The official Visit Britain body forecast the number of international visitors to the UK would increase by around 15% from the USA alone, as the effect of the worldwide Royal Wedding publicity fed through into fine summer weather and late holiday bookings.Many companies concerned with outdoor activities reported the usual boost in sales that comes from a good summer, and estate agents reported that the warm dry summer was also helping their industry. The The dry weather caused patterns of vegetation to be revealed, indicative of Roman and pre-Roman settlements.Similarly, the National Monuments Service of the Irish The Met Office considers the summer of 2018 to be tied with 1976, 2003 and 2006 as the hottest summer on record for the United Kingdom as a whole, with average temperatures of 15.8 °C (60.4 °F). The heat wave began on 23 June 2018 as high pressure built across the UK. The west and the north of Austria were worst affected by drought; certain areas in these regions experienced up to 85% less rainfall than the 10 year average.
Cases include wheat dying of drought before it could set seed, and withering of grass intended for livestock grazing, so that A number of sporting events have experienced unusual conditions as a result of the heatwave. Insurance companies estimate the damage as high as 210 million euro. In England, average temperatures for the summer were the highest on record at 17.2 °C (63.0 °F), narrowly ahead of the 17.0 °C (62.6 °F) average in 1976.In Wales and Northern Ireland, June 2018 was the warmest June ever recorded and in England and Scotland, June 2018 ranks within the top 5 warmest on record.July 2018 was again, a very hot month, with the Central England Temperature showing that July 2018 is the 4th hottest month ever recorded since 1659.A period of unusually hot weather in the summer of 2018The same location one year later, showing a more typical appearance for the seasonThe same location in 2015, showing a more typical appearance for the season"Sharp decline in Ibiza tourism this summer forces hotels to slash prices", Horticulture Week, "How is the hot, dry weather affecting UK fresh-produce growers, 5 July 2018.
Likewise, 2018 broke the record for the least rainfall in any April–July period since 1864.From the start of June to mid-July the UK underwent their driest summer in modern records. On 8 August, Finland experienced very high temperatures and drought, and like its neighbouring Scandinavian countries, several wildfires occurred.The French utility company EDF made known that on the morning of 4 August 2018 it had to shut down reactor number one of the Both April and May set new temperature records as the warmest April and May since modern record-keeping began in 1881.Water levels on the Danube were extremely low, even breaking records in Central Hungary (Ercsi, Dunaföldvár, and Dunaújváros)Met Éireann recorded the highest June temperature in more than 40 years. These include Glasgow in Scotland, Shannon in Ireland and both Belfast and Castlederg in Northern Ireland.
Fresh produce growers such as the soft fruit sector were largely unaffected by the lack of rain, with British Summer Fruits chairman Nick Marsto telling There are fears of over 1,000 excess deaths during the current heat wave. Spring started with record cold in early March with the After a cooler period from the end of April, temperatures started to rise again during early May.