Forecasters have said 2025 is “more likely than not” to become the UK’s hottest year since records began, following a summer of heatwaves and drought and a mild autumn. The Met Office reported that the mean temperature for 2025 is tracking ahead of the previous record set in 2022, although 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 10C. 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 past 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. We will have to wait for the year-end before confirming 2025’s final number but at this stage it looks more likely than not that 2025 will be confirmed as the warmest year on record for the UK.”
Kendon added that records are being broken frequently, with six new records set since 2000. Earlier this year, the UK experienced its hottest summer on record, with a mean temperature of 16.1C across June, July and August. All five of the hottest summers have occurred since 2000.
“In terms of our climate, we are living in extraordinary times,” Kendon said. “The changes we are seeing are unprecedented in observational records back to the 19th century.”
