The 2018 Britain and Ireland heatwave was a period of unusually hot weather that took place in June, July and August. It caused widespread drought, hosepipe bans, crop failures, and a number of wildfires. These wildfires worst affected northern moorland areas around the Greater Manchester region, the largest was at Saddleworth Moor and another was at Winter Hill, together these burned over 14 square miles (36km2) of land over a period of nearly a month.[3][4]
Spring started with record cold in early March with the 2018 Great Britain and Ireland cold wave. There were three spells of summer heat afterwards, starting in mid-April. The April 2018 heatwave began on 18 and 19 April. St James's Park in London recorded the country's hottest April day in nearly 70 years when temperatures reached 28.1°C (82.6°F).[6] The unseasonably hot weather lasted for four days. On 22 April, the hottest London Marathon ever was recorded, with the temperature reaching 24.3°C (75.7°F). No national records were broken, but many places set local record high temperatures for April.[7]
After a cooler period from the end of April, temperatures started to rise again during early May. The May Day bank holiday was the hottest on record, with west London recording 28.9°C (84.0°F). A few days later, temperatures began to fall, but were still above average.[8] Temperatures began to rise even higher towards the end of May. It sparked violent thunderstorms leading to flash flooding, giving some parts of the country their first measurable precipitation during May. On 27 May, 81 millimetres (3.2in) of torrential rain fell at Winterbourne, West Midlands, causing a flash flood. The majority of the country was hot and sunny.[9] May 2018 was one of the warmest and sunniest on record in the UK.[10]
Before the heat wave, anticyclonic conditions prevailed across the UK. May and early June had been much warmer and drier than average, the latter being the driest since 1925[11] due to a persistently strong Azores High. This high-pressure block prevented Atlantic low-pressure weather systems from reaching the British Isles.[12]
This temperature rise was part of a heat wave that spanned the entire Northern Hemisphere. The heat wave had seen the hottest night ever recorded on Earth in Oman, with the lowest temperature recorded at 42.6°C (108.7°F), and the deaths of at least 33 people in Canada.[14][15]
Temperatures across Ireland's midwest region rose above 30°C (86°F) for five consecutive days in late June, with Shannon Airport recording a peak temperature of 32°C (90°F) on 28 June.[16]
Wildfires began to break out across England. The two largest fires broke out at Saddleworth Moor on 25 June, and at Winter Hill on 28 June, the former being England's largest in living memory.[3][17][18] As of September 2018, arrests were made on the charge of arson, yet the cause of these fires was undetermined.[17] However, the factor that allowed the fires to establish was the persistently hot and breezy weather conditions. This dried out vegetation and the underlying peat, allowing it to easily burn.[19]
On 2 July, forecasters predicted that high pressure would continue over the UK and that the heat wave could continue for another two weeks.[20] On 5 July, a weak weather front arrived from the west, but was mostly halted over Ireland and the Irish Sea. This caused some scattered showers over the Pennines, and a thunderstorm that caused flash floods in Tunbridge Wells.[21] The weather also affected roads nationwide, and gritters were mobilised due to the asphalt concrete softening under the extreme heat. In Heaton, Newcastle, a man sank into a melted road and required a rescue from firefighters,[22] and a bin lorry sank into a road in Newbury, Berkshire.[23]
On 10 July, a weak cold front crossed Britain from north to south, bringing low cloud levels and scattered showers. However, this cool air was quickly heated by the sun the next day, increasing temperatures yet again. The Met Office announced that the highest temperature on 23 July was 32.5°C (90.5°F), recorded at Santon Downham in Suffolk.[24]
Total drought conditions were recorded at 21 of Met Éireann's weather stations in Ireland between 22 May and 14 July, with partial droughts and periods of unusually dry conditions recorded at 15 other locations. [25]
June and July saw many places in the Republic of Ireland receive well below average rainfall. Gurteen in Galway received just 35% of its expected rainfall, while Dublin received just 28% of its expected precipitation.[26]
Effects on the economy
The long period of dry warm weather, although with unpleasant levels of humidity, strongly boosted the domestic tourism trade during this period. The official Visit Britain body forecast the number of international visitors to the UK would increase by around 15% from the USA alone, as the effect of the worldwide Royal Wedding publicity fed through into fine summer weather and late holiday bookings.[27] Hotels in competing Mediterranean resorts, such as Ibiza, were forced to slash their prices as demand from British and Irish tourists declined sharply as people decided to holiday across Britain and Ireland.[28] Remoter resorts and destinations benefited from visitors' attempts to escape the domestic crowds, and rural Ireland reported a dramatic increase in tourism with an average of 70% occupancy rates at smaller establishments.[29]
Many companies concerned with outdoor activities reported the usual boost in sales that comes from a good summer, and estate agents reported that the warm dry summer was also helping their industry. Fresh produce growers such as the soft fruit sector were largely unaffected by the lack of rain, with British Summer Fruits chairman Nick Marsto telling Horticulture Week trade magazine that the... "soft-fruit sector has largely avoided any adverse effects.[30]
Health effects
The heatwave added to pressure on the NHS, on A&E departments and elsewhere. Shadow Health SecretaryJon Ashworth said, "I am very worried about the impact on the NHS of this summer. We know that this hot weather, (...) affects very elderly, vulnerable people. We know that asthma sufferers suffer particularly badly in the weather. [Ashworth mentioned his first hand experiences shadowing a hospital consultant] with lots of elderly vulnerable people being admitted to A&E, lying on trolleys because there's no beds in the hospital".
There were fears of over 1,000 excess deaths during the heat wave. The Environmental Audit Committee of MP's reported fears 7,000 heat-related UK deaths annually by 2050 unless the government acts promptly. Chair of the committee, Mary Creagh said, "The government must stop playing pass the parcel with local councils and the NHS and develop a strategy to protect our ageing population from this increasing risk". At risk, groups include elderly people, small children and people with heart and/or lung conditions. There were calls for government regulations to protect an ageing population from the effects of heat, effects include increased risk of death.[31][32][33][34]
During the 2003 European heat wave in some areas of the UK there were 42% increased deaths in nursing homes and the MP's wanted hospitals and care homes to be inspected to find out if they could cope with extreme heat. The TUC and others called for regulations about maximum workplace temperatures. Frances O'Grady of the TUC stated, "With heatwaves becoming more common, we need clear and sensible rules to protect working people. We've had legal minimum temperatures at work for a long time, which work very well. The government must now act quickly on the recommendation by MPs for maximum limits on how hot workplaces can get".[31][32][33][34]
Dress codes for work and school uniform policy should be relaxed during heatwaves to improve work productivity and school learning. Ministers withdrew money for climate change adaptation officers in local authorities. Lack of "joined-up thinking" between government departments and lack of communication between the government and the public added to the death toll. Heatwave alerts are put out only if temperatures are over 30°C, but heat-related deaths start at 25 degrees.[31][32][33][34] There were excess deaths during the 2018 heat wave but the cause is not yet known.[35]
On 5 July in the Republic of Ireland a state of absolute drought was declared because there had been no rainfall at 96% of its weather stations in the previous two weeks.[37]
On 6 July, a hosepipe ban was put in place across Greater Dublin initially for six weeks, however the ban was extended to include the rest of the country. The ban then remained in place until September.[38] On 19 July, the Northern Ireland ban was lifted.[39]
The heat wave affected many crops, and there was concern for the wheat and barley harvests. Cases included wheat dying of drought before it could set seed, and withering of grass intended for livestock grazing, so that dairy cattle had to be grazed on land intended to grow hay or silage for winter feed for the cows.[41] By July, president of the National Farmers Union Guy Smith described the crops as "being parched to the bone". Smith further discussed the risk posed by depleted reservoirs that would normally be used for irrigation, and stated that there was a potential risk to vegetable production should the weather continue.[42]
Sporting events
A number of sporting events experienced unusual conditions as a result of the heatwave. The 2018 Open Championship which was held from 19–22 July at Carnoustie, Scotland was played with unusually brown, dry and sunbaked fairways and brown rough.[43] The India cricket team toured England during the heat wave, with their tour match against Essex being reduced from four days to three because of the high temperatures.[44]
Archaeological discoveries
The dry weather caused patterns of vegetation to be revealed, indicative of Roman and pre-Roman settlements.[45] Drainage ditches that had surrounded Iron Agehillforts and Roman settlements became filled in once those settlements were no longer in use, meaning they have a deeper quantity of topsoil and, thus, retain moisture for plants for longer.[45] The use of aerial images to identify archæological sites through cropmarks has been a methodology employed by archaeologists for decades.[46] The National Monuments Service of the Irish Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht said that the increased use of aerial drone photography and the exceptional dry weather was leading to some remarkable discoveries.[46]
Dry fields around Chippenham, Wiltshire, in July 2018
The drought conditions were not as bad as the mid 1970s drought.[47][48] June was notably dry, especially after a very dry May. The worst affected regions were England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland also had below average rainfall, but this was unexceptional. Some places had no rain at all.[49]
Temperature
The Met Office considers the summer of 2018 to be tied with 1976, 2003 and 2006 as the hottest summer on record for the United Kingdom as a whole, with average temperatures of 15.8°C (60.4°F). In England, average temperatures for the summer were the highest on record at 17.2°C (63.0°F), narrowly ahead of the 17.0°C (62.6°F) average in 1976.[50] However, in the CET records (Central England Temperature records that go back to 1659), 2018 comes in 5th behind 2003, 1995, 1826 and 1976.[51]
June
In Wales and Northern Ireland, June 2018 was the warmest June ever recorded and in England and Scotland, June 2018 ranks within the five warmest on record.[49] In the Central England region, the CET is a long running temperature series, with records back to 1659. 2018's temperature was 16.1°C (61.0°F), meaning it ranks as the 18th warmest June recorded in England in the past 359 years, also being the warmest since 1976.[52]
July
July 2018 was again, a very hot month, with the Central England Temperature showing that July 2018 is the fourth-hottest month recorded since 1659.[53][54] It also was 138% more sunny than average being the 6th sunniest July since 1929.[1]
The United Kingdom straddles the higher mid-latitudes between 49° and 61°N on the western seaboard of Europe. Since the UK is always in or close to the path of the polar front jet stream, frequent changes in pressure and unsettled weather are typical. Many types of weather can be experienced in a single day.
The 2003 European heat wave saw the hottest summer recorded in Europe since at least 1540. France was hit especially hard. The heat wave led to health crises in several countries and combined with drought to create a crop shortfall in parts of Southern Europe. The death toll has been estimated at more than 70,000.
A period of unusually hot summer weather occurred in the British Isles during the summer of 1976. At the same time, there was a severe drought on the islands of Great Britain and Ireland. It was one of the driest, sunniest and warmest summers (June/July/August) in the 20th century, although the summer of 1995 is now regarded as the driest. Only a few places registered more than half their average summer rainfall. In the Central England temperature record, it was the warmest summer in the series until being surpassed in the 21st century. It was the warmest summer in the Aberdeen area since at least 1864, and the driest summer since 1868 in Glasgow.
The 2006 European heat wave was a period of exceptionally hot weather that arrived at the end of June 2006 in certain European countries. The United Kingdom, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Italy, Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Germany and western parts of Russia were most affected.
The British Isles are an archipelago off the northwest coast of Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain and Ireland along with smaller surrounding ones. Its position allows dry continental air from Eurasia to meet wetter air from the Atlantic Ocean, which causes the weather to be highly variable, often changing many times during the day. It is defined as a temperate oceanic climate, or Cfb on the Köppen climate classification system. It is significantly warmer than other regions on the same latitude, previously thought to be due to the warmth provided by the Gulf Stream; however, this has been disproven, and most of the mild temperatures have been linked to the Rocky Mountains and the heat storing capabilities of the North Atlantic Ocean. Temperatures do not often switch between great extremes, with warm summers and mild winters.
Droughts are a relatively common feature of the weather in the United Kingdom, with one around every 5–10 years on average. These droughts are usually during the summer, when a blocking high causes hot, dry weather for an extended period. However this means that droughts can vary in their characteristics. All types of drought cause issues across all sectors, with impacts extending to the ecosystem, agriculture and the economy of the whole country in severe cases of drought. The south east of the country usually suffers most, as it has the highest population and the lowest average precipitation per year, which is even lower in a drought. Even in these areas in severe droughts, the definition, impacts, effects and management are all minimal in comparison to drought prone areas such as Australia and parts of the United States. In recent years however, the summers of 2007, 2008, 2009, August 2010 and 2012 were wetter than normal, 2007 being wettest on record. Droughts have continued to occur in recent times, with spring 2011, July 2013, summer 2018, spring 2020, spring and summer 2022 and May and June 2023 all featuring excessively dry periods for part or all of the UK, and will likely become more severe due to climate change over the 21st century.
The United Kingdom heatwave of 1911 was a particularly severe heatwave and associated drought. Records were set around the country for temperature in England, including the highest accepted temperature, at the time, of 36.7 °C (98.1 °F), only broken 79 years later in the 1990 heatwave, which reached 37.1 °C (98.8 °F). A temperature of 100 °F (38 °C) was recorded at Greenwich in a Glaisher stand and was regarded as the record but further data from a Stevenson screen in the same location showed the temperature to be 96.6 °F (35.9 °C). The highest ever accepted temperature is currently 40.3 °C (104.5 °F) recorded on 19th July 2022 on a Royal Air Force station in Coningsby, Lincolnshire. Weather in Northern Europe was also affected around about this time.
The 1906 British Isles heatwave occurred across the British Isles in August and September 1906. The heat wave had a comparable intensity to the 1990 heat wave. From 31 August to 3 September, the temperature in the UK exceeded 32 °C (90 °F) consecutively over much of the UK. In September, Central England and Birmingham recorded a maximum temperature of 31.5 °C (88.7 °F), while Oxford recorded a maximum temperature of 33.1 °C (91.6 °F).
The 2010 Northern Hemisphere summer heat waves included severe heat waves that impacted most of the United States, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, China, Hong Kong, North Africa and the European continent as a whole, along with parts of Canada, Russia, Indochina, South Korea and Japan during July 29, 2010. The first phase of the global heatwaves was caused by a moderate El Niño event, which lasted from June 2009 to May 2010. This lasted only from April 2010 to June 2010 and caused only moderate above-average temperatures in the affected regions, but it also set new record high temperatures for most of the area affected in the Northern Hemisphere.
The 2013 heatwave in the United Kingdom and Ireland was a period of unusually hot weather primarily in July 2013, with isolated warm days in June and August. A prolonged high pressure system over Great Britain and Ireland caused higher than average temperatures for 19 consecutive days in July, reaching 33.5 °C (92.3 °F) at Heathrow and Northolt.
The 1995 British Isles heatwave occurred between late July and late August. It was part of one of the warmest summers recorded in the UK, and one of the warmest Augusts ever recorded in many locations around the UK, as well as being one of the driest summers ever recorded in the UK; many weather stations recorded the summer of 1995 as drier than, or comparable with, the summer of 1976. Ireland was also widely affected by the heatwave with temperatures reaching over 30 °C (86 °F) in some locations, as well as exceptionally low rainfall throughout the summer.
The 2018 European drought and heat wave was a period of unusually hot weather that led to record-breaking temperatures and wildfires in many parts of Europe during the spring and summer of 2018. It is part of a larger heat wave affecting the northern hemisphere, caused in part by the jet stream being weaker than usual, allowing hot high-pressure air to linger in the same place. According to the European Drought Observatory, most of the areas affected by drought are across northern and central Europe. According to the World Meteorological Organization, the severe heat waves across the northern hemisphere in the summer of 2018, are linked to climate change in Europe, as well as events of extreme precipitation.
The 1808 United Kingdom heat wave was a period of exceptionally high temperatures during July 1808. In the Central England Temperature series, dating back to 1659, at the time it was the 2nd hottest July on record, the hottest since 1783. As of 2022, it is the 9th hottest July on record. The month included some of the highest temperatures ever recorded in the UK. Temperature records from this time are likely dubious as the Stevenson screen was not introduced until the 1860s.
In late June and late July 2019 there were two temporally distinct European heat waves, which set all-time high temperature records in Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.
The 2021 Britain and Ireland heat wave was a period of unusually hot weather in July 2021 that led to record-breaking temperatures in the UK and Ireland.
In 2022, several areas of the world experienced heat waves. Heat waves were especially notable in East Asia, the Indian subcontinent, Australia, western Europe, the United States, and southern South America. 2022 heat waves accounted for record-breaking temperatures and, in some regions, heat-related deaths. Heat waves were worsened by the effects of climate change, and they exacerbated droughts and wildfires.
The 2022 United Kingdom heatwaves were part of several heatwaves across Europe and North Africa. The United Kingdom experienced three heatwaves; the first was for three days in June, the second for three days in July, and the third for six days in August. These were periods of unusually hot weather caused by rising high pressure up from the European continent. There were also more grass fires and wildfires than average, and in August a drought was declared in many regions.
From June to August 2022, persistent heatwaves affected parts of Europe, causing evacuations and killing tens of thousands. These heat waves were the deadliest meteorological events in 2022. The highest temperature recorded was 47.0 °C (116.6 °F) in Pinhão, Portugal, on 14 July.
During the summer of 2022, parts of Europe experienced drought conditions exacerbated by heat waves. This was preceded by a warm and dry spring. On 9 August, a senior European Commission researcher said that it seemed to be Europe's worst year in 500 years. A report from the Global Drought Observatory has confirmed this. The drought had serious consequences for hydropower generation and the cooling systems of nuclear power plants, as the drought reduced the amount of river water available for cooling. Agriculture in Europe was also negatively affected by the drought. Scientists found that while precipitation deficits primarily caused the lack of water in the soil, human-induced global warming contributed to over 30% of the drought intensity and its spatial extent via enhanced evaporation.
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