Looks like England just had its warmest night on record
The good people of England have almost certainly just endured their warmest night on record, with temperatures not dipping below 25°C in numerous locations.
An overnight minimum of 25.8°C was recorded at Kenley, on London's southern outskirts, which illustrates how far north this hot airmass – which originated in North Africa – has travelled.
ðŸŒ¡ï¸ The UK has provisionally seen the highest daily minimum temperature on record âš ï¸
— Met Office (@metoffice) July 19, 2022
Temperatures didn't fall below 25°C in places, exceeding the previous highest daily minimum record of 23.9°C, recorded in Brighton on 3rd August 1990#heatwave #heatwave2022 pic.twitter.com/kwt1VB07OZ
The UK Met Office – their equivalent of our BoM – has declared the temperatures provisional for now, however this is a standard meteorological practice, and the temps will now be verified.
To put the incredibly warm overnight lows in perspective:
- Sydney's warmest night last summer was 22.7°C.
- Melbourne's warmest night last summer was 21.7°C.
- Even Brisbane, in steamy Queensland, had a highest minimum temp last summer of "just" 25.3°C, which was lower than the minimums in parts of the UK last night.
Meanwhile, as we write this story on Tuesday evening (AEST), the day is warming up drastically again across the UK.
- There's a strong chance of the country's first recorded 40°C day, and the near certainty of the old record maximum of 38.7°C in Cambridge in 2019 being broken.
- London, whose previous highest temperature was 37.8°C, is forecast to reach 39°C.
It's quite likely that we'll soon be reporting that the UK's record maximum temperature has been broken.
But for now, it's all about a night the likes of which Britons have never previously experienced, with the old highest minimum of 23.9°C left in the rear-vision mirror by nearly two degrees.