At least 11 people have died in a wildfire in southern Spain, with early indications suggesting four of the victims are British, according to a local official 😥 Heatwaves across Europe have dried out vast areas of land and made them particularly vulnerable to wildfires. "The fire danger remains at very high or extreme levels in much of the country," Spain's meteorological agency says, urging people to "take extra precautions". In June, Spain reached its highest daily average since 1950, and had days where it recorded its highest ever temperatures for that month. Temperatures as high as 42C (107.6F) were forecast in some parts of the country. Climate change is driving up temperatures around the world, and Europe is the fastest warming continent, heating up twice as fast as the global average, according to the Copernicus climate service. This is causing increased summer heatwaves, greater pressure on Europe's water supply, and more intense wildfires. A wildfire in southern France has also forced thousands of people to evacuate as the country faces an early summer heatwave. The fires have also affected Spain where more than 2,200 hectares in the natural reserve of Les Gavarres in the north of the country have been destroyed. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cx2vz8lyql1t

Here are the CET (Central England Temperature) anomalies for the first 6 months of the year, compared to 1991-2020. Incredible 🥵

Charlwood in Surrey has just registered a new high for June. The thermometer has hit 35.7 degC, beating the old record (35.6) which was set in 1976.

Here’s an interesting one. This huge crepuscular ray was observed at sunset on Lomas de Cabo Roig, Orihuela Costa last night (13/6/2026).

The Met Office are now forecasting very high temperatures for Tue-Thu next week (23rd-25th). They peak on Wednesday at 38 degC in London. Bearing in mind that the record for June is 35.6 degC on 28th June 1976, this will be absolutely obliterated on all three days. The current records for the three days are: 23rd June 32.2 degC in 1976 and 2005 24th June 32.6 degC in 2020 25th June 33.5 degC in 1976 The earliest that 37.0 degC has been breached previously is on 18th July (in 2022). 37.0 degC has only been exceeded 5 times: on 18th & 19th July 2022, 31st July 2020, 3rd August 1990 and 10th August 2003. This is the second month in a row when previous maximum records have been blown away. This is not normal. The climate is becoming more and more extreme. 😳