The UK is bracing for a heatwave that could see temperatures soar to 38°C, raising the possibility of breaking the record for the hottest June day, set in 1976. The Met Office has expressed growing confidence that the longstanding June temperature record of 35.6°C, recorded in Southampton in 1976, could be surpassed.
Current Heatwave and Recent Climate Trends
This forecast comes after a mean temperature of 16.1°C was recorded between June and August 2025, making last year the hottest UK summer since records began. The summer of 2025 saw four heatwaves, with the highest temperature of 35.8°C recorded in Faversham, Kent. This is below the UK's all-time high of 40.3°C, set in July 2022.
Last year's consistently above-average temperatures throughout June and July knocked the memorable summer of 1976 out of the top five hottest UK summers on record, according to the Met Office.
The Summer of 1976: A Historic Heatwave
In 1976, Britons endured one of the longest heatwaves in living memory, with 15 consecutive days reaching 32°C or higher. A significant drought occurred, with no rainfall recorded for 36 days across England and Wales between June and August. Water supplies dwindled, leading to the passing of a Drought Act, water rationing, and the use of standpipes.
In south-east Wales, conditions were so severe that water was cut off for 17 hours a day for up to 11 weeks, and 70 companies were ordered to halve their water consumption. The drought devastated agriculture, destroying £500 million worth of crops and causing food prices to soar. Subsidence from parched ground led to £60 million in insurance claims. That summer was England and Wales's driest since records began in 1766.
Comparative Summers and Climate Change
The summer of 2018 is currently the second hottest on record, with a mean temperature of 15.76°C, followed by 2006, 2003, and 2022. This year, England and Wales experienced their warmest spring on record after a May heatwave and six consecutive days above 30°C.
Met Office meteorologist Simon Partridge attributed the increasing frequency of extreme weather to climate change. "That's unfortunately just the way things are going at the moment and it doesn't seem to be slowing down," he said.
