This year’s summer will “almost certainly” be the warmest on record, according to new figures from the Met Office.
The mean average temperature for the season currently stands at 16.13C, based on data up to August 25.
This is comfortably above the average for the warmest summer on record, which is 15.76C, set in 2018.
“Unless temperatures are around four degrees below average for the rest of August, which the forecast does not suggest, it looks like the current record will be exceeded,” the Met Office said.
It comes as parts of the UK, including London, saw four official heatwaves throughout the summer. All four of them were relatively brief and were interspersed with near-average conditions, the Met Office says.
The highest temperature recorded to date for 2025 was 35.8°C in Faversham, Kent, on July 1.
This is well below the UK’s all-time high of 40.3°C set in July 2022.
So far this summer, rainfall is tracking below average, with 72% of the whole summer’s long-term average recorded.
The dry summer has seen hosepipe bans declared by South East Water, Southern Water, Thames Water and Yorkshire Water.
Levels of sunshine amounts have also been higher than average, with England especially sunny.
The Met Office says several factors have contributed to the persistent warmth, including a dominant high-pressure system and a marine heatwave around the UK enhancing air temperatures. Climate change is also playing a role, with the UK warming at a rate of approximately 0.25C per decade.
It comes as parts of the UK recorded their warmest-ever August bank holiday Monday. London saw a high of 28C as hundreds of thousands of people partied in the streets at Notting Hill Carnival.
