London has recorded its first rainfall in 40 days, bringing brief relief to the capital after one of its driest spells in generations.
Showers across the capital
Showers were reported across parts of central and southwest London, including Paddington and Clapham, on Tuesday afternoon, prompting Londoners to celebrate the rare sight of rain on social media.
One person wrote: “OMG it’s raining? It’s actually raining guys omg (well, spitting, but omg we haven’t had rain in London for weeks now).”
Another posted: “Who would have thought that a few drops of rain in London would feel so awkward and rare?”
The Hundred cricket match between London Spirit and Sunriser’s Leeds had to be halted this afternoon due to the rain shower. However, the wet weather was short-lived, with Met Office rainfall radar showing the shower system moving across the capital in around 30 minutes.
Record dry July
The brief downpour comes as provisional Met Office statistics show that July was the driest on record for England and Wales since records began in 1836.
England received just 6.5mm of rainfall throughout July — around 10% of the long-term average and less than half of the previous record low of 13.4mm, set in 1911.
Wales recorded 9.3mm of rain, around 9% of its average July rainfall, also falling well below the previous record of 22.6mm from 1911.
Northern Ireland experienced its eighth driest July on record, with 26.9mm of rainfall — roughly 30% of the monthly average. Scotland was the only UK nation not to break rainfall records, receiving around 69% of its usual July rainfall.
Across the UK, July was the third driest on record, with just 28.9mm of rain recorded — the lowest July total since 1868.
London's dry spell
Parts of London have experienced up to 42 consecutive days without measurable rainfall as of August 2026, with significant rainfall not expected until October. The prolonged lack of precipitation follows an exceptionally dry July, with the month becoming the first calendar month in more than 150 years of local records in which London recorded no measurable rainfall.
It is a sight few Londoners would have expected to welcome, yet many have taken to social media to plead for the return of rain.
“We actually had some rain this afternoon for the first time in 6 weeks but it just sprinkled the plants and was nothing really. The London summer is far from what it was,” one person said. “Well that was pathetic lasted a few minutes but some rain which has sort of dampened the ground. Nothing measurable, amusing that’s the “wettest” I’ve seen it in 6 weeks,” another said.
Heat and alerts
Another temperature record tumbled on Monday when the temperature reached 33.5C in Wisley in Surrey, marking the 20th day of 2026 when 32C or higher was recorded in the UK, exceeding the previous record of 19 days set in 1995, the Met Office said.
In the latest heat spike, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has amber heat health alerts in place for the East Midlands, East of England, South East and London until Wednesday morning.
Highs of 29C were recorded in London on Tuesday, but temperatures across the UK are expected to decrease gradually in the second half of the week.
Some unsettled weather is forecast including a yellow warning for thunderstorms in Northern Ireland.
But, it looks as though London and other parts of England and Wales might be waiting a while for any significant rainfall.
