It’s official — 2025 is now the UK’s hottest summer on record, smashing the previous high set in 2018 and consigning the legendary scorcher of 1976 to the second tier.
According to provisional Met Office figures, the UK’s mean temperature between 1 June and 31 August hit 16.10°C, pushing 2018’s 15.76°C into second place. The summer of 1976, once considered untouchable, has dropped out of the top five altogether.
Dr Emily Carlisle, Met Office climate scientist, said: “Provisional Met Office statistics show that summer 2025 is officially the warmest on record with a mean temperature of 16.10°C, surpassing the previous record of 15.76°C set in 2018.”
Why so high?
She pointed to the triple whammy of stubborn high pressure, abnormally warm seas and dry spring soils, which created perfect conditions for heat to build and linger.
But this wasn’t just a freak season. Scientists say this summer would have been virtually impossible in a world without human-induced climate change.
Met Office analysis shows that a summer as hot as 2025 is now 70 times more likely than it would have been in a natural climate. In other words — it’s no longer a once-in-a-lifetime event.
Dr Mark McCarthy, head of climate attribution at the Met Office, said: “Our analysis shows that the summer of 2025 has been made much more likely because of the greenhouse gases humans have released since the industrial revolution.”
“In a natural climate, we could expect to see a summer like 2025 once every 340 years. Today, we’re looking at something like once every five years.”
Hotter than 1976?
It’s easy to think we’ve finally beaten 1976 — the summer that set the standard. But the record books tell a more nuanced story.
1976 still holds the title for highest average summer maximum temperature, thanks to 16 blistering days above 32°C. In 2025, there were nine.
1976 also delivered prolonged extremes, with weeks of unrelenting heat and a raw, dusty drought that scorched the national psyche.
In contrast, 2025 saw four shorter heatwaves, interspersed with near-average spells. The highest recorded temperature — 35.8°C in Faversham, Kent — came close to 1976’s 35.9°C but stayed below the all-time UK high of 40.3°C set in 2022.
What 2025 had, though, was consistency. Month after month of above-average warmth pushed the mean temperature to record levels, reflecting a shift from sharp peaks to persistent heat.
Warmth without extremes may sound less dramatic but it’s far more worrying. It signals a climate where every year creeps closer to abnormal and “hot” becomes the new normal.
The five warmest UK summers on record are now:
- 2025: 16.10°C
- 2018: 15.76°C
- 2006: 15.75°C
- 2003: 15.74°C
- 2022: 15.71°C
Every one of them occurred since 2000.
No signs of heat slowing
This isn’t a one-off. UK summers are getting hotter and more frequent, with climate projections showing a steady rise in both mean and maximum temperatures.
The Met Office’s 2019 attribution study into the then record-breaking summer of 2018 estimated a return period of around 8 to 9 years.
2025 broke that record in just seven.
The summer mean temperature between 1991 and 2020 was already 0.8°C higher than the 1961–1990 average. That gap is growing.
2025’s record is just the latest confirmation that climate change is reshaping the UK’s weather. What was once considered extreme — like 1976 — is now becoming a baseline.
McCarthy summed it up: “While 2025 has set a new record, we could plausibly experience much hotter summers in our current and near-future climate. What would have been seen as extremes in the past are becoming more common.”
What’s driving it?
Scientists point to a complex mix. High-pressure systems lingered over the UK for weeks, locking in warm air. Sea surface temperatures around the country were unusually high, helping feed heat back into the atmosphere. And dry soils from spring meant less evaporative cooling, allowing the land to heat up faster.
Even without record-shattering peaks, these background conditions meant higher day and night temperatures, fewer cool spells and relentless warmth.
What’s next?
The climate is moving and fast. With each passing year, the likelihood of hotter summers grows — not just in Britain but globally.
2025 didn’t bring chaos or catastrophe. It brought a slow burn — a relentless, warming drumbeat that barely let up. That may be the new benchmark.
Summer ’25 is a record breaker! appeared first on Energy Live News.