How does 2025 heatwave compare to record-breaking summer of 1976?

How does 2025 heatwave compare to record-breaking summer of 1976? Credit: The Independent / PA / Getty

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00:00Much of England is now in day five of a blistering heat wave, and today is expected to be hotter

00:06than holiday destinations like Barbados, Jamaica and Mexico. A heat wave is officially declared

00:13when temperatures reach specific thresholds for three consecutive days, ranging from 25 to 28

00:19degrees depending on the region. On Sunday, parts of the southeast recorded highs of 31 degrees

00:25Celsius and Monday saw central and eastern England reach 34 degrees. And the heat is still rising.

00:32The Met Office says temperatures could reach 35 degrees today in London and across the southeast,

00:38making it the hottest day of the year so far and just below the UK's all-time June record from 1976.

00:451976 remains the summer all others are measured against. It was the hottest in over 350 years.

00:53That heat wave stretched over 15 days, with temperatures topping 32 degrees

00:58somewhere in England every single day. That summer remains the standard for extreme heat.

01:04Now, in 2025, records are being broken again. This March was Europe's hottest ever,

01:09while temperatures at Wimbledon this year have already surpassed the previous opening day record

01:14set in June 2021. As our climate continues to warm, once-rear weather events are now becoming

01:21a regular feature of early summer. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned extreme heat is no longer

01:28a rare event. It has become the new normal.