4 July 2023 – The Met Office has confirmed that we had the hottest June on record. And while some people might have enjoyed the warmer weather, these record temperatures have caused the death of fish in our rivers and impacted on insects and plants.
This June was the hottest since records began, the Met Office has confirmed, with average monthly temperatures of 15.8°C. This makes this June 0.9°C warmer than the previous recorded highest temperatures back in 1940 and 1976.
The scientists have also said that climate change is likely to be responsible for these record temperatures in June. The warmer weather might have pleased many people, but it was responsible for an unprecedented amount of dead fish in our rivers.
Plants and insects have also suffered from these high temperatures, environmental groups have said.
Record Temperatures Overall As Well As Minimum And Maximum
The Met Office has said that the average temperature this June was 0.9% higher than the previous record highs, which the UK experienced in 1940 and 1976. But also the average maximum and minimum temperatures were higher than ever before.
The highest temperature reached this June was 32.2°C. While this is below the record temperatures we have seen last summer, when temperatures reached 40.3°C, there was a difference this June.
Last summer, there were short periods of time, when the temperatures were higher than normal, which created heatwaves. But this June, we have experienced a persistent warmth that lasted most of the month.
Temperatures stayed mostly in the 20s for most parts of the country, and sometimes even reached low 30s.
While the UK overall has seen higher than normal temperatures, the west was hotter than the east, where clouds kept temperatures down.
But June wasn’t just the hottest on record, it was also drier, with only 68% of monthly rainfall. Wales was especially dry, only getting just over half of the rainfall they normally have in June.
The Met Office made it clear that these record-breaking temperatures were caused by climate change.
Alongside natural variability, the background warming of the Earth’s atmosphere due to human-induced climate change has driven up the possibility of reaching record-high temperatures.
Paul Davies, Chief Meteorologist at the Met Office
Because the world has warmed by around 1.1°C since the industrial revolution, such weather events, including record temperatures, droughts and floods, are more likely.
It also means that unless we can stop climate change, these extreme weather events will get worse.
Fish Died And Insects and Plants Under Threat
The high temperatures have a profound impact on our environment and wildlife. There were reports of unprecedented numbers of dead fish in our rivers, according to the Environment Agency.
The hot weather caused water levels to decline, which means there is less oxygen in the rivers. This causes fish to die. Other factors can also cause mass fish deaths, such as pollution and disease.
Normally it’s later in the summer that the heat causes fish in our rivers to die. But due to the record high temperatures in June, this happened earlier than expected this year.
Plants and insects were also affected by the high temperatures in June. Flowering plants, such as orchids, wilted, leaving bees, butterflies and other insects with less food available.
Especially insects that have a short lifespan as adults, such as many butterflies, have felt the impact of the hottest June on record. They only have a short period of time to mate and produce the next generation.
If their food, the flowers, disappear due to the hot weather, they will produce less young, stunting the population growth. The decline in many insect populations is already a big concern.
One big problem for our plants and wildlife is that it seems that record breaking weather events become more frequent. Almost every month some record is broken. This can have a profound impact on fragile ecosystems, because the environment doesn’t have a chance to recover from one event before the next one occurs.
Every month seems to be the hottest, the driest, the wettest, or whichever record-breaking event it is. If we have a one-off pollution event or a wildfire, then there is normally time for nature to bounce back, but now it seems to be continually pounded by extreme weather.
Ali Morse, Wildlife Trusts
Ms Morse said that there are things that people can do to help out nature in these difficult times. Putting out a dish of water in the garden will help insects and mammals, such as hedgehogs, to stay hydrated in dry and hot periods.
Another little thing she suggests, is to refrain from cutting the grass in hot temperatures. Longer grass can better survive in hot weather than short grass. It also gives many species a place to live.
So next time we get hot, dry weather, even if not record temperatures, let your lawn, or small areas of it grow taller to help wildlife.
