Summer 2026 ‘provisionally hottest on record’ for UK
This summer's average mean temperature of 16.5°C has made it “provisionally the warmest on record”, according to the Met Office.
It was also the warmest season for the UK in a series which goes back to 1884, the weather forecaster said.
In addition, it was one of the sunniest summers on record (dating back to 1910) for some places, with the season being very dry for many, though late season rain helped steer places away from low seasonal rainfall records.
Dr. Amy Doherty, who leads the National Climate Information Centre at the Met Office, said: “The conditions we’ve seen this summer have broken UK climate records once again.
“These records are now breaking with increasing frequency, reflecting the influence of human-induced climate change on the temperatures we’re experiencing in the UK.
“Particularly notable is how much we’ve exceeded the previous summer mean temperature record, set just last year.”
She added that the figures also knock the “infamous” summer of 1976 down to seventh for average summer mean temperature, with the top five warmest summers all occurring since 2003.
Summer 2026 in the record books
The UK started meteorological summer with the second warmest June on record, swiftly followed by the second warmest July.
England, Wales and Northern Ireland broke their respective mean temperature records for summer, while Scotland reported its joint-sixth warmest summer on record.
The five warmest UK summers on record are now:
- 2026: 16.5°C;
- 2025: 16.1°C;
- 2018: 15.7°C;
- 2006: 15.7°C;
- 2003: 15.7°C.
Daily temperatures peaked in the season at 38.1°C at Kew Gardens on August 13.
In total, 54 Met Office weather stations - about a seventh of the more than 350 stations it has - broke their all-time daily maximum temperature record this summer.
Dry season
Despite the late-season rain and thunderstorms experienced in some areas, it did little to make a dent in the overall dryness of summer.
The UK’s third driest July on record – with England seeing its driest July on record – was notable, but the rainfall in late August pushed summer rainfall totals away from any national records, though they remain below average.
The UK had its sixth sunniest summer on record, with 621.9 hours of sunshine.
England and Wales had their respective second sunniest summers on record.
Scotland, however, had closer to its average amount of sunshine.
August
Looking at August, it was a month of two halves between the north and south of the UK.
All nations recorded above average mean temperatures for the month, with England the highest above the long term average (1.9°C) and Scotland the closest to average (0.5°C).
Wide areas of the UK experienced drier than average conditions through much of the month, though intense downpours towards the end of August pushed some areas closer to average.
Sunshine hours for the month have been split across the UK.
The south has generally seen above average sunshine hours, northern England and Wales around average, while Northern Ireland and Scotland have recorded below average sunshine hours for the month.
Climate change
A rapid climate attribution study conducted by Met Office scientists has shown the record-breaking summer was made around 130 times more likely because of human-induced climate change.
Head of climate attribution at the Met Office, Dr. Mark McCarthy, said: “The summer of 2026 has been remarkable and is an example of the extremes we can expect to see more frequently as a consequence of human induced climate change.
“In a climate unaffected by human emissions of greenhouse gases, a summer like this would be exceptionally unlikely, i.e. one in over 1,000 years.
“The attribution study we conducted at the end of summer 2025, which at the time was record breaking, found that we could experience even hotter summers in our current climate.”
He added that this is already playing out, with the 2026 summer average temperature 0.40°C higher than 2025.
Climate projections indicate that UK summers will continue to become hotter, a trend already evident in the observations.
Met Office climate scientist, Dr. James Pope said that this summer will be “remembered for how dry it has been, particularly in the south in July”.
He added: “Looking at climate projections for rainfall, this summer fits closely to what we would expect an average summer to look like in the UK under 3°C of global warming, as we expect summers to become both hotter and drier in the future.”
