From BBC
ShareSave
Climate reporter, BBC News
ShareSave
A second spell of temperatures well over 30C before we’ve even got to the end of June – how unusual is this and how much is climate change to blame?
Temperatures of 34C are possible on Monday or Tuesday in south-east England.
They’ve been triggered by an area of high pressure getting “stuck” over Europe, known as a heat dome.
But climate scientists are clear that the heat will have inevitably been boosted by our warming climate.
Some people might feel these temperatures are “just like summer” – and it’s true they are a lot cooler than the record 40C and more the UK hit in July 2022.
But it’s important to be aware just how unusual mid-thirties temperatures are for the UK.
In the second half of the 20th Century, one in ten years saw highs of 35C or more, BBC analysis of Met Office data shows.
But this heat is becoming more common. Between 2015 and 2024, half of the years saw 35C or above.
And these temperatures are particularly unusual for June, typically the coolest summer month.
“Recording 34C in June in the UK is a relatively rare event, with just a handful of days since the 1960s,” said Dr Amy Doherty, climate scientist at the Met Office.
The hottest June days on record were in 1957 and 1976 at 35.6C. The next years on the list are 2017 with a June high of 34.5C and 2019 with 34.0C.
Forecasts suggest
