The summer of 1976 is a defining national memory for Brits, with generations passing down stories of scorched landscapes, shared baths and standpipes in the street.But maybe in decades to come we will be talking about summer 2026 – as data analysed by the Daily Mail proves it has now beaten that year on almost every metric.From the top temperature to the heatwave length, and the number of heatwaves to the total days of extreme heat, 2026 has had meteorologists updating the record books.Monthly temperature records have been smashed, drought has continued for longer than ever before in some areas – and we are on course to have the hottest summer ever. Here the Daily Mail confirms why 2026 is the new benchmark for British summers:Top temperature - 2026 beats 1976The UK's highest temperature in the 1976 heatwave was not as high as you might think – with 35.9C recorded at Cheltenham in Gloucestershire on July 3.This was in fact below the record at that time of 36.7C which was set 65 years earlier at Raunds in Northamptonshire on August 9, 1911 – and stood until 1990.The current top temperature for 2026 is 38.0C, which was recorded on June 26 at Lingwood in Norfolk. This was also the UK's joint fifth hottest day on record.The Met Office has said Thursday could also reach 38C in the extreme heat warning area. The all-time UK high is 40.3C on July 19, 2022 in Coningsby, Lincolnshire. Sunseekers enjoy the hot weather on Bournemouth beach in Dorset on May 25, 2026