Yup, as I said - too hot to be outdoors [unless you're a lizard/tourist/a bit mad/sun-addled/one of those people who can't stand aircon at 21C as it's "cold" - forgot that part].

I, meanwhile, was in the garden to start with and then retreated indoors. First to the games room / posh shed (which being in the shade stays cooler for longer), then in the house (where it stayed below 25C until, oh, midday or so). There was the unusual sight, though, of cars in a traffic jam crawling past the end of my road... I was glad I didn't go anywhere.

Incidentally, for me at least, the areas you mention are at their best on a cold, sunny winter's day. They're also pretty much deserted, which is much more pleasurable than doing the "penguin walk" because there are so many people!

The irony is of course that the very aircon you use in order to keep cool will contribute to global warming and make it even hotter in the future, so you'll need even more aircon which will make it hotter still........ But I'll stop right there :)

Manchester Summer Indices 

1954 143
1907 147
1956 155
1912 156
1924 158
2012 164
2008 168
1987 169
1946 170
1909 171
1931 173
1978 173
1980 173
1920 174
1923 174
2007 174
1927 175
1948 176
1938 177
1922 178
2011 179
1985 180
1958 184
1972 185
1916 188
1986 189
1965 189
2016 189
1910 190
1936 190
1988 191
2010 191
1966 192
1998 192
2017 192
1953 193
1963 194
1993 194
2009 194
1902 195
1915 196
1981 196
1928 197
1962 197
1964 197
2004 197
1952 198
2000 198
1930 199
1974 199
1979 199
2019 199 (up to 26th August) 

Right now I would give my molten left nipple for a sub 10 c night. Last night I found myself sleeping on the foot end of my bed so that I can be nearer to the window and was on top of the blanket as overnight temps didn't fall any lower than 19.3 c at 6.30 am.

The good news is that tonight should be the last truly sticky night for a while - possibly for this year but I still won't be breaking out the high tog duvet just yet.

I do, at least, have a 100% renewable electricty tariff - every little helps! For every unit I use, they gaurantee a renewable unit is put into the grid (as of course at any given time the electricity on the grid is from a mixture of sources). And by gum I need that aircon - it was 31.7C upstairs half an hour ago and not much cooler outside.

It's fascinating, though, as back in the 80s a day reaching 30 would have been headline news (and being near the coast here, it seldom got close to it). These days 30 is commonplace and 35 seems to be the new 30!

At least today should be the end of it, for this year at least. A steamy night to come, and not due to anything dodgy!

Ohhh... sub 10C, with that slight "nip in the air" feeling... leading to wrapping oneself in a snuggly duvet. Gorgeous and a million times better than the crud we're enduring at the moment.

The only good thing of this is that the heat fans at work were moaning today about it being too hot to sleep properly! I could barely surpress my grin as I uttered the time-honoured words, "but I thought you liked the heat?"

(And a note to those "up north", who rarely get this sort of sustained heat: no matter how good you think it sounds, it really isn't. I daresay the same would be true of endless snow in winter, but I guess if you rarely get something you crave it. Snow in my case, heat for others - albeit down here there's always plenty every year!)

EDIT: And my thought this morning turned out correct - yet again a ninja-increase in the max, reflecting a pretty woeful performance by UKV.

It has been particularly oppressive today IMO as I mentioned in another thread. Therefore I am close to agreeing with you even though I enjoy hot weather.

Today was more humid and very still so it felt more oppressive.

Manchester Summer Indices 

1954 143
1907 147
1956 155
1912 156
1924 158
2012 164
2008 168
1987 169
1946 170
1909 171
1931 173
1978 173
1980 173
1920 174
1923 174
2007 174
1927 175
1948 176
1938 177
1922 178
2011 179
1985 180
1958 184
1972 185
1916 188
1986 189
1965 189
2016 189
1910 190
1936 190
1988 191
2010 191
1966 192
1998 192
2017 192
1953 193
1963 194
1993 194
2009 194
1902 195
1915 196
1981 196
1928 197
1962 197
1964 197
2004 197
1952 198
2000 198
1930 199
1974 199
1979 199
1918 200
1944 200
2002 200
2019 200 (up to 27th August)
1951 201 

Despite the recent warm and sunny weather , haven't seen as many wasps as I would expect at this time of year

Looking at Kev's summer index, I don't remember 2002 being a good summer. Perhaps it was better up north? 

I'm the opposite. I've seen loads this August!

In terms of weather, normal service for this summer is resumed today. Dull, wet and miserable

As the temperature & humidity drop away with a freshening breeze and the sun gone behind cloud . . .

The Met Office (CEDA) now have daily rainfall data going back to 1891 (was 1961) in 1km grid squares along with monthly and seasonal sunshine totals and average maximum temperatures going back to 1929 and 1884 respectively. Sunshine data for London after 1900 is available elsewhere so it is possible to use the exact same formula that Kevin uses to get a London version of the Manchester Index going back to 1900 (including the rain days for a 0.2mm or more threshold)

Year    London_Index
1912    195
1956    203
1954    204
1927    207
1922    211
1910    211
1968    213
1946    216
1916    216
1920    217
1965    218
1909    218
1902    218
1931    219
1907    220
1958    221
1987    222
1977    223
1948    226
1963    226
1985    227
1988    227
1936    229
1944    229
1924    230
1903    231
1978    232
2012    233
1980    233
2007    234
1960    235
1913    236
1982    239
1971    240
1945    240
1939    241
1953    241
1979    242
2008    242
1974    243
1915    244
1992    246
1972    247
1918    247
1917    247
2011    248
1966    248
1926    248
1962    249
1919    250
1998    251
1943    251
1905    251
1981    252
1986    252
1942    255
1930    255
1941    256
1914    256
1991    256
1938    256
1957    257
2019    258 ===> up to 27 Aug 2019
1964    259
2009    259
2002    262
2000    263
1997    263
2016    265
1950    266
1908    267
1961    268
1951    269
1932    269
1925    269
2015    269
1928    270
1923    270
1937    270
1993    271
1970    272
2010    273
1969    275
2017    276
1929    277
1900    278
1952    279
1967    281
1999    282
2004    283
1947    285
1973    288
2014    289
1935    290
1940    290
1934    290
2005    293
1955    293
1904    293
2001    295
1901    296
1984    300
2013    301
1990    301
1994    304
1906    305
1996    306
1921    308
2006    312
1959    314
2003    314
1933    314
1983    316
1975    316
1949    316
1989    330
2018    333
1911    335
1995    336
1976    362

The generally higher maxima down here mean the "average" values are a fair bit higher than for Manchester

Normal service has returned here in Edinburgh as well, but not because we're getting any rain.

In fact, part of the reason why normal service has been resumed here is because we're not getting any rain here even though the vast majority of the UK has been getting some rain during today at some point in time.

In other words, Edinburgh has returned to its more typical status of being the most boring part of the UK when it comes to our weather with all of the more interesting weather occurring elsewhere.

For here, we're getting very little rain, but lots of cloud and very little sunshine and it can't really get any more boring than that.

I'm glad it didn't rain in Edinburgh yesterday as I was there with work and just as I had finished the sun came out and I was able to enjoy a good walk before I had to head back on the train. Aberdeen missed out on the rain as well and was also mostly cloudy with 4.9 hours sun.

Edinburgh has had plenty of thunderstorms this summer and exceeded 31C. A sharp contrast to the utter tedium endured here. I can never remember anything so relentlessly unsettled yet added up to so little. Just dire drizzle and light rain showers almost every day. About the only part of the country not to record a single noteworthy high temperature the entire year when even Baltasound managed an exceptional (for their location) 23.4C in July.

I doubt there has been anywhere else in the country that has had to suffer the relentless bland and unextreme tripe that we've been served up for the last six years. Constantly missing out on anything exciting or interesting even the snow that we always used to get. Life in a weather vaccuum is what it feels like 

Utter garbage up here like nearly all summers in the last 20 years. 

Spent a few days in SE England either side of a holiday in Slovenia and the weather was crap there as well. Friday 5th July 2002 was a real miserable washout day in London. 

That was a spell of unusually "interesting" weather for here though. Normally, our weather here in Edinburgh isn't all that interesting and the last few days in particular, have really showed us that.

I will also add that when 31°C was exceeded here in Edinburgh, that wasn't actually the case right across Edinburgh. It is true that the temperature at Edinburgh Gogarbank reached 31.6°C on that day and it is that reading which confirmed that Edinburgh had its hottest day on record on that day.

Where I live here in the north of Edinburgh, that was also quite a hot day. However, there was also a slight breeze from off the North Sea which meant that it wasn't as hot here in the north of Edinburgh as it was slightly further inland at locations such as Edinburgh Gogarbank.

That was shown by the fact that the temperature on that day, only reached 26.6°C at the botanic gardens in Edinburgh (as confirmed as the true maximum temperature on that day on that station's website, whereas the highest hourly reading on that day was only 26.1°C at that same station) which although still quite hot for here, was a whole 5.0°C cooler than what it was at Edinburgh Gogarbank on that same day.

That is quite a significant temperature difference for within what is more or less, the same local area which was enough to ensure that I myself, never actually got to experience those really high temperatures where I live here in the north of Edinburgh.

This is just the opposite thing from what happened quite a lot during the winter of 2012/13 when under an easterly wind, there was quite a lot of deep snow just a little bit further inland from here whilst there was very little in the way of lying snow here in the north of Edinburgh due to our close proximity to the east coast and the fact that those easterly winds from off the North Sea were that bit milder here as a result, than what they were further inland.

I'd be very worried if I had a birch tree growing in my house!

Those horrible little brown seeds from the tree about 10 yards away all land on the back doormat. Swept up mant times a day. They come in through the wet room window as well.

For days on end, it has seemed as though no matter what the latest weather forecasts throw at us, we always end up with that same old borefest which consists of a wee bit of cloud and a wee bit of sunshine with absolutely nothing happening which is even remotely interesting in terms of our weather, and with the temperature occasionally popping up to just over the 20°C mark.

Despite a much poorer forecast for today, that is exactly what we have yet again and to me, that has to be the most boring weather which anyone would ever have to put up with on such an almost constant basis, so can someone please change the record before I go completely insane with all of this boredom!?

Yet another vile, rank and disgusting Saturday to end this abomination of a summer and this one looks like it will be the worst of the lot. It's just beyond surreal 

Windy, grey and utterly depressing with the usual nuisance value light rain that will likely persist on and off all day, making the day a complete write-off, but will add up to very little. Another disgusting min of 13.8C and barely any higher now at 14.7C. It's a disgrace to be seeing virtually no diurnal range at this time of year.

Likely to have no sun at all today meaning that two of the three vile days to record no sunshine this month will have fallen at weekends. It's more than a sick joke 

Largely due to June, which was by far the best month, this summer is actually the 4th sunniest this century behind 2003, 2018 and 2013,  but it sure as hell doesn't feel like it due to weekend after weekend of utter garbage. Would have been a totally different perception had Monday and Tuesday's weather fallen at the weekend but it never does because every summer it's the same ridiculous nonsense with Saturday and Sunday seeing worse weather than the weekdays 

2019 has to go down as the most unrelenting bland, uninteresting year of weather I can recall. Nothing memorable has happened. I cannot recall a year with so many rain days and so little settled weather having such a low rain total. September is the last chance for a decent month in the summer half of the year and that looks like getting off to a hideous start. Just a never ending nightmare 

What's wrong with a min of 13.8C? Somewhat on the high side but nothing out of the ordinary. My min today was 14.1C. What would you prefer the min to be, what is the August average for Aberdeen?