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.
Sir Keir Starmer has joined other European leaders in Kyiv to press Russia to agree an unconditional 30-day ceasefire.
The prime minister is attending the summit alongside French President Emmanuel Macron, recently-elected German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
It is the first time the leaders of the four countries have travelled to Ukraine at the same time – arriving in the capital by train – with their meeting hosted by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Sir Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz travelling in the saloon car of a special train to Kyiv. Pic: Reuters
Leaders arrive in Kyiv by train. Pic: PA
It comes after Donald Trump called for “ideally” a 30-day ceasefire between Kyiv and Moscow, and warned that if any pause in the fighting is not respected “the US and its partners will impose further sanctions”.
Security and defence analyst Michael Clarke told Sky News presenter Samantha Washington the European leaders are “rowing in behind” the US president, who referred to his “European allies” for the first time in this context in a post on his Truth Social platform.
“So this meeting is all about heaping pressure on the Russians to go along with the American proposal,” he said.
“It’s the closest the Europeans and the US have been for about three months on this issue.”
Sir Keir Starmer, Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Emmanuel Macron among world leaders in Kyiv. Pic: AP
Trump calls for ceasefire. Pic: Truth Social
Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said Ukraine and its allies are ready for a “full, unconditional ceasefire” for at least 30 days starting on Monday.
Ahead of the meeting on Saturday, Sir Keir, Mr Macron, Mr Tusk and Mr Merz released a joint statement.
European leaders show solidarity – but await Trump’s backing
The hope is Russia’s unilateral ceasefire, such as it’s worth, can be extended for a month to give peace a chance.
But ahead of the meeting, Ukrainian sources told Sky News they are still waiting for President Donald Trump to put his full weight behind the idea.
The US leader has said a 30-day ceasefire would be ideal, but has shown no willingness yet for putting pressure on Russian president Vladimir Putin to agree.
The Russians say a ceasefire can only come after a peace deal can be reached.
European allies are still putting their hopes in a negotiated end to the war despite Moscow’s intransigence and President Trump’s apparent one-sided approach favouring Russia.
Ukrainians would prefer to be given enough economic and military support to secure victory.
But in over three years, despite its massive economic superiority to Russia and its access to more advanced military technology, Europe has not found the political will to give Kyiv the means to win.
Until they do, Vladimir Putin may decide it is still worth pursuing this war despite its massive cost in men and materiel on both sides.
“We reiterate our backing for President Trump’s calls for a peace deal and call on Russia to stop obstructing efforts to secure an enduring peace,” they said.
“Alongside the US, we call on Russia to agree a full and unconditional 30-day ceasefire to create the space for talks on a just and lasting peace.”
Sir Keir and Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a meeting in March. Pic: AP
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Putin’s Victory Day parade explained
The leaders said they were “ready to support peace talks as soon as possible”.
But they warned that they would continue to “ratchet up pressure on Russia’s war machine” until Moscow agrees to a lasting ceasefire.
“We are clear the bloodshed must end, Russia must stop its illegal invasion, and Ukraine must be able to prosper as a safe, secure and sovereign nation within its internationally recognised borders for generations to come,” their statement added.
“We will continue to increase our support for Ukraine.”
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The European leaders are set to visit the Maidan, a central square in Ukraine’s capital where flags represent those who died in the war.
They are also expected to host a virtual meeting for other leaders in the “coalition of the willing” to update them on progress towards a peacekeeping force.
Military officers from around 30 countries have been involved in drawing up plans for a coalition, which would provide a peacekeeping force in the event of a ceasefire being agreed between Russia and Ukraine.
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This force “would help regenerate Ukraine’s armed forces after any peace deal and strengthen confidence in any future peace”, according to Number 10.
A special constable has been jailed after taking pictures on his phone from bodycam footage showing a dying man.
Former police volunteer William Heggs, 23, was sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment at Leicester Crown Court on Friday after showing the photos of victim William Harty, 28, to a female colleague and storing them on his Snapchat account.
Mr Harty was found seriously injured in a residential street in Leicester on 25 October 2021 and Heggs had attended the scene, helping with CPR before paramedics arrived.
Mr Harty died in hospital a day later and the man responsible for his injuries, his brother-in-law Martin Casey, was subsequently convicted of his manslaughter.
Heggs showed the pictures he had taken of bodycam footage of Mr Harty’s body to a Leicestershire Police constable, who reported Heggs and said she did not like seeing blood.
His phone was seized and officers discovered other photographs and video clips of bodyworn footage of incidents Heggs had attended on duty, including of a knife seizure, use of baton and pepper spray, and a man with an injured hand receiving first aid.
He also took pictures of a police computer screen, showing details of crimes and suspects, without consent.
Heggs stored the materials in a Snapchat folder and disclosed graphic details – most of which were not in the public domain – about the injuries to a woman who was killed in a road traffic collision he had attended, to a friend on the social media platform.
Heggs was suspended from the force in November 2021 and resigned in October 2024 before pleading guilty to 11 computer misuse and data protection offences this March.
William Harty’s widow Mandy Casey. Pic: PA
‘He has traumatised me’
Mr Harty’s widow, Mandy Casey, said in a victim impact statement read to the court that Heggs “took (her) husband’s dignity when he was most vulnerable”.
“You don’t take someone’s dignity and pride from them on their deathbed.”
She continued: “When I found out special constable Heggs had done this, I just wanted to ask why. He has traumatised me. I feel I will never know if he showed them to others.”
Ms Casey said she was still scared that photos of her husband’s body might appear on social media.
She added that she had lost trust in the police.
Public trust in police ‘significantly undermined’
Judge Timothy Spencer told Heggs, who has autism and ADHD, that he was “probably too immature to be working as a police officer” as he handed down the sentence.
He said Heggs had received “extensive training”, including on the importance of data protection, and knew he should only share materials for “a genuine policing purpose”.
Heggs’s actions had “significantly undermined” public trust and confidence in police, according to the judge.
Read more from Sky News:
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Malcolm McHaffie, from the Crown Prosecution Service, added: “William Heggs abused the public’s trust in the office he held as a special police constable.
“He violated the dignity of the deceased victims for no apparent reason other than what could be considered personal fascination and to gain credibility among his peers.”
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