UK Breaks All-Time Temperature Record, with 39.1C Reading

Britain on Tuesday broke its all-time temperature record, provisionally hitting 39.1 degrees Celsius (102.4 degrees Fahrenheit) at Charlwood, in Surrey southwest of London, the country's meteorological agency, the Met Office, said.

The new record, set in the shadow of Gatwick airport, easily tops the previous national record of 38.7C registered in Cambridge in eastern England in 2019 and comes amid a fierce heatwave sweeping northwest Europe.

The sweltering weather has disrupted travel, health care, and schools. Many homes, small businesses, and even public buildings, including hospitals, in Britain, don’t have air conditioning, a reflection of how unusual such heat is in the country better known for rain and mild temperatures.