Scorched earth
How the heat and lack of rain has transformed the landscape
This summer’s searing temperatures have built on last year’s warming trend. After the Met Office issued its first Amber extreme heat warning in July last year, this year it issued its first-ever Red extreme heat warning. Temperatures nudging – and sometimes exceeding – 40 C (104F) have scorched attractions such as Lulworth Cove, Hyde Park, the Scott Monument, Ely Cathedral, Warwick Castle and Stonehenge, replacing a palette of lush greens with the yellow and browns of parched African savannah. July’s 46.3mm of rain was 56 per cent of the month’s average precipitation, marking it out as the driest July since 1999 when 46.1mm of rain fell.