Summer of 2026 was UK’s hottest on record, Met Office says

The Guardian UK Tuesday 01 September 2026, 13:09 UTC By Pippa Neill 1 min read

Key Points

Meteorologists say average mean temperature of 16.5C was made 130 times more likely by climate crisisThis year’s summer was the UK’s hottest on record, according to provisional Met Office data, with the season’s mean temperature made 130 times more likely as a result of the climate crisis. The summer saw record-breaking and back-to-back heatwaves scorch much of Europe. In England, temperatures peaked at 38.1C (100.1F) at Kew Gardens in London on 13 August, with June already confirmed as the...

Meteorologists say average mean temperature of 16.5C was made 130 times more likely by climate crisis

This year’s summer was the UK’s hottest on record, according to provisional Met Office data, with the season’s mean temperature made 130 times more likely as a result of the climate crisis.

The summer saw record-breaking and back-to-back heatwaves scorch much of Europe. In England, temperatures peaked at 38.1C (100.1F) at Kew Gardens in London on 13 August, with June already confirmed as the country’s hottest since records began in 1884. Scientists have said these heatwaves are only possible because of the climate crisis driven by burning fossil fuels.

UK (LOCATION) Met Office (ORG) provisional Met Office (ORG) Europe (LOCATION) England (LOCATION) Kew Gardens (LOCATION) London (LOCATION)

Originally published by The Guardian UK Read original →

UK chalks up hottest summer on record for second year running LONDON: Britain experienced its hottest summer on record for the second year in a row, the UK's national weather agency announced Tuesday (Sep 1), after weeks of successive heatwaves and widespread drought conditions. "Summer 2026 is provisionally the UK's warmest summer on record with the season's mean temperature made around 130 times more likely due to human-induced climate change," the Met Office said.

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