Mean temperature over June, July and August was 16.1C as country endured four heatwaves
The UK has seen its hottest summer on record, the Met Office has said, after the country sweltered under four heatwaves in a single season.
The mean temperature for meteorological summer, which encompasses the months of June, July and August, was 16.1C, which is significantly above the current record of 15.76C set in 2018.
All five of the warmest summers on record have now occurred since 2000 – a clear signal of the global heating that scientists say is resulting from increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
June and July had warm weather, with four heatwaves including days above 30C. There has been very little rain across much of the country, with England experiencing what the government has called “nationally significant” water shortfalls. Much of England is under a hosepipe ban as reservoirs, rivers and groundwater run dry.
