Remembering summer 1976: how the historic heatwave has become our new normal

Temperatures stayed above 32C for 15 consecutive days in parts of the UK in 1976, causing droughts and hundreds of deaths. Photograph: Frank Barratt/Keystone/Getty Images

The summer of 1976 is seared into national memory as one of record heat. Harvests failed, farmers despaired, Britain imported an extra million tonnes of grain, food prices rose by 12%, taps ran dry, and each day, 250 people died from heat-related deaths.

The heatwave, which began 50 years ago on Tuesday, brought 15 consecutive days on which the peak temperature was above 32C. Half a century later and 32C no longer feels shocking.