Met Office confirms 2025 was UK’s warmest year on record

Last year was the UK’s warmest since records began, the Met Office has confirmed.

The mean average temperature for the country across 2025 was 10.09C, beating the previous record of 10.03C set just three years earlier in 2022.

Four of the UK’s top five warmest years have now occurred in the current decade, with all of the top 10 taking place in the past two decades.

Persistent spells of dry and sunny weather across the country in 2025, caused by a string of high-pressure systems, meant that every month except January and September were warmer than average, the Met Office said.

Records were soon being broken, as first spring and then summer proved to be the UK’s warmest on record, while spring was the driest in the UK for more than 100 years.

A run of four heatwaves from mid-June to mid-August sent temperatures above 30C in many areas, with a peak of 35.8C measured on July 1 in Faversham in Kent.

Droughts were declared in several regions, reservoir sites fell below 50% of their usual capacity and a handful of water companies issued hosepipe bans.

Long periods of unbroken clear skies mean 2025 will go down in history as a double-record breaker, being not only the warmest year on record but also the sunniest.

The country clocked up an average of 1,648.5 hours of sunshine across the 12 months, 61.4 hours more than the previous record of 1,587.1, set in 2003.

Met Office temperature data begins in 1884, while sunshine data begins in 1910.

Dr Mark McCarthy, head of climate attribution at the Met Office, said: “We’re increasingly seeing UK temperatures break new ground in our changing climate, as demonstrated by a new highest UK mean temperature record just three years after the last record.

“This very warm year is in line with expected consequences of human-induced climate change.

“Although it doesn’t mean every year will be the warmest on record, it is clear from our weather observations and climate models that human-induced global warming is impacting the UK’s climate.”

Since the start of the 21st century, a new record has been set for UK annual mean temperature six times: in 2002, 2003, 2006, 2014, 2022 and now 2025.

Four of the past five years sit in the UK’s top five warmest: 2025 (10.09C), 2022 (10.03C), 2023 (9.97C) and 2024 (9.79C), along with 2014 (9.88C).

Across the UK, 2025 was the warmest year on record for England and Scotland and the second warmest (behind 2023) for Wales and Northern Ireland.

Met Office scientist Dr Emily Carlisle said: “While many will remember the long warm spring and summer of 2025, what has been noteworthy this year has been the consistent heat throughout the year, with every month except January and September warmer than average.

“In the six months from March to August, every month was at least 1C above the 1991-2020 average.

“Meteorologically, the warmth has been driven largely by persistent high-pressure systems bringing prolonged dry, sunny conditions, alongside above-average sea temperatures around the UK.

“These factors have combined to keep temperatures consistently higher than normal for much of the year.”