WEATHER data seen by Climate Cafe Wellington show June's heatwave put previous records in the shade.

Local weather expert Simon Ratsey says the previous June record for Wellington of 32.3C, set on June, 28 1976, was broken four days in a row from June 22 to 25.

He also recorded the hottest night ever for the town, with a minimum temperature of 20.6C.

The new daytime temperature for June of 36.3C, recorded on June 25, beat the 1976 record by more than four degrees breaking the previous all-time summer record set in August 2022 by two degrees.

Mr Ratsey said: “If you had asked me at the start of the year if such extremes were possible here, I would have responded with a categorical ‘No’.”

He has contacted Wellington MP Gideon Amos asking him to form a climate pressure group in Parliament.

“The next Prime Minister needs to prioritise making both new and old housing stock much more resilient to climate change.

“Among other things, this could save a lot of people a lot of money, and would create jobs in the growing 'green' sector,” he said.

Climate Cafe Wellington supports calls for coherent national policy that introduces a strategic plan to retrofit old housing stock and address the lack of climate-ready new housing built in the UK.

They say the government and house-builders haven't changed course despite the wake-up call in 2022 that saw summer temperatures exceed 40C in parts of the UK.

“Developers remain wedded to a building culture that maximises profit at all cost. This quick-build culture of easy wins and fat profit isn't fit for purpose anymore.

“We need government housing policy that protects the health of those who have to live in them, especially the elderly and families with infants and young children, who are most at risk from extreme heat.”

Measures could include integrated renewable energy and heating systems that draw energy from the sun, and keeping housing cool in the summer with shutters and awnings fitted on parts of buildings that receive the most sunshine.

“Anyone who has been to hot countries on holiday will be familiar with these measures. It's time the UK adopts them as well because the new normal isn't going away.

“The economic benefits are potentially huge. Creating new enterprise and jobs in heat prevention technology would stimulate economic growth.

“The government could help kickstart this sector with subsidies, or bulk purchase agreements with suppliers. Once established, costs would come down as demand increased.

“This has to be government led otherwise adoption is likely be patchy and skewed towards more affluent areas that can afford them as seen with the early adoption of electric vehicles.”

Climate Cafe Wellington is also calling on the government to introduce clear guidelines that schools, employees and transport networks can implement when the Met Office issues extreme heat alerts.

“What we saw in the June heatwave was too ad hoc. We need a climate task force to work out a national heat defence plan that is clear and easy to follow.”