I take your point John and I don't disagree. However I for one would be reticent about discussing that issue to any extent on here bearing in mind what Brian said earlier in the year. Unless, that is, I am prepared to risk getting myself banned permanently from this forum!

To replaced of course by the conspiracy theorists whingeing about the Cambridge University Botanic Gardens.

However, I love the way they've picked up on the fact that the nearest pub to the site is called "The Flying Pig".

Unfortunately that only means that the mutterings about Cambridge Botanic Gardens will continue for the next 16 years, or until whenever the record is broken again.

Exactly, which is why I kept that point very brief although I feel that this had to be mentioned.

  At least that’s settled now!  Last week’s heatwave deserved to get the record, especially as so many of us experienced it!  

Breaking a major record, especially one as fundamental as this is always 'exciting' but I do take your point. 30 years ago the highest ever UK temperature stood at 36.7C, a record that had itself stood since 1911. Now in that 30 years the record has been broken 3 times and the absolute record raised by 2 whole degrees. In an essentially stable climate with a temperature record 150+ years long the absolute record should be beaten increasingly rarely, not suddenly 3 times in the past 30 years. This doesn't mean that average temps have risen 2C since 1989, of course they haven't but it seem to indicate that extremes are becoming more frequent, which is just what has been advocated by climate change.

Didn't the famous 1976 summer record what at the time was a new record for the highest ever temperature recorded in the UK, or did it merely equal the record from 1911?

IIRC 1976 has the joint record for the highest ever June temperature (35.6C), but I forget what other year it happened in. That was it AFAIK, for a single record, although 14 consecutive days of 32C or greater being recorded somewhere in the UK had never happened before this, or since. I have a feeling that may change in the near future though.

The highest temperature that summer was 'only' 35.9C.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1976_British_Isles_heat_wave

What is remarkable about 1976 (other than the drought of course) was the sheer persistance of the heat, most especially in the late June/early July heatwave. I don't think any heatwave since has come even close to equaling that.

That could well have happened in 2018 as the heat and sunshine during June and July (especially late June & early July) last year were much more prolonged than they have ever been this summer thus far. As I said earlier in reply to Kevin's post, last week's heatwave, for all it was so notable, only ended up being a transient event rather like the one that gave us the then highest July temp on record back in early July 2015.

There is a link between the drought conditions and the sustained heat. I remember from that time the forecasters explaining that there was more energy available to raise temperatures because energy wasn't being for evaporation due to the lack of moisture in the ground.

Hello Peter, that must be some form of conductance, or reduced energy transfer from the dryer soil in 1976? I always remember the little #heat# whirl winds in the afternoon.

And was perhaps most of the heat 'home grown'? That is there wes no great continental furnace that year that the UK could tap into if winds turned favourable for that. So the summer was characterised by more consistent low to mid 30s heat rather than short pulses to 37/38C.

I agree, also I can always remember the size of the cracks in the soil here in s/e

Taken from a report 

The effect of the summer was huge. Drinks, ice cream, barbecue, and bikini sales rocketed during the summer but the greatest impact was the lack of water. Reservoirs were drying up and the Government launched meaures to conserve water. People were advised to share baths, to use the bath water to water the garden, to place bricks in toilet cisterns to conserve water. Standpipes were launched and many parts of the UK had no running water for much of the day. The drought caused forest and heath fires in the south and fireman were unable to control these because of a lack of water. Gardens and parks were brown and parched. The Government created a minister for drought, Denis Howell, such was the serious nature of the drought. The ministry was created just as the heavy rains came to replenish the reservoirs.

xquote=Col;1131400]

The highest temperature that summer was 'only' 35.9C.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1976_British_Isles_heat_wave

What is remarkable about 1976 (other than the drought of course) was the sheer persistance of the heat, most especially in the late June/early July heatwave. I don't think any heatwave since has come even close to equaling that.