Hottest summer on record (so far)

Anyone who has spent time in the UK this summer will not be surprised to hear that the Met Office has confirmed / announced that it was the hottest on record (so far). We had 4 heatwaves in a short space of time.

From their press release:

A summer as hot or hotter than 2025 is now 70 times more likely than it would be in a ‘natural’ climate with no human caused greenhouse gas emissions.

The UK’s mean temperature from 1 June to 31 August stands at 16.10°C, which is 1.51°C above the long-term meteorological average. This surpasses the previous record of 15.76°C, set in 2018, and pushes the summer of 1976 out of the top five warmest summers in a series dating back to 1884.

This map shows the temperature anomaly across the country. The report includes other maps. Rainfall levels have been very low in some parts of the country, including East Anglia where I live and work.

Image: Crown copyright: Met Office - shared for educational purposes.