The Met Office has confirmed we just experienced the hottest June in British history.
Average temperatures for June 2023 hit 15.8C, which is 0.9C hotter than the joint previous record of 14.9C in 1940 and 1979, according to provisional figures. Overall, 72 countries saw the hottest June since records began in 1884.
It comes after a rapid study by Met Office scientists concluded that the odds of a June beating the previous record of 14.9C, like we have in 2023, has at least doubled since around 1940. Paul Davies, Met Office Climate Extremes Principal Fellow and Chief Meteorologist, explains: “We found that the chance of observing a June beating the previous joint 1940/1976 record of 14.9°C has at least doubled since the 1940s.
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"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. Using our UKCP18 climate projections, we can also see that there is a difference in the frequency of these sort of extremes depending on the emissions scenario we follow in the future.
"By the 2050s the chance of surpassing the previous record of 14.9°C could be as high as around 50%, or every other year. Beyond the 2050s the likelihood is strongly governed by our emissions of greenhouse gasses, with the chance increasing further in a high emissions scenario but levelling off under mitigation.”
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The Met Office’s Mark McCarthy said: "It’s officially the hottest June on record for the UK, for mean temperature as well as average maximum and minimum temperature. June started with a good deal of high pressure and temperatures initially around average for many, but once that subsided, warm, humid air began to influence temperatures, with 32.2°C the highest temperatures reached.
“What’s striking is the persistent warmth for much of the month, with temperatures widely into the mid 20s Celsius for many and even into the low 30s at times.”
