The United Kingdom has sweltered through its hottest June day on record, with a provisional temperature of 37.3C logged in Santon Downham, Suffolk. The Met Office confirmed the reading surpassed an earlier provisional figure of 37.1C recorded in Cavendish, Suffolk, and smashed the longstanding June record set in 1976 by more than 1C.
Rare red extreme heat warnings remained in place for parts of England and Wales on Friday, with forecasters predicting temperatures could reach 36C in London and 35C in Manchester. Belfast and Cardiff were expected to see highs of 26C. Met Office chief meteorologist Andy Page said the exceptional spell would maintain its grip for a little longer, though the red warning was due to expire later in the day.
Met Office chief scientist Professor Stephen Belcher said human-induced climate change had made such events more likely and more intense. He described seeing such temperatures in June as sobering, noting significant health implications from heat stress and impacts on transport, energy and water supply. The extreme heat also sent ozone air pollution levels soaring, with 60 of 97 monitoring sites exceeding limits on Tuesday, and Great Britain's energy system operator raised the alarm over electricity supplies for the second time this week.
The heatwave is now shifting east towards the Balkans, where temperatures of up to 39C are expected in Serbia, Bosnia, Croatia, Kosovo, North Macedonia and Montenegro, prompting health warnings for vulnerable groups. In Poland, officials warned that heat combined with record-low May rainfall had significantly increased the risk of wildfires in forests and national parks.
Elsewhere in Europe, Paris's Pride March was postponed after police ordered a date change to avoid overwhelming response services already under pressure from the heat. Spain has registered 327 heat-related deaths since Sunday, as national and local temperature records fell across the country.
