UK hits hottest June day on record as heat warning continues
Merryfield, Somerset, reached 36.7C as the UK’s hottest June day was broken for a second straight day, while red alerts stretched across six English regions.
Temperatures hit 36.7C at Merryfield, Somerset, on Thursday, giving the UK its hottest June day on record for a second consecutive day. Red warnings stayed in force across southern and central England.
The previous provisional June high, 36.1C, was set at Gosport, Hampshire, on Wednesday 24 June. That figure had already beaten the old June benchmark of 35.6C, first set on 28 June 1976 and matched on 29 June 1957. The warmth shifted farther east on Friday before easing through the weekend.
A Red Extreme Heat Warning covered Wednesday and Thursday and was extended into Friday in some areas. Red heat-health alerts stayed in force for the South East, South West, London, East of England, West Midlands and East Midlands until 11pm on Friday 26 June 2026, with the South East alert running from 1am on Wednesday 24 June to 11pm on Friday 26 June. A red alert signals a severe heatwave with impacts beyond health and social care and a risk to life even for healthy people, while people should watch for heat exhaustion and heatstroke, stay hydrated and check older people, young children and those with long-term health conditions.
Hot weather can make overhead power lines expand and sag, forcing trains to slow down or be diverted, and extreme heat can also cause steel rails to expand and buckle. Extreme temperatures are becoming more common in the UK because of human-induced climate change.
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