The UK experienced its hottest summer on record this year, with a provisional mean temperature of 16.5°C, according to new data from the Met Office.
This is 0.4°C higher than the previous record, set in 2025, and provisionally makes summer 2026 the warmest in the UK since at least 1884, when records began.
‘Increasing frequency’
“The conditions we’ve seen this summer have broken UK climate records once again,” commented Dr Amy Doherty, who leads the National Climate Information Centre at the Met Office. “These records are now breaking with increasing frequency, reflecting the influence of human-induced climate change on the temperatures we’re experiencing in the UK.
“Particularly notable is how much we’ve exceeded the previous summer mean temperature record, set just last year. The figures also knock the infamous summer of 1976 down to seventh for average summer mean temperature, with the top five warmest summers all occurring since 2003.”
Most regions of the UK – England, Wales and Northern Ireland – each recorded their highest seasonal mean temperatures this summer, however Scotland was slightly cooler, recording its joint-sixth warmest summer.
According to the Met Office, the five warmest UK summers on record, as of this year, are 2026 at 16.5°C, 2025 at 16.1°C, 2018 and 2006 at 15.7°C, and 2003 at 15.7°C. The summer of 1976 has now fallen to seventh place.
Average daytime maximum temperatures also broke previous records (from 1976), with Kew Gardens recording a temperature of 38.1°C on 13 August, while Lingwood in Norfolk recorded 38.0°C in June. Overall, 54 Met Office weather stations broke their all-time daily maximum temperature record this summer.
Climate change
According to Met Office scientists, the most recent hot summer was made around 130 times more likely by human-induced climate change.
“The summer of 2026 has been remarkable and is an example of the extremes we can expect to see more frequently as a consequence of human induced climate change,” added Dr Mark McCarthy, head of Climate Attribution at the Met Office.
“In a climate unaffected by human emissions of greenhouse gases, a summer like this would be exceptionally unlikely, i.e. one in over 1,000 years. In our current climate, which is changing because of the effect of burning of fossil fuels, we should now expect this to be roughly a one in 9 year event.” Read more here.
