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Summary
The UK had its hottest and driest summer on record in 2026, with much of the country experiencing heatwaves and drought. Temperature and rainfall varied across regions, with Southern England and Wales facing the highest heat and most areas seeing less rain than usual.Key Facts
- The average maximum daily temperature across the UK in summer 2026 was 21.3°C, which is 2.4°C warmer than the 1991-2020 average.
- Southern England and Wales experienced temperatures well above normal, while Scotland and Northern Ireland were closer to average.
- The UK received 195mm of rain on average, 23% less than the usual summer rainfall from 1991-2020.
- North-western Scotland was the only area with more rain than usual; many other areas declared drought conditions.
- The data comes from the Met Office Hadley Centre’s HadUK Grid dataset, which uses weather station observations and geographic factors.
- Each data point represents an estimate for a 1 km by 1 km area, averaged with neighboring cells to reduce sharp differences.
- The 2026 data is provisional and may be updated as more observations become available.
- Historical averages are based on a 30-year period from 1991 to 2020, aligning with World Meteorological Organization standards.
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