England records joint hottest summer ever after temperatures soared to new high of 40.3C during heatwave

ENGLAND recorded its joint hottest summer ever after temperatures soared to a sizzling new high of 40.3C.

The Met Office said provisional data collected during June, July and August showed a tie with 2018 for the seasonal record.

The country saw an average temperature of 17.1C (62.7) across the three months.

The figures mean that four of the five warmest summers on record have been since 2003.

The 40.3C (104.5F) milestone was reached in Coningsby, Lincolnshire, in July.

Dr Mark McCarthy, of the National Climate Information Centre, said yesterday: “To achieve its joint warmest summer takes more than extreme heat over a couple of days, so we shouldn’t forget that we experienced some persistently warm and hot spells through June and August too.”

For Britain overall, it is the fourth warmest summer, behind 2018, 2006 and 2003.

The year began with the warmest New Year’s Day on record, which hit 16.3C (61.3F) in London and every month since has been warmer than average in England.

The first eight months have been the warmest since records began in 1884, with an average temperature of 10.51C (50.9F).

It is also the driest since 1976.

Only 348mm of rain has fallen in England so far this year, leading to drought conditions in places.

Dr McCarthy added: “It is too early to speculate on how the year overall will finish, but the persistent warm conditions are certainly notable and have certainly been made more likely by climate change.”