Official: Summer was hottest ever

THIS summer was officially the UK’s warmest on record, scientists confirmed yesterday as meteorological autumn began.

- By Steph Spyro Environment Editor

The mean temperature from June 1 to August 31 was 16.10C - which is 1.51C above the long-term average.

This beats the previous record of 15.76C, set in 2018, and pushes the summer of 1976 out of the top five warmest seasons in a series dating back to 1884.

Now every summer in the top five occurred in this century.