They are in the shade, given them frozen 2l water bottles wrapped in wet towels (which they are ignoring), lots of fresh water, cold carrot slices etc.

They don’t look happy! Even tried spraying their fur with fine mist of cold water but that just makes them leg it - last thing I want is to over exert them.

Bringing them inside is not much of a choice either, hutch is too big for me to lift on my own, plus very hot inside anyway.

Any other pet owners concerned?

1pm (1200Z) update:

HEATHROW 40.2
KEW GARDENS 39.5
NORTHOLT AUTOMATIC W 39.2
LONDON ST JAMESS PAR 39.1
Cambridge 39
TEDDINGTON BUSHY PAR 38.7
CHERTSEY, ABBEY MEAD 38.6
CHARLWOOD AUTOMATIC 38.6
WISLEY AUTOMATIC WEA 38.6
MONKS WOOD AUTOMATIC 38.5
SUTTON BONINGTON AUT 38.5
IVER W WKS AUTOMATIC 38.4
BEDFORD AUTOMATIC WE 38.3
CAMBRIDGE NIAB AUTOM 38.3
WRITTLE AUTOMATIC WE 38.1
Stansted 38
Kidlington 38
Lakenheath Raf 38

So at least 5 stations have broken the old record. Many more to come I think.

The evapo-transpiration rate must be off the scale today by UK standards!

That was posted at 12.03am 

IMBY had a brief temp jump to 39.2c at circa 12:20, bounced around in the 38s for a while but dropped last little while and now wobbling around 36.9/37c.

Quite a strong breeze has developed - not sure if that helped with temps and dragged some hotter continental air up, or hindered by mixing it up too much.

I imagine you can knock a degree or two off those temps but even so pretty high. 

Looking forward to the first cold front moving through and cooling things down so they're merely uncomfortable

Has the heat got to you?  I'm reporting 40.3C 20 miles or so from you.  

Its was at midnight yes  Was hoping we'd stay over 25 but london temperatures dropped surprisingly more compared to surrey area

Yes - I realised - deleted now.

Haha, I could have written this exact post (except we only have 1). She has been lying in the shade panting, I have given her a frozen water bottle wrapped in a towel but she won't really lie on it. I tried misting her with water but she just flinches and looks annoyed. She used to have a burrow she had dug in the garden, but we had to move her a few weeks ago due to building works starting! I feel bad about that as it would be a lot cooler underground.

BTW John your inbox is full!

eh why are people quoting my post from 12.03 am. Ruislip temp at MIDNIGHT was 23C. It's over 39C right now!!!

I've tried all of that! They don't lie on the frozen bottles!

I've just bought them in and given them the kitchen floor.🤷‍♂️

If that can be classed as official then that is a new record. No reports yet of anything over that - Things seem to have peaked.

Anyway we've hit 40C.

We both made the same mistake Brian - that was at 3.00 am   The heat's got to us !

No chance, it's a mix of psychological projection and laziness. Untrustworthy people always assume they're being lied to, so EU bad, Covid just the flu, climate change made up - pretty much 100% correlation. On the other hand tell them everything's fine and they will dig like rabbits for proof it isn't 🙂 - and lazy people will look for excuses why something isn't happening or even if it is, why there's nothing you can do

Yesterday's max now beaten with 38.7 C at 13.33 hrs. Levelled off again now. Hopefully temporary. I have never experienced 40C anywhere. Close to in Singapore and Adelaide but not quite.

Oops should be ok now. I deleted some old ones from about ten years ago when Matty H was telling me off ;-)

"Winter is coming"

Well, not 'winter', but certainly cooler temps as the cooler air moves NE'wards.

Hawarden on the Wales/Cheshire border has fallen from 36c to 33c in the last half hour. West of that, temps are down to mid-20's.

The Merseyside stations are stable at 36c for now, but will begin their decline; Manchester may squeak a 37c but it'll have to be quick.

Ah well, it's been a blast! (of furnace-like air)

Let's see what you guys further east can get to (hope somewhere takes the record off Heathrow!!)

Ooopps..