The UK has simply sizzled by way of its hottest summer season on report, a phenomenon made 70 instances extra doubtless by local weather change, the Met Workplace mentioned right now.
It beat the earlier excessive set in 2018, and kicks the notoriously sizzling summer season of 1976 into sixth place.
The persistent warmth drove hosepipe bans, “nationally significant” water shortfalls, and even a “false autumn” in locations.
The brand new provisional information discovered temperatures between 1 June and 31 August 2025 have been 16.10C on common throughout the UK – a lot increased than the earlier report of 15.76C in 2018.
The distinction would possibly sound small, however – as a mean over a three-month interval, together with day and nighttime temperatures – is in actual fact substantial.
All the highest 5 warmest summers have occurred for the reason that yr 2000, which the Met Workplace referred to as a “clear sign of the UK’s changing and warming climate”.
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This summer season was the most popular by far, a lot hotter than all of the earlier information, and relegating 1976 to sixth place.
Did autumn come early this yr?
The warmth gave rise to early indicators of autumn, with blackberries ripening early and leaves turning brown and falling to the bottom in August.
This so-called “false autumn” just isn’t the early arrival of the subsequent season, however a survival mechanism of bushes and vegetation when pressured by excessive summer season situations.
They shed leaves and fruit forward of schedule to preserve water and vitality, particularly the youthful bushes whose shallow roots cannot entry moisture additional underground.
Kevin Martin from Kew Gardens referred to as false autumns a “visible warning sign”.
“Trees are remarkably resilient, but they are also long-lived organisms facing rapid environmental changes.”
Was this summer season hotter than 1976?
This summer season was the most popular on report going again to 1884, and much hotter even than the memorably sizzling summer season of 1976, which now trails in sixth place.
The Met Workplace’s Dr Mark McCarthy mentioned this exhibits how “what would have been seen as extremes in the past are becoming more common in our changing climate”.
The summer season of 1976 is remembered for its heatwave that lasted greater than two weeks, and 16 days in whole with temperatures over 32C.
Though 2025 has had simply 9 days of temperatures over 32C, what’s “striking” about this summer season is how persistently heat it was, the Met Workplace mentioned.
Why was this summer season so heat?
There have been plenty of components that made it so heat, so persistently.
Lingering excessive strain made for settled, sunny and heat climate, and fuelled 4 heatwaves.
It was additionally very dry, with a couple of quarter much less rain than common for summer season – although that diverse by area. However it adopted the driest spring in England for greater than a century.
Dry floor holds much less moisture that may evaporate: a course of that often cools issues down.
And a marine heatwave despatched sea temperatures on the floor nicely above common, with a knock-on impression on air temperatures.
In a single day temperatures have been additionally excessive, preserving the typical up.
What about local weather change?
Local weather change made a summer season as sizzling or hotter than this yr 70 instances extra doubtless, the Met Workplace mentioned.
It provides one other layer of warmth on prime of the opposite climate patterns that will have occurred with out people altering the local weather.
The UK is warming by roughly 0.25C per decade, and is already a minimum of 1.24C hotter than the interval between 1961-1990.
With out local weather change, a summer season like in 2025 would have occurred about as soon as in each 340 years. Now it is anticipated as soon as in 5 years.
Anna Roguski from Pals of the Earth, mentioned the summer season “underlined how unprepared the UK is for extreme heat”.
She mentioned we “urgently” have to adapt cities with issues like stricter constructing requirements, shaded streets and “far more nature woven through neighbourhoods – trees, wetlands and green spaces help to keep things cool”.
“But adaptation alone won’t be enough. To stop summers spiralling ever hotter, we must slash emissions.”
