The temperature records that have tumbled in UK heatwave
Extreme heat fuelled by climate change has seen numerous record temperatures throughout the UK, as the heatwave causes mass travel disruption and impacts on health services.
As the unprecedented temperatures continue to rise, experts predict more records will be broken.
Here are some of the milestones reached so far:
UK records 40 degrees for first time
The UK has hit its hottest temperature on record, with temperatures exceeding 40C on Tuesday afternoon.
A new record for the hottest day ever seen in the UK, of 40.3C, was provisionally recorded in Coningsby, in Lincolnshire, beating the previous record of 38.7C in Cambridge three years ago, by 1.6C.
The Met Office said 34 observation sites across England have provisionally broken the previous all-time record, ranging from Bramham, in West Yorkshire, to Charlwood, in Surrey, while a further five had equalled it. A total of six sites, mostly in Greater London, saw temperatures reach or exceed 40C.
Heathrow Airport was the first place to break the 40C mark, hitting 40.2C just before 1pm on a scorching Tuesday afternoon.
But several other places had also passed 40C, including St James's Park, Kew Gardens and Northolt - all in London, by 4pm.
Wales sees temperature high
On Monday, Wales provisionally recorded its hottest day ever with the mercury hitting 37.1C in Hawarden, Flintshire. The Met Office said it had broken the previous record of 35.2C, set in the same place in 1990.
It was the the second time the record was broken on Monday after 35.3C was recorded in Gogerddan, near Aberystwyth, earlier in the day.
In Hawarden, Flintshire, temperatures registered at 36.2C on Tuesday, provisionally the second highest temperature on record in Wales.
Northern Ireland experiences new record for 2022
On Monday, Northern Ireland recorded its hottest day of the year, with temperatures soaring above 30C in some areas.
The Met Office recorded a temperature of 31.2C in Derrylin in Co Fermanagh at 3.55pm on Monday. The next highest temperatures recorded were 30.8C in Armagh and Aldergrove, Co Antrim, 30.4C in Thomastown, Co Fermanagh and 29.8C in Castlederg, Co Tyrone. The highest temperature ever recorded in Northern Ireland was 31.3C in Castlederg in County Tyrone last July.
On Tuesday, the Met Office said the highest provisional temperature recorded in Northern Ireland was the 26.6C experienced in Murlough.
Scotland sees new heat record
Scotland has recorded its hottest day ever as temperatures climbed to 34.8C, with an amber warning for extreme heat remaining in force until midnight. The new highest temperature was recorded at Charterhall, in the Scottish Borders, according to provisional Met Office figures, and beat an almost 19-year-old record by 1.9C. Since August 2003 Greycrook, also in the Scottish Borders, held the temperature record north of the border when it experienced a high of 32.9C. Mark Wilson, of the Met Office, said it was “officially the highest temperature recorded in Scotland since records began”.
Warmest night on record
The UK experienced its warmest night on record on Monday as the extreme heat saw temperatures remaining in the mid-20s.
According to the Met Office, the highest overnight minimum temperatures recorded were 24.5C in Aberporth, West Wales, 25.8C in Kenley, in the London Borough of Croydon, and 25.9C at Emley Moor, near Huddersfield, West Yorkshire.
The previous record of 23.9C was set in Brighton in August 1990.
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