The United Kingdom witnessed its hottest June since records began back in 139 years ago, said the country’s Met Office, on Monday (July 3). The recent record also surpassed the last hottest June by nearly a full degree.
The British weather agency also noted that the UK, as well as England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, surpassed their respective warmest June in a series which dates back to 1884 some by a “significant margin.”
Warmest June on record in the UK
According to the data by the Met Office, in June, the average monthly temperature of 15.8 degrees Celsius exceeded the previously recorded highest average in 1940 and 1976 by 0.9 degrees Celsius.
The records were broken in 72 of 97 areas in the UK from where temperature data is collected, reported the Met Office. Additionally, the mid-month heat, last month, was 15.8 degree Celsius which is also 2.5 degrees Celsius higher than average.
“It’s officially the hottest June on record for the UK, for mean temperature as well as average maximum and minimum temperature,” said Met Office’s Mark McCarthy, in a statement.
He added, “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 degrees Celsius the highest temperatures reached.”
Less rain and more sunshine across the UK
This also comes as rain was in short supply across the UK in the month of June with just 68 per cent of the monthly average rainfall. According to the Met Office data, it was also the fourth sunniest June on record and drier than usual in the country.
The UK witnessed its sunniest June since 1957. The report noted that Wales was “particularly dry” with 51 per cent of its average monthly rainfall. Meanwhile, Scotland witnessed its third sunniest June on record with 231.4 hours of sunshine and England had its fourth sunniest with 259.8 hours.
This has been attributed to periods of high pressure which has not only helped temperatures to rise but also created long periods of sunshine in many parts of the country.
Why is this happening?
A study conducted by Met Office scientists has attributed this rise in temperatures to both natural causes as well as human-induced climate change. “We found that the chance of observing a June beating the previous joint 1940/1976 record of 14.9 degree Celsius has at least doubled since the 1940s,” said Paul Davies, Met Office climate extremes principal fellow and chief meteorologist.
He added, “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.”
Furthermore, he also explained how using the UKCP18 (UK Climate Projections) climate projections scientists noted a “difference in the frequency of these sorts of extremes depending on the emissions scenario we follow in the future.” Therefore, by the 2050s the chances of crossing 14.9 degrees Celsius by as much as 50 per cent.
“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,” said Davies.
‘Unprecedented’: Thousands of fishes killed due to heat
Speaking to BBC, Mark Owen, the Angling Trust’s head of fisheries, said how the high temperatures have already killed thousands of fish across the UK in the month of June.
“The reports of the number of fish death incidents in rivers for this time of year has been unprecedented. I would normally expect rivers to be affected later in the summer when it’s hotter and drier,” Owen told the British media outlet.
Owen also spoke about the chain reaction this type of change has on the ecosystem. “If July is like June, if August is like June, then we will get far more fish kills than we’ve ever seen. There is a knock-on effect,” as quoted by PA media. He added, “The fish are the visible bit because that’s what people see floating on the surface but it is also (about) what is happening to the ecosystem.”
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