Hottest June ever in UK, Met Office says – but announcement ‘invokes something sinister’
Climate change meant last month was the hottest June on record, according to the Met Office.
June’s average mean temperature, calculated from the average daytime and nighttime temperature from across the UK, of 15.8C beats the previous record of 14.9C (set in both 1940 and 1976) by 0.9C.
It was the hottest June since records began in 1884.
The Met Office’s Mark McCarthy, who works in the team responsible for weather and climate records, said: “It’s officially the hottest June on record for the UK, for mean temperature as well as average maximum and minimum temperature.
“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 32.2C the highest temperatures reached.
“What’s striking is the persistent warmth for much of the month, with temperatures widely into the mid 20Cs for many and even into the low 30s at times.”
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72 counties across the UK set their hottest June since 1957, including Surrey, Somerset and Orkney, many of which recorded a mean temperature more than 2.5C above average.
The Met Office said the “fingerprint” of climate change is on the latest weather record, with Paul Davies, Met Office climate extremes principal fellow and chief meteorologist saying: “The background warming of the Earth’s atmosphere due to human induced climate change has driven up the possibility of reaching record high temperatures.
This is stark declaration – and invokes something sinister
The “fingerprint of climate change” on the UK’s June temperature record is a stark declaration from the Met Office.
The phrase invokes something sinister, as far away as possible from any celebration of a lovely warm June.
They will have chosen the language carefully, expecting the inevitable cries of “that’s nonsense, of course it’s warm in the summer!”
But the Met Office couldn’t be any clearer, acknowledging the normal fluctuations in weather while also highlighting the broader issue with a statement that reads: “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.”
The data bears this out.
The UK’s ten warmest years on record have happened in the last two decades.
This is what the Pentagon and NATO mean when they refer to climate change as a “threat multiplier” – a force that makes naturally occurring conditions worse.
It means droughts are more intense, heatwaves hotter, wildfire seasons earlier, eco-systems more fragile.
It means rainfall is more extreme, flooding more likely, and coastal erosion a bigger threat.
And it is no longer a problem in some faraway place.
Climate change does not respect borders, and the UK is not immune.
“Using our… climate projections, we can also see that there is a difference in the frequency of these sorts of extremes depending on the emissions scenario we follow in the future.
“By the 2050s the chance of surpassing the previous record of 14.9C could be as high as around 50%, or every other year.
The Met Office added June 2023 was also the sunniest since 1957, while rainfall was at only 68% of its average.
Average temps above and below average 1991 – 2020. Pic: Met Office
Average rainfall above and below average 1991 – 2020. Pic: Met Office
Average sunshine above and below average 1991 – 2020. Pic: Met Office
July started slightly cooler than the previous month, with many parts of the UK experiencing rain over the weekend.
Temperatures for the rest of the week appear to have cooled down, with showers persisting.
The Met Office revealed last week that ice in the Antarctic Sea is also at a record low for the month of June, and is significantly below the previous record, by 1.3 million sq km (501,930 sq miles) – an area more than five times that of the UK.
While a hosepipe ban was introduced for South East Water customers in Kent and Sussex.
South West Water customers in Cornwall have been subject to a hosepipe ban since August last year which has since been extended to others in Devon.
Along with parts of East Anglia, the South West has not left drought status since the extreme 40C heat last summer.
A teenage girl who was killed after getting out of a police car on the M5 in Somerset has been named.
Tamzin Hall, 17 and from Wellington, was hit by a vehicle that was travelling southbound between junction 24 for Bridgwater and junction 25 for Taunton shortly after 11pm on Monday.
She had exited a police vehicle that had stopped on the northbound side of the motorway while transporting her.
A mandatory referral was made to the Independent Office for Police Conduct, which is now carrying out its own investigation into what happened.
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Avon and Somerset Police said: “Our thoughts and sympathies go out to Tamzin’s family for their devastating loss.
“A specially-trained family liaison officer remains in contact with them to keep them updated and to provide support.
“The family have asked for privacy at this difficult time.”
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The police watchdog, the IOPC, has been asked to investigate.
In a statement, director David Ford, said: “This was a truly tragic incident and my thoughts are with Tamzin’s family and friends and everyone affected by the events of that evening.
“We are contacting her family to express our sympathies, explain our role, and set out how our investigation will progress. We will keep them fully updated as our investigation continues.”
Paramedics attended the motorway within minutes of the girl being hit but she was pronounced dead at the scene.
The motorway was closed in both directions while investigations took place. It was fully reopened shortly after 11am on Tuesday, Nationals Highways said.
A survivors group advocating for women allegedly assaulted by Mohamed al Fayed has said it is “grateful another abuser has been unmasked”, after allegations his brother Salah also participated in the abuse.
Justice for Harrods Survivors says it has “credible evidence” suggesting the sexual abuse allegedly perpetrated at Harrods and the billionaire’s properties “was not limited to Mr al Fayed himself”.
The group’s statement comes after three women told BBC News they were sexually assaulted by al Fayed’s brother, Salah.
One woman said she was raped by Mohamed al Fayed while working at Harrods.
Helen, who has waived her right to anonymity, said she then took a job working for his brother as an escape. She alleges she was drugged and sexually assaulted while working at Salah’s home on Park Lane, London.
Two other women have told the BBC they were taken to Monaco and the South of France, where Salah sexually abused them.
Mohamed al Fayed. Pic: AP
The Justice for Harrod Survivors representatives said: “We are proud to support the survivors of Salah Fayed’s abuse and are committed to achieving justice for them, no matter what it takes.”
The group added it “looks forward to the others on whom we have credible evidence – whether abusers themselves or enablers facilitating that abuse – being exposed in due course”.
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Salah was one of the three Fayed brothers who co-owned Harrods.
The business, which was sold to Qatar Holdings when Mohamed al Fayed retired in 2010, has said it “supports the bravery of these women in coming forward”.
A statement issued by the famous store on Thursday evening continued: “We encourage these survivors to come forward and make their claims to the Harrods scheme, where they can apply for compensation, as well as support from a counselling perspective and through an independent survivor advocate.
“We also hope that they are looking at every appropriate avenue to them in their pursuit of justice, whether that be Harrods, the police or the Fayed family and estate.”
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Bianca Gascoigne speaks about Al Fayed abuse
The Justice for Harrods Survivors group previously said more than 400 people had contacted them regarding accusations about Mohamed al Fayed, who died last year.
One of those alleged to have been abused is Bianca Gascoigne, the daughter of former England player Paul.
Speaking to Sky News in October, Gascoigne said she was groomed and sexually assaulted by al Fayed when she worked at Harrods as a teenager.
UK
Wes Streeting ‘crossed the line’ by opposing assisted dying in public, says Labour peer Harriet Harman
Wes Streeting “crossed the line” by opposing assisted dying in public and the argument shouldn’t “come down to resources”, a Labour peer has said.
Speaking on Sky News’ Electoral Dysfunction podcast, Baroness Harriet Harman criticised the health secretary for revealing how he is going to vote on the matter when it comes before parliament later this month.
MPs are being given a free vote, meaning they can side with their conscience and not party lines, so the government is supposed to be staying neutral.
But Mr Streeting has made clear he will vote against legalising assisted dying, citing concerns end-of-life care is not good enough for people to make an informed choice, and that some could feel pressured into the decision to save the NHS money.
He has also ordered a review into the potential costs of changing the law, warning it could come at the expense of other NHS services if implemented.
Baroness Harman said Mr Streeting has “crossed the line in two ways”.
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“He should not have said how he was going to vote, because that breaches neutrality and sends a signal,” she said.
“And secondly… he’s said the problem is that it will cost money to bring in an assisted dying measure, and therefore he will have to cut other services.
“But paradoxically, he also said it would be a slippery slope because people will be forced to bring about their own death in order to save the NHS money. Well, it can’t be doing both things.
“It can’t be both costing the NHS money and saving the NHS money.”
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Review into assisted dying costs
Baroness Harman said the argument “should not come down to resources” as it is a “huge moral issue” affecting “only a tiny number of people”.
She added that people should not mistake Mr Streeting for being “a kind of proxy for Keir Starmer”.
“The government is genuinely neutral and all of those backbenchers, they can vote whichever way they want,” she added.
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‘Fix care before assisted dying legislation’
Why assisted dying is controversial – and where it’s already legal
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has previously expressed support for assisted dying, but it is not clear how he intends to vote on the issue or if he will make his decision public ahead of time.
The cabinet has varying views on the topic, with the likes of Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood siding with Mr Streeting in her opposition but Energy Secretary Ed Miliband being for it.
Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary Ed Miliband is said to support the bill. Pic: Reuters
Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood has concerns. Pic: Reuters
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The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill is being championed by Labour backbencher Kim Leadbeater, who wants to give people with six months left to live the choice to end their lives.
Under her proposals, two independent doctors must confirm a patient is eligible for assisted dying and a High Court judge must give their approval.
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Labour MP Kim Leadbeater discusses End of Life Bill
The bill will also include punishments of up to 14 years in prison for those who break the law, including coercing someone into ending their own life.
MPs will debate and vote on the legislation on 29 November, in what will be the first Commons vote on assisted dying since 2015, when the proposal was defeated.
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