2025 has become the UK’s warmest and sunniest year on record, according to provisional figures from the Met Office, underscoring the growing impact of climate change.

The UK recorded an average temperature of 10.09°C, breaking the previous record set in 2022 and making it only the second year to exceed 10°C since records began in 1884. A rapid attribution study found human-induced climate change made the record around 260 times more likely.

It was also the sunniest year since sunshine records began in 1910, with 1,648.5 hours logged across the UK—more than 60 hours above the previous high set in 2003.

England and Scotland both saw their warmest years on record, while Wales and Northern Ireland experienced their second warmest. Spring and summer were the warmest ever recorded, driven by persistent high pressure, clear skies and unusually warm seas.

Rainfall told a mixed story. A very dry spring—the driest since 1974—raised drought concerns, particularly in southern England, before wetter autumn and winter weather eased conditions. Overall, the UK ended the year with 90% of its average annual rainfall.

Met Office scientists said the consistency of warmth throughout the year, rather than extreme peak temperatures, was key to 2025’s record status, warning that similar or hotter years are now far more likely in the UK’s changing climate. Photo by Richard Knights, Wikimedia commons.