Sleeping at the height of summer can sometimes feel impossible. And with gruelling heatwaves becoming more common, the nights can be sweltering, with no cooling breeze to relieve the discomfort. At least you can trust your senses – nights really are getting hotter
Weather stations usually record the day’s minimum temperature at or a little after dawn. At a few sites in the UK, records extend back 150 years or more. Allowing for minor changes in instruments and methods over the years, scientists have found that night-time temperatures have risen considerably since Victorian times. In most of the records examined, night-time temperatures are actually rising at a faster rate than daytime temperatures. Why is this?
Recent milder winters in the UK have had fewer very cold nights. The coldest nights tend to be colder relative to the norm than the coldest winter days. Their loss has pushed up the average night-time minimum temperature disproportionately faster than the average daytime maximum temperature.
