Scorching heat, drought: A new normal for British summers?

LONDON

With record-breaking temperatures, severe drought and a surge in wildfires, the summer of 2025 is shaping up as one of the most extreme in UK history.

After an exceptional spring and a sweltering June, this summer’s first half has underscored a shifting pattern: hotter days, longer dry spells and recurring heat waves are no longer rare outliers but part of the landscape.

“Spring 2025 was exceptional, going down as the UK’s warmest and sunniest on record,” the UK Met Office, the national meteorological service, said.

That heat carried into June, which became the warmest ever in England, and the second warmest for the UK overall in records dating back to 1884.

As of 15 July, the UK’s mean summer temperature was running 1.14C (2.1F) above the long-term average — with England even higher at 1.58C (2.8F). Maximums in England were 2.14C (3.85F) above average.

While the country hasn’t reached its all-time high of 40.3C (104.5F) set in July 2022, the heat has still been punishing. On 1 July, Faversham in Kent recorded the year’s top temperature at 35.8C (96.4F), while London hit 34.7C (94.5F).

“It’s hard to say this summer has been typical so far when we look at the statistics,” said Emily Carlisle, a Met Office climate scientist, in a statement. “Warmth has continued into July, with three heat waves so far this summer and temperatures rising again later this week. There is, of course, still a month-and-a-half of meteorological summer to go, so plenty of time for things to change.”

The dry conditions are just as extreme. England saw its driest January-to-June stretch since 1976, triggering drought alerts in multiple regions.

Wildfire risk has soared. The London Fire Brigade has responded to more than 30 wildfires this year, putting 2025 on track to be the busiest fire season since 2022.

National Resilience data revealed a sharp rise in wildfire incidents across England and Wales — 564 between January and mid-June, a 717% increase from the same period in 2024, and more than double 2022’s count at that time, which ended as the UK’s worst wildfire year on record.

A clear pattern

The UK’s changing climate is charted in the latest State of the UK Climate report, published in the International Journal of Climatology by the Royal Meteorological Society.

The data show steady warming since the 1980s, with extreme temperature days becoming more frequent. The hottest summer days and coldest winter nights are warming at twice the pace of average seasonal temperatures in some regions.

The Met Office said 2024 was the fourth warmest year since 1884 – and 2025 is already on track to surpass it in several categories.

A recent Met Office study found there’s now a 50% chance of the UK hitting 40C (104F) again within the next 12 years — a sharp jump in probability.

With three heat waves already recorded and another warm surge on the way, summer 2025 could become a defining chapter in Britain’s climate history.