Met Office: 50% Chance of 40°C in UK Within 12 Years, Squarely in Infrastructure Planning Horizon

The UK's record-warm summer of 2025—1.51°C above the long-term average—preceded June 2026's European heat dome by less than a year. The Met Office now assesses a 50–50 probability of 40°C days in the UK within 12 years. That timeframe overlaps directly with infrastructure asset cycles, forcing grid operators and urban planners to treat extreme heat not as tail risk but as design baseline.