The 1976 heatwave might have been surpassed several times over but its ability to capture the public’s imagination is legendary.
‘Thirsty, burning Britons carry on regardless,’ thundered the Daily Mail on June 29 1976 as the temperature hit 96 in old money (35.5C today).
It saw temperatures above 32C for 16 consecutive days – the hottest day being on July 3, where there was a peak of 35.9C in Cheltenham – and it came amidst the most severe drought in British history.
Those records have, of course, long been smashed: 1976 is now only the sixth-warmest summer on record, and temperature records for
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