temperatures bolstered by climate breakdown hit 35.7 in southern England, according to provisional records reported by the BBC. The record high was reached in Charlwood, Surrey. The previous June record of 35.6C was set in Camden Square in London in 1957 and was reached again in Southampton in 1976. The highest temperature ever recorded in the UK is 40.3C, reached on 19 July 2022 at Coningsby in Lincolnshire. The Met Office issued a rare red extreme heat warning for 9am on Wednesday until 9pm on Thursday. Further amber warnings are in place for Friday and Saturday. Schools, hospitals, care homes and workplaces have struggled to handle sweltering temperatures that stress organs and push people beyond what their bodies can handle. Coping measures this week have resulted in trains driving slower, hospitals cancelling appointments, schools closing early or completely, and hosepipe bans. “To see temperatures like this in the UK in June is sobering,” said Stephen Belcher, the Met Office’s chief scientist. “Events like this bring home the implications of climate change, with very high temperatures and humidity bringing significant health implications from heat stress, as well as impacts to a range of sectors such as transport, energy and water supply.” People using fans on the tube in central London on Wednesday. …