England's extreme summer was officially the joint hottest in 138 years

1 September 2022, 17:48

England's extreme summer was officially the joint hottest on record, the Met Office has revealed.

New data shows the summer of 2022, covering the months of June, July and August, ties with 2018 as having the highest temperatures on record.

With an average temperature of 17.1C this summer surpasses all but one stretching back to 1884, the Met Office said.

It comes after parts of England surpassed 40C in July - on Britain's hottest ever day.

Devastating wildfires broke out across the country and extreme weather warnings were issued, while low rainfall plunged the country into drought conditions.

A number of hosepipe bans were imposed and villages ran dry, with water companies delivering bottled water to communities.

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The extreme heat has dried up rivers, damaged crops and fuelled wildfires that have destroyed homes and land.

The Met Office said that four of the five warmest summers on record for England have occurred since 2003, as the effect of human-induced climate change is felt on the country's summer temperatures.

Dr Mark McCarthy, of the National Climate Information Centre, said: "For many, this summer's record-breaking heat in July - where temperatures reached 40.3C at Coningsby in Lincolnshire - will be the season's most memorable aspect.

"However, for England 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 East Anglia, where temperatures averaged 18.3C, and parts of North East England, it was the hottest summer on record, while some areas have seen less than half of their typical rainfall for the season.

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It was provisionally the fourth warmest summer for the UK overall.

And 2022 so far has been the hottest on record for the UK, for the first eight months of the year in records dating back to 1884, with every month warmer than average.