A 'sinister' warning was issued by The Met Office as it was confirmed June was the hottest on record in the UK. Nationally, temperatures hit an average of 15.8C this year, surpassing the previous record of 14.9C.
Confirming the news, Met Office officials stressed the news was a warning of the impact climate change is having on our country, The Mirror reports. Paul Davies, Met Office climate extremes principal fellow and chief meteorologist, said: "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... climate projections, we can also see that there is a difference in the frequency of these sorts of extremes depending on the emissions scenario we follow in the future. 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."
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In response, climate change and energy journalist, Hannah Thomas-Peter, wrote: "The 'fingerprint of climate change' on the UK’s June temperature record is a stark declaration from the Met Office. The phrase invokes something sinister, as far away as possible from any celebration of a lovely warm June."
The hottest day last month was June 10 when temperatures reached 32.2C in Chertsey, Surrey. Rainfall was at only 68 per cent of its average for June too, and the drier month led to a hosepipe pipe for households in the Southeast of England.
The previous record, of 14.9C, was set in both 1940 and 1976. Records began in 1884. But some 72 counties across the UK set their hottest June since 1957, including Surrey, Somerset and Orkney, many of which recorded a mean temperature more than 2.5C above average.
Mark McCarthy, who works in the team responsible for weather and climate records for Met Office, 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 32.2C the highest temperatures reached.
"What's striking is the persistent warmth for much of the month, with temperatures widely into the mid 20Cs for many and even into the low 30s at times." Earlier this month it was reported how more heatwaves are expected in July, reaching its height on around Saturday, July 15.
