UK climate report says 2025 was hottest year on record, normalising extremes

The annual State of the UK Climate report found last year was the hottest since records began in 1884, with unprecedented changes continuing.

• The report, published on Wednesday in the International Journal of Climatology, stated that 2025 was the UK's warmest spring and summer.
• Lead author Mike Kendon said what was once considered extreme is now seen as normal, with the last four years among the top five hottest on record.
• The Met Office said the UK has recorded as many 30C days in 2026 as in the 1976 heatwave.
• The report found the number of very wettest days has risen by more than 20% since 1961–1990, and rainfall intensity by 5%.