Temperature records are set to be broken in the UK this week, with 43C a possibility. The previous highest recorded temperature in the UK was in Cambridge on July 25, 2019 – 38.7C
On Monday and Tuesday, London is expected to be hotter than the Caribbean and Western Sahara. And the whole of the UK will experience hotter-than-normal conditions.
If a new record of 40C-plus is seen this week, that would be a remarkable leap. And it will underline the dangers we will face because of climate change.
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The highest temperature ever recorded in Scotland was 32.9C (91.2F) at Greycrook in the Borders in August 2003. That also looks to under threat in the next few days.
Chief meteorologist at the Met Office Paul Davies warned Monday night will be “very oppressive” and it will be difficult to sleep in the heat. The top forecaster said he was “really concerned” about the UK hitting 40 or 41C on Tuesday.
He told Sky News: “Tonight will be very oppressive, I mean it’s actually difficult sleeping conditions. And tomorrow is the day where we are really concerned about a good chance now of hitting 40 or 41C, and with that all the health conditions that come with those higher temperatures.”
The official highest recorded temperature in the world was actually measured more than a hundred years ago. It was at Greenland Ranch, Death Valley, California, USA, when 56.7°C was reached on 10 July, 1913.
In Europe, the highest ever recorded was 48C in Athens, Greece. That was measured on July 10, 1977.
As for the future, the chief executive of the Met Office has said that, while extreme temperatures remain “rare”, by 2100 temperatures like those expected this week could be seen in the UK as frequently as once in every three years as a result of climate change. Professor Penelope Endersby told BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme: “These temperatures are unattainable in the UK without climate change, they just don’t appear in the ensembles at all.
“They’re still rare in today’s 1.1 – 1.2-degree warmed climate, but by 2100, we’re expecting them to be anywhere between one in 15 and one in three years, depending on the emissions pathways we take between now and then.”
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