England has just had its hottest June on record, Met Office data shows
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- June 2026 was the hottest June on record in England, driven by a final-days heatwave that prompted the Met Office to issue red extreme heat warnings for three consecutive days — the first time since the extreme-heat warning system launched in 2021.
- Wales and the UK as a whole recorded their second-warmest June since records began in 1884, with five of the first six months of 2026 running at least 1°C above average (only January below average), per Met Office scientist Dr Emily Carlisle.
- Kew Gardens in Greater London hit 35.1°C in May 2026, smashing its previous station record of 29.3°C and the prior UK May record of 32.8°C — values the Met Office called 'more typical of mid-summer being observed in late spring.'
- June nights were exceptionally warm, with UK minimum temperatures more than 2°C above average and England's overnight temperatures 2.6°C above average, producing frequent 'tropical nights' above 20°C.
- Met Office chief scientist Prof Stephen Belcher CBE said human-induced climate change has made events like June's heatwave 'more likely and more intense,' warning of significant health implications from heat stress alongside impacts on transport, energy, and water supply.
- Dr Christopher Callahan's rapid modelling study estimated the wider European heatwave killed more than 20,000 people between 22 and 28 June, including over 5,000 in France, 4,500 in Germany, 3,000 in Spain, 2,700 in Italy, 1,070 in Poland, and 862 in the UK.
- The June heat followed England and Wales's warmest spring on record (the UK's third-warmest), and the Met Office projects hot spells will become more frequent, particularly over south-east England.
Why it matters: Five of the year's first six months have already run at least 1°C above average in the UK, so June's record isn't a one-off spike — it's a compounding trend that is already producing measurable mortality. Callahan's estimate of 20,000+ European heatwave deaths in a single week (862 in the UK alone) converts abstract climate projections into a quantified public-health burden that NHS, transport, energy, and water planners must now absorb.
