A new record daily maximum temperature was provisionally reached on 19 July, with 40.3°C recorded at Coningsby, Lincolnshire, exceeding the previous record by 1.6°C. A total of 46 stations across the UK exceeded the previous UK record of 38.7°C. Many long-running stations with 100+ year records recorded their highest ever temperature, some by extraordinary margins of 3 to 4°C. Records were set overnight too, when Kenley Airfield, Greater London, recorded a new highest minimum temperature of 25.8°C.
New provisional national temperature records were also set for Wales and Scotland. On 18 July, 37.1°C was recorded at Hawarden Airport, Flintshire, while 35.1°C was reached at Floors Castle, Borders on 19 July.
The post-event report from the Met Office shows that the record-breaking temperatures seen as part of the heatwave demonstrate much more widespread and significant heat than previous noteworthy extreme heat events.
Historically significant heat
Temperatures on both 18 and 19 July exceeded 38°C, with only two previous dates exceeding this threshold in Met Office data; 10 August 2003 and 25 July 2019. These four dates: 18 and 19 July 2022, 25 July 2019 and 10 August 2003 are the only occasions when 38°C has been recorded in the UK in observations extending back to the mid-19th century.
The Met Office’s Mike Kendon, who produced the review, said: “Temperatures on 18 July were exceptional but they moved 2 to 4°C higher on 19 July, making this date unprecedented in the context of long term climate records.
“What’s particularly notable is how much more widespread the heat was from this event than the previous two occurrences of temperatures in excess of 38°C in the UK. Temperature records tend to get broken by modest amounts and by just a few stations, but the recent heat broke the national record by 1.6°C and across an extensive area of the country from Kent to North Yorkshire and from Suffolk to Warwickshire.
Read the full story from the Met Office here.
