Britain experienced its hottest June day on record on Thursday, with the Met Office recording 36.7 °C in Somerset, after 36.1 °C in Hampshire the previous day. The extreme heat overwhelmed key infrastructure: three NHS trusts declared critical incidents, MRI scanners failed at Norfolk and Norwich Hospital, and the London Ambulance Service faced a record number of life-threatening emergencies. More than 1,000 schools shut to protect pupils and staff, train operators advised against non-essential travel, and South East Water imposed a temporary hosepipe ban. In Wales, a 50-year-old swimmer died off Aberavon beach, while in Europe, Germany hit 40 °C and two French nuclear reactors shut down to prevent river overheating.