In 2024, the average summer temperature in the United Kingdom was ***** degrees Celsius. Over the time period from 1990 through 2024, the average summer temperature in the UK fluctuated from a low of ***** degrees in 1993 to a high of ***** degrees in 2018.

The highest average temperature recorded in 2024 until November was in August, at 16.8 degrees Celsius. Since 2015, the highest average daily temperature in the UK was registered in July 2018, at 18.7 degrees Celsius. The summer of 2018 was the joint hottest since institutions began recording temperatures in 1910. One noticeable anomaly during this period was in December 2015, when the average daily temperature reached 9.5 degrees Celsius. This month also experienced the highest monthly rainfall in the UK since before 2014, with England, Wales, and Scotland suffering widespread flooding. Daily hours of sunshine Unsurprisingly, the heat wave that spread across the British Isles in 2018 was the result of particularly sunny weather. July 2018 saw an average of 8.7 daily sun hours in the United Kingdom. This was more hours of sun than was recorded in July 2024, which only saw 5.8 hours of sun. Temperatures are on the rise Since the 1960s, there has been an increase in regional temperatures across the UK. Between 1961 and 1990, temperatures in England averaged nine degrees Celsius, and from 2013 to 2022, average temperatures in the country had increased to 10.3 degrees Celsius. Due to its relatively southern location, England continues to rank as the warmest country in the UK.

[Updated 28/01/25 to fix an issue in the ‘Lower’ values, which were not fully representing the range of uncertainty. ‘Median’ and ‘Higher’ values remain unchanged. The size of the change varies by grid cell and fixed period/global warming levels but the average difference between the 'lower' values before and after this update is 0.09°C.]What does the data show? This dataset shows the change in summer average temperature for a range of global warming levels, including the recent past (2001-2020), compared to the 1981-2000 baseline period. Here, summer is defined as June-July-August. Note, as the values in this dataset are averaged over a season they do not represent possible extreme conditions.The dataset uses projections of daily average air temperature from UKCP18 which are averaged over the summer period to give values for the 1981-2000 baseline, the recent past (2001-2020) and global warming levels. The warming levels available are 1.5°C, 2.0°C, 2.5°C, 3.0°C and 4.0°C above the pre-industrial (1850-1900) period. The recent past value and global warming level values are stated as a change (in °C) relative to the 1981-2000 value. This enables users to compare summer average temperature trends for the different periods. In addition to the change values, values for the 1981-2000 baseline (corresponding to 0.51°C warming) and recent past (2001-2020, corresponding to 0.87°C warming) are also provided. This is summarised in the table below.PeriodDescription1981-2000 baselineAverage temperature (°C) for the period2001-2020 (recent past)Average temperature (°C) for the period2001-2020 (recent past) changeTemperature change (°C) relative to 1981-20001.5°C global warming level changeTemperature change (°C) relative to 1981-20002°C global warming level changeTemperature change (°C) relative to 1981-20002.5°C global warming level changeTemperature change (°C) relative to 1981-20003°C global warming level changeTemperature change (°C) relative to 1981-20004°C global warming level changeTemperature change (°C) relative to 1981-2000What is a global warming level?The Summer Average Temperature Change is calculated from the UKCP18 regional climate projections using the high emissions scenario (RCP 8.5) where greenhouse gas emissions continue to grow. Instead of considering future climate change during specific time periods (e.g. decades) for this scenario, the dataset is calculated at various levels of global warming relative to the pre-industrial (1850-1900) period. The world has already warmed by around 1.1°C (between 1850–1900 and 2011–2020), whilst this dataset allows for the exploration of greater levels of warming. The global warming levels available in this dataset are 1.5°C, 2°C, 2.5°C, 3°C and 4°C. The data at each warming level was calculated using a 21 year period. These 21 year periods are calculated by taking 10 years either side of the first year at which the global warming level is reached. This time will be different for different model ensemble members. To calculate the value for the Summer Average Temperature Change, an average is taken across the 21 year period.We cannot provide a precise likelihood for particular emission scenarios being followed in the real world future. However, we do note that RCP8.5 corresponds to emissions considerably above those expected with current international policy agreements. The results are also expressed for several global warming levels because we do not yet know which level will be reached in the real climate as it will depend on future greenhouse emission choices and the sensitivity of the climate system, which is uncertain. Estimates based on the assumption of current international agreements on greenhouse gas emissions suggest a median warming level in the region of 2.4-2.8°C, but it could either be higher or lower than this level.What are the naming conventions and how do I explore the data?These data contain a field for each warming level and the 1981-2000 baseline. They are named 'tas summer change' (change in air 'temperature at surface'), the warming level or baseline, and 'upper' 'median' or 'lower' as per the description below. e.g. 'tas summer change 2.0 median' is the median value for summer for the 2.0°C warming level. Decimal points are included in field aliases but not in field names, e.g. 'tas summer change 2.0 median' is named 'tas_summer_change_20_median'. To understand how to explore the data, refer to the New Users ESRI Storymap. Please note, if viewing in ArcGIS Map Viewer, the map will default to ‘tas summer change 2.0°C median’ values.What do the 'median', 'upper', and 'lower' values mean?Climate models are numerical representations of the climate system. To capture uncertainty in projections for the future, an ensemble, or group, of climate models are run. Each ensemble member has slightly different starting conditions or model set-ups. Considering all of the model outcomes gives users a range of plausible conditions which could occur in the future.For this dataset, the model projections consist of 12 separate ensemble members. To select which ensemble members to use, the Summer Average Temperature Change was calculated for each ensemble member and they were then ranked in order from lowest to highest for each location.The ‘lower’ fields are the second lowest ranked ensemble member. The ‘higher’ fields are the second highest ranked ensemble member. The ‘median’ field is the central value of the ensemble.This gives a median value, and a spread of the ensemble members indicating the range of possible outcomes in the projections. This spread of outputs can be used to infer the uncertainty in the projections. The larger the difference between the lower and higher fields, the greater the uncertainty.‘Lower’, ‘median’ and ‘upper’ are also given for the baseline period as these values also come from the model that was used to produce the projections. This allows a fair comparison between the model projections and recent past. Useful linksFor further information on the UK Climate Projections (UKCP).Further information on understanding climate data within the Met Office Climate Data Portal.

England's highest monthly mean air temperatures are typically recorded in July and August of each year. Since 2015, the warmest mean temperature was measured in July 2018 at 18.8 degrees Celsius. On the other hand, February of that same year registered the coolest temperature, at 2.6 degrees Celsius. In April 2025, the mean air temperature was 10.3 degrees Celsius, slightly higher than the same month the previous year. The English weather England is the warmest region in the United Kingdom and the driest. In 2024, the average annual temperature in England amounted to 10.73 degrees Celsius – around 1.1 degrees above the national mean. That same year, precipitation in England stood at about 1,020 millimeters. By contrast, Scotland – the wettest region in the UK – recorded over 1,500 millimeters of rainfall in 2024. Temperatures on the rise Throughout the last decades, the average temperature in the United Kingdom has seen an upward trend, reaching a record high in 2022. Global temperatures have experienced a similar pattern over the same period. This gradual increase in the Earth's average temperature is primarily due to various human activities, such as burning fossil fuels and deforestation, which lead to the emission of greenhouse gases. This phenomenon has severe consequences, including more frequent and intense weather events, rising sea levels, and adverse effects on human health and the environment.

The annual mean temperature in the United Kingdom has fluctuated greatly since 1990. Temperatures during this period were at their highest in 2022, surpassing ** degrees Celsius. In 2010, the mean annual temperature stood at **** degrees, the lowest recorded during this time. Daily temperatures Average daily temperatures have remained stable since the turn of the century, rarely dropping below ** degrees Celsius. In 2010, they dropped to a low of **** degrees Celsius. The peak average daily temperature was recorded in 2022 when it reached **** degrees. This was an increase of *** degree Celsius compared to the long-term mean, and the most positive deviation during the period of consideration. Highs and lows The maximum average temperature recorded across the UK since 2015 was in July 2018. This month saw a maximum temperature of **** degrees Celsius. In comparison, the lowest monthly minimum temperature was in February of the same year, at just minus *** degrees. This was an especially cold February, as the previous year the minimum temperature for this month was *** degrees.

The daily average temperature in the United Kingdom (UK) has remained relatively stable since 2001, with temperatures rarely straying below 10 degrees Celsius. In 2024, the UK had an average daily temperature of 11.9 degrees Celsius. This was the highest average daily temperature recorded since the turn of the century. British summertime Britain is not known for its blisteringly hot summer months, with the average temperatures in this season varying greatly since 1990. In 1993, the average summer temperature was as low as 13.39 degrees Celsius, whilst 2018 saw a peak of 15.8 degrees Celsius. In that same year, the highest mean temperature occurred in July at 17.2 degrees Celsius. Variable weather Due to its location and the fact that it is an island, the United Kingdom experiences a diverse range of weather, sometimes in the same day. It is in an area where five air masses meet, creating a weather front. Each brings different weather conditions, such as hot, dry air from North Africa and wet and cold air from the Arctic. Temperatures across the UK tend to be warmest in England.

This file contains average rainfall (mm) and average temperature (centigrade) for the North East England and East England for period 2010-2019.

This dataset shows the average rainfall in millimeters and average temperature in centigrade by month, year, and meteorological season. It also has an annual figure for each year.

Temperature in the United Kingdom decreased to 9.88 celsius in 2024 from 10.14 celsius in 2023. This dataset includes a chart with historical data for the United Kingdom Average Temperature.

This data-set contains 3 fields for each fixed period (1981-2000, 2001-2020) and Global Warming Level (1.5°C, 2°C, 2.5°C, 3°C, 3.5°C, 4°C) combination: the median, 2nd lowest and 2nd highest among the 12 ensemble members. The fields are named accordingly; e.g. the 2nd lowest at 2.5°C is tas_summer_25_lowerTo understand the data, refer to the LACS Scientific Detail.To understand how to explore the data, see the User Guides available on the Climate Data Portal.

The average temperature across the United Kingdom presented a trend of continuous growth since 1961. During the first period, from 1961 to 1990, the country recorded an average temperature of *** degrees Celsius. In the next period, from 1991 to 2020, the UK's average temperature increased by *** degrees Celsius and increased further by *** degrees Celsius between 2014 and 2023. In the latter year, figures remained at ** degrees Celsius, *** degrees warmer than the average recorded between 1961 and 1990, illustrating the effects of climate change. Nevertheless, 2022 was the warmest year in the United Kingdom.

The longest available instrumental record of temperature in the world is now available at the BADC. The monthly data starts in 1659.

The mean, minimum and maximum datasets are updated monthly, with data for a month usually available by the 3rd of the next month. A provisional CET value for the current month is calculated on a daily basis. The mean monthly data series begins in 1659. Mean maximum and minimum daily and monthly data are also available, beginning in 1878.

These historical temperature series are representative of the Midlands region in England, UK (a roughly triangular area of the United Kingdom enclosed by Bristol, Lancashire and London).

The following stations are used by the Met Office to compile the CET data: Rothamsted, Malvern, Squires Gate and Ringway.

But in November 2004, the weather station Stonyhurst replaced Ringway and revised urban warming and bias adjustments have now been applied to the Stonyhurst data after a period of reduced reliability from the station in the summer months.

The data set is compiled by the Met Office Hadley Centre.

For an urban heat island map during an average summer see this dataset.

A heatwave refers to a prolonged period of unusually hot weather. While there is no standard definition of a heatwave in England, the Met Office uses the World Meteorological Organization definition of a heatwave, which is "when the daily maximum temperature of more than five consecutive days exceeds the average maximum temperature by 5°C, the normal period being 1961-1990". They are common in the northern and southern hemisphere during summer have historically been associated with health problems and an increase in mortality.

The urban heat island (UHI) is the phenomenon where temperatures are relatively higher in cities compared to surrounding rural areas due to, for example, the urban surfaces and anthropogenic heat sources.

This urban heat island map was produced using LondUM, a specific set-up of the Met Office Unified Model version 6.1 for London. It uses the Met Office Reading Surface Exchange Scheme (MORUSES), as well as urban morphology data derived from Virtual London. The model was run from May until September 2006 and December 2006. This map shows average surface temperatures over the summer period of 2006 at a 1km by 1km resolution. To find out more about LondUM, see the University of Reading’s website.

The hourly outputs from LondUM have been aggregated and mapped by Jonathon Taylor, UCL Institute for Environmental Design and Engineering. Variables include:

• WSAVGMAX= the average of the maximum daily temperatures across the summer period (May 26th-August 31st)
• WSAVG=the average temperature across the summer period
• WSAVGMIN = the average minimum daily temperature across the summer period
• HWAVGMAX= the average of the maximum daily temperatures across the 2006 heatwave (July 16th-19th)
• HWAVG=the average temperature across the across the 2006 heatwave
• HWAVGMIN = the average minimum daily temperature across 2006 heatwave period

The maps are also available as one combined PDF.

The gif below maps the temperatures across London during the four-day period of 16-19th July, which was considered a heatwave.

If you make use of the LondUM data, please use the following citation to acknowledge the data and reference the publication below for model description:

LondUM (2011). Model data generated by Sylvia I. Bohnenstengel (*), Department of Meteorology, University of Reading and data retrieved from http://www.met.reading.ac.uk/~sws07sib/home/LondUM.html.

(*) Now at Metoffice@Reading, Email: sylvia.bohnenstengel@metoffice.gov.uk

Bohnenstengel SI, Evans S, Clark P and Belcher SeE (2011) Simulations of the London Urban Heat island. Quarterly journal of the Royal Meteorological Society, 137(659). pp. 1625-1640. ISSN 1477-870X doi 10.1002/qj.855. LondUM data (2013).

HadUK-Grid is a collection of gridded climate variables derived from the network of UK land surface observations. The data have been interpolated from meteorological station data onto a uniform grid to provide complete and consistent coverage across the UK. These data at 1 km resolution have been averaged across a set of discrete geographies defining UK river basins consistent with data from UKCP18 climate projections. The dataset spans the period from 1836 to 2024, but the start time is dependent on climate variable and temporal resolution.

The gridded data are produced for daily, monthly, seasonal and annual timescales, as well as long term averages for a set of climatological reference periods. Variables include air temperature (maximum, minimum and mean), precipitation, sunshine, mean sea level pressure, wind speed, relative humidity, vapour pressure, days of snow lying, and days of ground frost.

This data set supersedes the previous versions of this dataset which also superseded UKCP09 gridded observations. Subsequent versions may be released in due course and will follow the version numbering as outlined by Hollis et al. (2019, see linked documentation).

The changes for v1.3.1.ceda HadUK-Grid datasets are as follows:

Changes to the dataset * Added data for calendar year 2024 * Extended the daily temperature grids back to 1931

Changes to the input data * Incorporated additional daily rainfall data for 60 sites in Scotland, 1922-45 * Incorporated additional monthly rainfall data for two sites - Westonbirt (1880-1951) & Ackworth School (1852-53) * Fixed a 1-day offset for sunshine duration values for six stations between 1971 and 1993 * Corrected the daily rainfall data for Macclesfield, 1958-60 (the values had been stored in the wrong units) * Improved the quality control of the most recent three months of rainfall data (Oct-Dec 2024) * Removed Corpach from the wind speed grids (the station is poorly modelled - this only affects 14 months) * Reviewed the quality control flags that had been applied automatically to historical air and grass minimum temperature data. In many cases it was possible to remove the flags and this has allowed us to incorporate additional data into the grids for 1961-1997 for these variables. * Improved the business logic relating to data completeness. This affects monthly wind speed and has allowed us to re-introduce some of the data that were excluded in the previous release.

• Net changes to the input station data:
  • Total of 131314637 observations
  • 126821432 (96.6%) unchanged
  • 105327 (0.08%) modified for this version
  • 4387878 (3.34%) added in this version
  • 44224 (0.03%) deleted from this version

The primary purpose of these data are to facilitate monitoring of UK climate and research into climate change, impacts and adaptation. The datasets have been created by the Met Office with financial support from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) in order to support the Public Weather Service Customer Group (PWSCG), the Hadley Centre Climate Programme, and the UK Climate Projections (UKCP18) project. The output from a number of data recovery activities relating to 19th and early 20th Century data have been used in the creation of this dataset, these activities were supported by: the Met Office Hadley Centre Climate Programme; the Natural Environment Research Council project "Analysis of historic drought and water scarcity in the UK"; the UK Research & Innovation (UKRI) Strategic Priorities Fund UK Climate Resilience programme; The UK Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Public Engagement programme; the National Centre for Atmospheric Science; National Centre for Atmospheric Science and the NERC GloSAT project; and the contribution of many thousands of public volunteers. The dataset is provided under Open Government Licence.

Seasonal mean temperatures in the United Kingdom have been on a mostly increasing trend since 1659. Between 2001 and 2023, the average temperature in summer and autumn in the UK stood at **** and **** degrees Celsius, respectively. During those same seasons, figures were at **** and *** degrees Celsius in the period from 1659 to 1700.

Regional climate values for an element, ordered by year -Minimum Tempature. Allowances have been made for topographic, coastal and urban effects where relationships are found to exist. Seasons: Winter=Dec-Feb, Spring=Mar-May, Summer=June-Aug, Autumn=Sept-Nov. (Winter: Year refers to Jan/Feb).

Site specific (293 individual stations) monthly average (1981 - 2010)

        The data consists of:
        Max Temp (degrees C) 
        Min Temp (degrees C) 
        Sunshine (hours) 
        Rainfall (mm) 
        Raindays >=1.0mm (days) 
        Days of Air Frost (days) 
        Monthly mean wind speeds at 10m (knots)

        District and Region monthly average (1961-1990, 1971-2000, 1981-2010)

        The data consists of:
        Max Temp (degrees C) 
        Min Temp (degrees C) 
        Sunshine (hours) 
        Rainfall (mm) 
        Raindays >=1.0mm (days) 
        Days of Air Frost (days)

        UK monthly average (1961-1990, 1971-2000, 1981-2010)

        The data consists of:
        Max Temp (degrees C) 
        Min Temp (degrees C) 
        Sunshine (hours) 
        Rainfall (mm) 
        Raindays >=1.0mm (days) 
        Days of Air Frost (days)

This dataset shows the future average temperature presented to sites across the UK from temperatures per day, based on data for a 2060-2080 projection period. The dataset shows the likelihood of a temperature hazard event distributed across 5km hexagonal grids.

What does the data show?

This data shows the monthly averages of surface temperature (°C) for 1981-2010 from CRU TS (v. 4.06) dataset. It is provided on the WGS84 grid which measures approximately 60km x 60km (latitude x longitude) at the equator. This is the same as the 60km grid used by UKCP18 global datasets.

What are the naming conventions and how do I explore the data?

This data contains a field for each month’s average over the period. They are named 'tas' (temperature at surface) and the month. E.g. ‘tas March’ is the average of the daily average surface air temperatures in March throughout 1981-2010.

To understand how to explore the data, see this page: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/457e7a2bc73e40b089fac0e47c63a578

Please note, if viewing in ArcGIS Map Viewer, the map will default to ‘tas January’ values.

Data source

CRU TS v. 4.06 - (downloaded 12/07/22)

Useful links

Further information on CRU TS Further information on understanding climate data within the Met Office Climate Data Portal

UKCP09 25 km gridded data for mean air temperature Monthly long-term averages for the 1961-1990 climate baseline are also available for the 25 x 25 km grid boxes of the HadRM3 regional climate model. Each 25 x 25 km grid box value is an average of the 5 x 5 km grid cell values that fall within it. The datasets have been created with financial support from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and they are being promoted by the UK Climate Impacts Programme (UKCIP) as part of the UK Climate Projections (UKCP09). http://ukclimateprojections.defra.gov.uk/content/view/12/689/. Zip file contains 17 text files (one for each month, season and the year as a whole). The individual grids are named according to the following convention: vvvvvv_1961-1990_LTA_25km_ppp.txt where 'vvvvvv' is the variable name and 'ppp' is the averaging period, i.e. jan, feb, mar, etc. (for individual months), djf (winter), mam (spring), jja (summer), son (autumn) or ann (for the annual average). Single netCDF file that contains the data for all months, seasons and the year as a whole. To view this data you will have to register on the Met Office website, here: http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/research/climate/climate-monitoring/UKCP09/register

UKCP09 25 km gridded data for mean air temperature Monthly long-term averages for the 1961-1990 climate baseline are also available for the 25 x 25 km grid boxes of the HadRM3 regional climate model. Each 25 x 25 km grid box value is an average of the 5 x 5 km grid cell values that fall within it.

The datasets have been created with financial support from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and they are being promoted by the UK Climate Impacts Programme (UKCIP) as part of the UK Climate Projections (UKCP09). http://ukclimateprojections.defra.gov.uk/content/view/12/689/.

Zip file contains 17 text files (one for each month, season and the year as a whole). The individual grids are named according to the following convention: vvvvvv_1961-1990_LTA_25km_ppp.txt where 'vvvvvv' is the variable name and 'ppp' is the averaging period, i.e. jan, feb, mar, etc. (for individual months), djf (winter), mam (spring), jja (summer), son (autumn) or ann (for the annual average).

Single netCDF file that contains the data for all months, seasons and the year as a whole.

To view this data you will have to register on the Met Office website, here: http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/research/climate/climate-monitoring/UKCP09/register