The UK is in the grip of another baking heatwave, with temperatures set to rise as high as 34C this weekend.
But things could still get a lot hotter in future, according to the Met Office, which has this week issued the worrying verdict that the UK could face utterly horrendous 45C heat in the years to come. The weather experts announced that the UK has a 50/50 chance of seeing temperatures soar to 40C again in the next 12 years. Just three years ago, in 2022, 40C was recorded in the UK for the first time ever.
Now the forecaster has warned that far higher 45C heat ‘may be possible’ while heatwaves could last for a month or more. It comes as no shock to those who have been recording the UK’s weather patterns. In fact, the top five hottest days ever recorded in the UK were all in the past six years.
According to History.co.uk, these are the hottest temperatures ever recorded in the UK and when they took place:
Temp | Date | Location |
40.3°C | 19.07.2022 | Coningsby, Lincs |
38.7°C | 25.07.2019 | Cambridge, Cambs |
38.5°C | 10.08.2023 | Faversham, Kent |
38.2°C | 18.07.2022 | Pitsford, Northants |
37.8°C | 31.07.2020 | Heathrow, London |
37.1°C | 03.08.1990 | Cheltenham, Glos |
36.7°C | 01.07.2015 | Heathrow, London |
36.7°C | 09.08.1911 | Raunds, Northants |
36.6°C | 02.08.1990 | Worcester, Worcs |
36.5°C | 19.07.2006 | Wisley, Surrey |
Dr Gillian Kay, senior scientist at the Met Office, said: “The chance of exceeding 40C has been rapidly increasing, and it is now over 20 times more likely than it was in the 1960s. Because our climate continues to warm, we can expect the chance to keep rising. We estimate a 50:50 chance of seeing a 40C day again in the next 12 years. We also found that temperatures several degrees higher than we saw in July 2022 are possible in today’s climate.”
The study also looked at heatwaves, and found that “much more severe” extremes could occur in the current climate.
The climate model shows up to two-thirds of summer days could be above the heatwave threshold of 28C in south-east England, with continuous heatwaves lasting more than a month.
And 12 consecutive days above 35C is also possible, the study says.
Met Office experts said the findings showed the need to prepare and plan for the impacts of rising temperatures and extreme heat.
Dr Nick Dunstone, Met Office science fellow and co-author of the study, said: “The well-known hot summer of 1976 had more than a fortnight above 28C, which is a key heatwave threshold in south-east England.
“Our study finds that in today’s climate such conditions could persist for a month or more.
“These findings highlight the need to prepare and plan for the impacts of rising temperatures now, so we can better protect public health, infrastructure and the environment from the growing threat of extreme heat.”
