It's official – summer 2025 was the hottest summer on record for the UK!

The Met Office has revealed that the average temperature from 1 June to 31 August hit a balmy 16.10°C.

That's 1.51°C above the long–term average, and 0.34°C above the previous record, set in 2018. 

The new record pushes the summer of 1976 out of the top five warmest summers in a series dating back to 1884. 

Instead, all five warmest summers have now occurred since 2000.  

'Provisional Met Office statistics show that summer 2025 is officially the warmest on record with a mean temperature of 16.10°C, surpassing the previous record of 15.76°C set in 2018,' said Dr Emily Carlisle, Met Office scientist. 

'The persistent warmth this year has been driven by a combination of factors including the domination of high–pressure systems, unusually warm seas around the UK and the dry spring soils. 

'These conditions have created an environment where heat builds quickly and lingers, with both maximum and minimum temperatures considerably above average.'

The five warmest summers in the UK are now 2025 (16.10°C), 2018 (15.76°C), 2006 (15.75°C), 2003 (15.74°C), and 2022 (15.71°C). 

The hot weather started back in June, which was the warmest on record in England. 

July continued the trend, coming in as the UK's fifth warmest July in history.

In total, there have been four heatwaves throughout summer, although each has been relatively short–lived. 

The highest temperature recorded was 35.8°C, in Faversham, Kent. 

This is just below the peak temperature of 35.9°C recorded in 1976 and also below the UK's all–time high of 40.3°C, which was set in July 2022. 

Many people still remember the summer of 1976, which saw a staggering 16 days exceeding 32°C. 

For comparison, just nine days surpassed this temperature this year. 

According to the Met Office, this year's record was made 70 times more likely because of climate change.  

'Our analysis shows that the summer of 2025 has been made much more likely because of the greenhouse gases humans have released since the industrial revolution,' said Dr Mark McCarthy, head of climate attribution at the Met Office. 

'In a natural climate, we could expect to see a summer like 2025 with an approximate return period of around 340 years, while in the current climate we could expect to see these sorts of summers roughly 1 in every 5 years.

'Another interesting finding from our analysis is the context of this summer against other record–breaking summers, like that of 1976. 

'Our analysis suggests that while 2025 has set a new record, we could plausibly experience much hotter summers in our current and near–future climate and shows how what would have been seen as extremes in the past are becoming more common in our changing climate.'

Tom Lancaster, land, food and farming analyst at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU), has warned that the summer heat has taken its toll on British farmers. 

'2025 was the warmest spring on record for the UK and now it's the hottest summer,' he said. 

'Alongside one of the driest springs in a century and a series of heatwaves, this has taken a real toll on Britain's farmers, with harvest 2025 once again heading for near record low and livestock farmers struggling to grow enough grass to feed their animals.'

The record heat has also led to a spate of wildfires across Britain. 

'The area burned is more than 60% higher than the previous worst year,' Mr Lancaster added.

Based on the findings, the farming expert claims the only way to escape future record-breaking summers is to curb carbon emissions. 

He added: 'This record is not a one off. It follows the hottest ever UK day in 2022 and the wettest winter on record in 2023. 

'This isn't just weather, it is the impact of climate change in real time, and these impacts will only get worse if we don't do more to reduce emissions of planet warming greenhouse gases to net zero. 

'As much as we can do more to help industries like farming to adapt, the only real insurance against these climate impacts is to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions to net zero. 

'This should now be viewed as a priority for our long-term food security.'