The hottest June on record killed “unprecedented” numbers of fish in rivers, eco groups have warned.
The Met Office confirmed last month was the warmest June since records began in 1884 - and said the heatwave had been made at least twice as likely due to man-made climate change.
Scotland and the UK sweltered in record temperatures with scientists noting the heat was unusually long-lasting.
The North Atlantic Ocean, including waters around the British isles, also smashed its own heat records with a “severe marine heatwave” declared in seas around the UK in mid-June.
Experts say the hot weather killed thousands of fish across the country amid rising water scarcity.
The Wildlife Trusts warned nature was being "pounded by extreme weather without a chance to recover”.
And Mark Owen, from the Angling Trust, said: "The reports of the number of fish death incidents in rivers for this time of year has been unprecedented.
“I would normally expect rivers to be affected later in the summer when it's hotter and drier.”
The Met Office said the average temperature for June in the UK hit 15.8C - nearly a full degree hotter than the joint previous record of 14.9C in 1940 and 1976.
In Scotland, the daily mean temperature was 14.3C - the country’s hottest ever June and 2.7C higher than average.
Parts of the Scottish Highlands were 3.5C above average, while Orkney was among the UK counties to experience its hottest ever June.
The Met Office’s provisional figures also suggest Scotland had its third sunniest June on record with 231.4 hours of sunshine.
Paul Davies, Chief Meteorologist at the Met Office, said: “We found that the chance of observing a June beating the previous joint 1940/1976 record of 14.9C has at least doubled since the 1940s.
“Alongside natural variability, the background warming of the Earth’s atmosphere due to human induced climate change has driven up the possibility of reaching record high temperatures.”
He added that without cuts to our emissions, “by the 2050s the chance of surpassing the previous record of 14.9C could be as high as around 50 per cent, or every other year”.
Fabrice Leveque, Climate and Energy Policy Manager at WWF Scotland said: “This is another record we don’t want to be breaking. While for some it was pleasant to enjoy the high temperatures in June, record heat on land brought heartbreak and misery to others with wildfires and threatened water shortages, whilst at the same time an exceptional marine heatwave hit Scotland’s seas.
“These are yet more wakeup calls that the Scottish Government can’t ignore, and we need to see greater urgency to drive down our emissions in key areas such as agriculture and how we heat our homes.”
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