Publication Date July 29, 2019 | The Guardian

Met Office confirms new UK record temperature of 38.7C

United Kingdom
People enjoying the River Cam in Cambridge last Thursday, now the hottest UK day on record. Credit: Leon Neal, Getty Images
People enjoying the River Cam in Cambridge last Thursday, now the hottest UK day on record. Credit: Leon Neal, Getty Images

The highest temperature ever recorded in the UK – 38.7C – has been confirmed by the Met Office.

The measurement, taken at Cambridge Botanic Garden last Thursday, was subject to quality control and analysis by meteorologists over the weekend. The previous record of 38.5C was recorded in Faversham, Kent, in August 2003.

The recording was taken at a Met Office climate observation site at the University of Cambridge. Some observation sites report monthly, meaning there is still a chance that higher temperatures were recorded elsewhere.

Countries across central and western Europe were gripped by exceptionally high temperatures last week, with Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands also breaking national temperature records.