2025 was the UK's warmest and sunniest year on record, the Met Office has confirmed. The mean temperature for the year was 10.09C, surpassing the previous record of 2022. This marks only the second time since 1884 that the annual mean temperature has exceeded 10C.
The UK's three hottest years on record have now all occurred in this decade, with 2022 and 2023 ranking second and third respectively. All of the top 10 warmest years have happened in the past two decades, which meteorologists say is evidence of a rapidly changing climate.
Dr Mark McCarthy, the Met Office's head of climate attribution, said: '2025 was the warmest year on record for the UK, surpassing the previous record set in 2022. We're increasingly seeing UK temperatures break new ground in our changing climate. This very warm year is in line with expected consequences of human-induced climate change.'
Spring and summer 2025 were warm with multiple heatwaves, though the record hottest day remains 19 July 2022, when temperatures exceeded 40C. Dr Emily Carlisle noted that every month except January and September was warmer than average, with the six months from March to August each at least 1C above the 1991-2020 average.
2025 also became the sunniest year since records began in 1910, with 1,648.5 hours of sunshine – 61.4 hours more than the previous record set in 2003. The higher sunshine boosted solar energy generation, with solar farms meeting over 6% of Britain's annual energy requirements, a more than 50% increase on recent years.
Overall rainfall was below average, with some areas experiencing record low levels. The warmth was driven by persistent high-pressure systems and above-average sea temperatures around the UK, according to the Met Office.
