The UK experienced its highest-ever summer time temperature of 39.1C on Tuesday, according to the Met Office, as a heatwave gripped the country and caused widespread travel disruption.
The provisional recording at Charlwood, in Surrey, eclipsed the previous all-time high of 38.7C, set in Cambridge in 2019. Forecasters have warned that temperatures are expected to exceed 40C later in the day.
The record was set after transport secretary Grant Shapps warned that it could take “decades” to make Britain’s transport system more resilient to extreme heatwaves.
The railways across England ran significantly reduced services on Tuesday, with cancellations on lines running north of London as extreme heat overwhelmed infrastructure designed for a maximum temperature of 35C.
The Met Office also said the country had probably experienced its warmest-ever night on Monday, with temperatures as high as 25C in some areas, which beat the previous record set in 1990 of 23.9C.
Bob Ward,…