Empty reservoirs, ladybirds and sunstroke: remembering the UK heatwave of 1976

Britain just broke its hottest June temperature record. On June twenty-sixth, Lingwood in Norfolk hit thirty-seven point seven degrees Celsius—beating the previous June high of thirty-five point six degrees from nineteen seventy-six by more than two degrees. The heat also exceeded temperatures recorded in nineteen fifty-seven. According to The Guardian, the new record is reviving memories of that iconic nineteen seventies heatwave, when drought-stricken reservoirs and widespread sunstroke defined summer for the British public.

Listen to this story

Hear this and more stories in a personalized audio briefing.

Open The Chonkerton