The United Kingdom broke its own heat record last week, registering 38.7 degrees Celsius on Thursday at the Cambridge Botanical Garden, the Met Office said on Monday, confirming a preliminary announcement.
“The reading at Cambridge Botanic Garden has been quality controlled and is officially the highest temperature on record in the UK,” the Met Office said in a press release. Thursday’s reading bettered the previous record of 38.5°C, set in August 2003 at Faversham, Kent.
“The United Kingdom joins Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands in breaking national temperature records,” the Met Office noted.
Britain’s climate has been warming up since the mid-20th Century, notes Mark McCarthy of the National Climate Information Centre, a branch of the Met Office.
Climate change has increased the probability and severity of heat waves in Europe, which has also increased the risk of registering temperatures of 40 °C in the United Kingdom, he added.
The Brussels Times
