Aircon bookings on BookMyGarage hit an all-time high during last month's heatwave, with the week commencing 22 June 2026 seeing seven times (702%) more aircon appointments booked than the week before, as UK temperatures pushed into the mid-30s°C. For garages, the data points to a clear and repeatable pattern worth planning around: demand for aircon work doesn't rise gradually with the temperature, it spikes hard and fast the moment a heatwave hits.

The scale of the surge

Aircon appointments booked during the heatwave week were more than four times higher than the equivalent week in 2025, and beat BookMyGarage's previous weekly aircon booking record by more than three times over.

For context: an aircon booking is counted as a booking made at one of BookMyGarage's partner garages for the aircon re-gas product, covering all live UK garages on the comparison site during the relevant week (weeks commencing 22 June and 29 June 2026).

The knock-on effect has continued past the heatwave itself. Here are the five highest weeks for aircon bookings BookMyGarage has ever recorded:

1.     Week commencing 22 June 2026 (the heatwave week)

2.     Week commencing 29 June 2026

3.     Week commencing 25 May 2026

4.     Week commencing 18 July 2022 (heatwave)

5.     Week commencing 11 July 2022 (heatwave)

That pattern – a surge during the heat, followed by a second wave from drivers who missed out – is worth building into seasonal planning rather than treating as a one-off.

What triggered it

The Met Office reported a provisional new June temperature record of 37.7°C in Lingwood, Norfolk, on Friday 26 June 2026, a figure still going through official verification. Heat on this scale is what turns aircon from a nice-to-have into an urgent booking – and it's the kind of weather event garages can expect to see more of as UK summers trend hotter.

What this means for garage partners