Scottish Heatwaves: Here are 15 fascinating pictures from the 1960s and 1970s of Edinburgh and Scotland experiencing heatwaves
Scotland’s summers are getting progressively hotter due to global warming (although it may sometimes feel like they’re not getting any drier) – with Glasgow in particular having its warmest summer ever just last year (2021).
However heatwaves are nothing new for Scots, with many having particularly evocative memories of 1976, when a spell of dry and warm weather spanned the end of June and the majority of July and August.
We’ve had a look back in the archives to find a few pictures from that year, and some of the other times temperatures rocketed north of the border,
Read more:
Scotland weather: Amber ‘extreme heat’ weather warning extended in Scotland to the east, including Edinburgh, Perth and Dundee as heatwave sees temperatures rocket
1. Making a splash
Rhona Heeps and Stewart Somerville were the first children into Portobello open-air pool when it opened for the heatwave in summer 1976. Photo: National World
2. Catching some rays
Girls sunbathing in Princes Street Gardens during a heatwave in Edinburgh in June 1960. Photo: Unknown
3. Donkey derby
Tourists enjoying the heatave of summer 1961 with the donkeys on St Andrews Beach. Photo: Unknown
4. On duty
Policeman Ian Milne directs traffic in his shirt sleeves in Princes Street outside Marcus the Furrier during an Edinburgh heatwave in July 1962. Photo: Unknown