Britain is "very likely" to have endured the hottest July ever recorded and the warmest month since 1914, the Met Office told AFP on Monday.
But the national meteorological centre dismissed speculation that August temperatures will be higher still as cooler weather was set to prevail this week and more typical August conditions were forecast.
Temperatures frequently reached 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) in July, causing commuters discomfort and putting enormous strain on electricity networks as people turned up the air conditioning — which led to blackouts in central London last week.
While the month's high of 36.5 C took the record for hottest July day it fell short of the all-time British high of 38.5 C, reached on August 10, 2003 at Brogdale in southeast England.
The Met Office said it would need to be "remarkably cool" on Monday to prevent this month from becoming the hottest July ever recorded.
The record is expected to be confirmed Tuesday.
