The summer of 2026 has become the warmest in Britain since records began in 1884, with five extreme heatwaves and forty days above 30C pushing the average daily temperature to an unprecedented 16.5C.
A season of relentless heat
Average daily temperatures from June to August reached 16.5 degrees Celsius, surpassing all previous records held since 1884. The figure was hardly surprising given the intensity of the season: the country endured five separate waves of extreme heat and experienced forty days on which the mercury climbed above 30C.
The previous record for such days was set in 1995, when thirty-four days exceeded the 30C threshold.
The hottest day of the year
The single hottest day of the summer — and of the entire year — was recorded on 13 August at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, where temperatures hit 38.1C. While remarkable, this fell short of the all-time UK record of 40.3C set in 2022.
The heat was accompanied by severe drought, which at its peak covered 72 percent of England’s territory. Water-use restrictions remain in place across much of the country. In London, for example, residents have been banned for several weeks from watering gardens or washing cars using hosepipes.
Belgium breaks its own 193-year record
Belgium also experienced its hottest summer in 193 years of record-keeping, according to the Royal Meteorological Institute of Belgium.
The average temperature over the summer reached 20.3C, compared with a norm of 17.9C. It marks the first time the seasonal average has exceeded 20C since observations began in 1833.
The institute said the previous record was set in 2018, when the average summer temperature was 19.9C.
The Royal Meteorological Institute conducts its observations from a large observatory located in the affluent Brussels commune of Uccle, in the south of the capital.
