The Met Office have confirmed that the summer of 2026 has been the hottest since records began in 1884.
The mean average temperature through June, July and August was 16.5C across day and night, which beats the 16.1C record set just last year.
June saw its highest ever temperature when 38C was recorded in Lingwood, Norfolk. This beat the 35.6C in the infamous summer of 1976.
This year’s heatwave has caused disruption to agriculture, wildlife and water supply. It has even taken lives as thousands of people were reported to have died during May and June.
Farmers are having one of the worst cereal harvests on record and wildfires have ripped through places like Dunwich Heath in Suffolk where 370 acres of land was burnt.
The energy sector has been hugely impacted by this years weather as 96% of energy professionals say that it has affected projects through either a change in working hours or postponement.
The solar industry has been one of few to gain from the sunshine as UK households were able to export a collective 5kWh to the grid daily. This created average savings of 55p and over June’s seven-day heatwave this equated to £21.
Scientists have concluded that the heatwave was made 130 times more likely due to human-made climate change, with projections that summers will continue to get hotter each year.
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