An impressively warm morning unfolding across much of the UK. E.g. in rural southern England, a temperature of just over 23°C at 9 am BST is a rare sight even in the first half of July. (istheukhotrightnow.com)

How does it look for the running season totals? Now we get a more exceptional picture. Only 1976 and 2018 have had more 30C days since 1954 (and likely on record) than 2025 this early in the season. 1976 was a different beast of course.

Central Tokyo came to a standstill Wednesday evening as radar detected 100mm of rain falling in just one hour. With Japan now surrounded by abnormally warm ocean waters, extreme moisture is fueling the risk of sweltering heat, heavy downpours, and potentially powerful typhoons.

9 pm & 26°C outside here in Verwood, notably high for rural England even in the middle of summer. Thankfully it’s not very humid - about 50% RH.