Europe heatwave live: UK breaks temperature record for June as parts of France hit 40C – as it happened

<p>West Sussex reports temperature of 35.8C, beating previous record from 1976; red weather alert extended to 72 of France’s 96 mainland departments</p><p>Grahame Madge, a Met Office spokesperson, said the agency is forecasting <strong>39C as a headline maximum temperature on Thursday</strong> in the UK, most likely for somewhere in London or the south-east.</p><p>“It is possible we could see temperatures higher than the 39C if the final values are at the upper end of our narrow range,” he said, according to the Press Association.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2026/jun/24/europe-heatwave-live-news-updates-uk-record-breaking-temperatures-italy-red-alert">Continue reading...</a>