2025 confirmed as the UK’s warmest and sunniest year on record

2025 was the UK’s warmest year on record according to Met Office figures, with an average temperature of 10.09°C, surpassing the previous high set in 2022. A new record has been set six times by the UK since the turn of the century.

With 1648.5 hours of sunshine, 2025 was also the sunniest year in the UK, beating the old record set in 2003 by 61.4 hours. The Met Office noted that sea surface temperatures were exceptionally high last year, which contributed to increasing land temperatures.

2025 was notable for its dry conditions, with the UK recording its driest spring since 1974. Only four months of the year saw above-average rainfall. A wetter-than-average September, November, and December eased this shortfall, with the UK’s annual total levelling out at 90% of the average annual rainfall.

Helen Wakeham, Director of Water at the Environment Agency, said: “The dry weather through last spring and summer saw widespread drought, which had impacts on our wildlife, our rivers, our canals, and farmers’ harvests.” Pressure on public water supplies resulted in hosepipe bans affecting 10 million people.

Prolonged sunny conditions boosted the UK’s solar farm output. More than 6% of Britain’s annual energy requirements were met by solar last year, marking a 50% increase on recent years.

Four heatwaves in one summer, record wildfires in the Highlands, flash flood warnings from Cornwall to Inverness. This is not normal

Last year was also dominated by extreme weather patterns. The UK was hit by Storm Éowyn, the most powerful windstorm in the UK for over a decade. Northern Ireland and central Scotland experienced wind gusts between 80 and 90mph, with rare red warnings issued by the Met Office. One man died, and almost a million were without power.

Elsewhere, Typhoon Kalmaegi killed over 200 people in the Philippines in November, and Spain suffered their worst wildfires for three decades. In October, Hurricane Melissa devastated the Caribbean with torrential rain and catastrophic winds, destroying homes and cutting off communities.

Climate minister Katie White has warned people to “sit up and listen” as climate change is “reshaping everyday life”. She added: “Four heatwaves in one summer, record wildfires in the Highlands, flash flood warnings from Cornwall to Inverness. This is not normal.”

Globally, 2025 is the third-warmest year since records began, behind 2024 and 2023. The natural cooling influence from La Niña meant 2025 did not reach the heights of 2024.

Dr Zeke Hausfather, a climate scientist at Berkeley Earth in the US, expressed concern that temperatures remained so high in a La Niña year. Scientists have confirmed that greenhouse emissions from burning fossil fuels are the primary cause of this warming.

The 2015 Paris Agreement set a warming limit of 1.5°C to avoid the most severe consequences of climate change. This target has not yet been breached, but the UN indicated last November that the world will overshoot this goal and is on track for 2.3-2.5°C of warming.