Why isn’t global warming “just summer”?
In the UK it’s common (and very tiresome) to hear naysayers meet any comment about how hot the climate has got with “Ahh, it’s called summer … remember 1976?!”
And it is true that 1976 was a hot summer – it broke a lot of records at the time and left an imprint on the consciousness of anyone aged 50 or over. Here are the records it set but just look at how many of those records have been broken in recent years:
| Weather Metric | 1976 Record Level | Has It Been Beaten? | When Was It First Beaten? | How Often / By How Much? | Current All-Time Record (as of 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Absolute Peak Temperature | 35.9°C (Cheltenham, July 3) | Yes | 1990 (36.6°C at Cheltenham) | Dozens of times. It has been exceeded in 1990, 2003, 2006, 2015, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2025, and multiple times already in 2026. | 40.3°C (Coningsby, July 2022) |
| Highest June Temperature | 35.6°C (Southampton, June 28) | Yes | June 2026 (36.1°C at Gosport, then 37.7°C) | Twice in the same week. It stood for 50 years until the recent June 2026 heatwave shattered it twice in a matter of days. | 37.7°C (Lingwood, Norfolk, June 26, 2026) |
| Highest June Nighttime Min. | 22.7°C (England overnight) | Yes | June 2026 (23.2°C at Hastings) | Once. Beaten by 0.5°C during the relentless tropical nights of late June 2026. | 23.2°C (Hastings, June 26, 2026) |
| Hottest Days in a Single Year (>34°C) | 7 Days | Yes | July 2026 | Once. 2026 officially hit its 8th day above 34°C this week, pushing past 1976’s total volume of ultra-high heat days. | 8+ Days (Set in 2026, and still counting) |
| Warmest Summer Overall (Mean Temp) | 15.7°C (June–August Average) | Yes | 2003 & 2018 (tied 15.8°C) | 4 times. 1976 was pushed down the leaderboard by 2003, 2018, 2022, and finally overtaken entirely by the record-holder 2025. | 16.1°C (Summer 2025) |
| Consecutive Days >30°C | 16 Days (June 23 – July 8) | No | Unbroken | Never matched. The closest the UK has come since was 10 days in 1995 and August 2020. | 16 Days (1976 Record Maintained) |
| Consecutive Days >32.2°C (90°F) | 15 Days | No | Unbroken | Never matched. This remains 1976’s ultimate crown for unbroken stamina. | 15 Days (1976 Record Maintained) |
| Sunniest Summer on Record | Full seasonal clarity | No | Unbroken | Never beaten. Modern intense heatwaves are often more humid and hazy; 1976 featured unique, cloudless high pressure. | 1976 Record Maintained |
The last 3 rows show the fact that 1976 was unusual in putting nearly ALL of the hot days in one block. If you compare the total number of days that reached those levels the numbers are less dramatic:
| The Unbroken 1976 Record | 1976 Level (Consecutive) | Total Non-Consecutive Days in 1976 (Full Year) | How Modern Years Compare (Total Cumulative Volume) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Days Over 30°C | 16 days in a row (June 23 – July 8) | ~22 days total | * 1995: Accumulated 23 days over 30°C across July and August. * 2003: Logged 22 days over 30°C spread between June and August. * 2006: Recorded 24 days over 30°C across a hot June and record July. * 2026 (So far): Has already logged ~19 days across May, June, and early July, easily pacing to destroy the 1976 cumulative total. |
| Days Over 32.2°C (90°F) | 15 days in a row (June 23 – July 7) | ~16 days total | * 2018: Saw a total of 12 days top 32.2°C, but they were broken up by cooler oceanic air breaks. * 2022: Only had 8 days hit this mark, but they included the ultra-intense 40°C spike. * 2026 (So far): Has already seen 11 days peak above 32.2°C, coming very close to the total volume despite lacking the single 15-day continuous streak. |
| Sunniest Summer on Record | N/A (Continuous high pressure) | 669 Hours of bright sunshine | * 1995: Reached 642 hours of sunshine, falling just short. * 2018: Logged 614 hours, characterized by highly clear skies in June and July. * 2022: Racked up 602 hours. * Note: Modern hot summers are often more humid, plumes of air from the south bringing more cloud and thunderstorm activity than the purely dry, stagnant “blocking high” of 1976. |
Furthermore it’s more interesting to see how 1976 sat in a world perspective because most Brits just don’t realise that it was actually a very localised phenomenon. The following image is the world temperatures showing hot-spots where the temperature was above the 1951-1980 average:
Then compare to June in 2022 showing hot-spots above the 1951-1980 average:
This should really scare you because 2022 really is how it has been in most recent years. This is the new normal and it isn’t “just summer”.
