England’s hottest June in history

UK records hottest June on record as government comes under pressure for more ambitious action to tackle climate change | NIKLAS HALLE’N/AFP/METSUL METEOROLOGIA

The UK’s hottest June on record, both in average temperature and average maximum temperature, the British Met Office said on Monday. “Average temperatures in the UK in June 2023 of 15.8C are the highest in a series since 1884,” the Met Office said in a statement.

According to provisional data, the average temperature in June 2023 was 0.9ºC higher than the previous combined record of 14.9ºC recorded in June 1940 and 1976. “This is officially the worst June Britain has ever seen,” said Mark McCarthy of the Met Office.

The Met Office’s Paul Davies explains: “The chance of June breaking the previous combined 1940/1976 record of 14.9°C has at least doubled since the 1940s.”

On the hottest day in June, the temperature reached 32.2C, McCarthy said. “What is shocking is the constant heat for most of the month, with temperatures often hovering around 20 degrees Celsius and sometimes even 30 degrees Celsius,” he added.

The Met Office said the four countries that make up the UK – England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland – also had their “warmest June on record”.

Water use restrictions have been imposed in parts of south-east England amid a record demand for clean water. Meanwhile, Scotland has placed areas on water scarcity alert as a result of concerns about water levels in its rivers and lakes.

Last year England recorded its hottest summer ever, tied with 2018, and the fourth warmest across the UK, leading to school closures and train cancellations. The maximum temperature crossed 40ºC for the first time.

“Along with natural variability, warming of the Earth’s atmosphere due to human-induced climate change has increased the likelihood of reaching higher temperatures,” said Paul Davies of the Met Office.

Mel Evans, head of climate at UK environmental campaign group Greenpeace, blamed fossil fuels for global warming and said temperature records were “falling like dominoes”. Evans criticized UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak for being “asleep at the wheel” and failing to act on climate change.

“If global heat waves, droughts and wildfires aren’t enough to shake Sunak out of his complacency, people wonder what he will do.”

Last week Sunak’s own advisory panel on climate change criticized the government for the slow pace of the transition to clean energy, warning that time is running out to meet its targets. He also lost his international environment minister, Zach Goldsmith, who accused Sunak of “apathy” on environmental policy.