The Met Office has stated that 2025 is 'more likely than not' to become the UK's hottest year on record, following a summer of heatwaves and drought. The mean temperature for 2025 is currently tracking ahead of the previous record set in 2022, though a colder spell expected from Christmas to the new year makes the outcome uncertain.
If confirmed, 2025 would be only the second year in observational records where the UK's annual mean temperature exceeds 10°C. It would also mean that four of the past five years rank among the top five warmest since 1884, with all of the top 10 occurring in the last two decades.
Mike Kendon, a senior scientist at the Met Office, said: 'This should come as no surprise. Over the last four decades the UK's annual temperature has risen by about 1C.' He added that since the start of the 21st century, a new record for the UK's annual mean temperature has been set six times, each progressively warmer.
Earlier this year, the Met Office reported that the UK had its hottest summer on record, with four heatwaves pushing the mean temperature to 16.1°C. All five of the hottest summers have occurred since 2000. Kendon described the current climate changes as 'unprecedented in observational records back to the 19th century.'
