More days above 30C this summer than in 1976, Reading Uni finds

More days have reached at least 30C this summer than in 1976, previously the benchmark for hot summers, meteorologists have said.

Reading University’s Atmospheric Observatory said 15 days this year have hit highs of 30C compared to the 14 days it recorded 50 years ago.

It said five of this year’s 15 days were in the top 20 highest temperatures ever recorded at the university since it started collecting data in 1908.

Prof Andrew Charlton-Perez, from the university, said: “For half a century, 1976 was the benchmark every hot summer got measured against. Now 2026 has taken its place.”

He said the “continuous extreme heat shows our climate is shifting, not just having a warm spell.”

“Summers this hot and dry used to be rare, once-in-a-generation events. Now they will be far more frequent, and that brings real dangers for public health that we cannot afford to ignore.”

More than 2,700 people may have died from heat-related causes in England and Wales during the exceptionally hot weather in May and June, experts’ estimates suggest.