2025 is on track to be the UK’s hottest year on record, according to the Met Office.
As the end of the year looms, experts have revealed the average temperature over the last 12 months is projected to be 10.05°C (50.09°F).
If correct, this would mean 2025 overtakes the current record of 10.03°C (50°F) set in 2022.
However, a colder spell forecast from Christmas into the New Year makes it too close to call definitively.
‘If confirmed at year end, this will be the second annual UK temperature record for the UK this decade with the previous being in 2022,’ Mike Kendon, a senior scientist in the Met Office’s climate information team, said.
‘This should come as no surprise. Over the last four decades we have seen the UK’s annual temperature rise by around 1.0°C.
‘We will have to wait for the year end before confirming 2025’s final number, but at this stage it looks more likely than not that 2025 will be confirmed as the warmest year on record for the UK.’
‘However, it will not be long until this record is broken again.’
2025 is on track to be the UK’s hottest year on record, according to the Met Office, with temperatures regularly exceeding previous averages
The chart above shows periods during 2025 where the mean temperature for the UK has been above average (orange) or below average (blue)
According to the data, four of the UK’s last five years will appear in the top five warmest in a series from 1884 – an indication of just how fast the climate is changing, the Met Office warned.
All top 10 warmest years will have occurred in the last two decades.
If the record is confirmed, this will only be the second year in observational records where the UK’s annual mean temperature has exceeded 10°C.
Mr Kendon said we are living in ‘extraordinary times’, with temperature records regularly being overtaken.
‘Since the start of the 21st Century a new record has been set for UK annual mean temperature no less than six times – in 2002, 2003, 2006, 2014, 2022 and now 2025, if confirmed,’ he said.
‘Each record is progressively warmer than the last. In terms of our climate, we are living in extraordinary times.
‘The changes we are seeing are unprecedented in observational records back to the 19th Century.’
This summer was officially the hottest on record for the UK, with the mean temperature across the country reaching 16.10°C (60.98°F).
Brits sunbathing on Sunny Sands beach in Folkestone, Kent, in July. 2025 was England’s sunniest year on record and is set to also become the hottest
This was 1.51°C above the long-term average and is in line with evidence that summers are getting hotter and drier because of climate change.
A total of four heatwaves were recorded between June and August, triggering hosepipe bans across parts of the country.
The highest temperature of the summer was 35.8°C (96.4°F), recorded at Faversham in Kent on July 1.
While it may seem relatively modest compared with some of the exceptional highs of previous years, scientists have also published a study detailing the increasing likelihood of extreme temperatures in the UK.
The study, published in the Weather journal, revealed that the chance of exceeding 40°C in the UK is accelerating at pace.
In July 2022, the UK experienced its first recorded temperature above 40°C, when Coningsby in Lincolnshire reached 40.3°C (104.54°F).
This unprecedented temperature formed part of Europe’s warmest summer on record. There were significant impacts, including wildfires, disruptions to transport and power systems, and increased mortality.
Separate statistics, released last week, revealed this year was the UK’s sunniest on record with 1,622 hours of sunshine recorded up until 15 December.
Swimmers cool off during the August 2025 heatwave. The most recent sunniest year on record for England was 2003
Commenting on those figures, Mr Kendon said: ‘The record-breaking sunshine across the UK this year was driven by the frequent influence of high pressure that reduced cloud cover and brought sunny skies for many. ‘Spring was exceptional, and many will remember the long spells of days with largely unbroken sunshine.
‘It began with the third-sunniest March on record, followed by a record-breaking sunniest April and then the second-sunniest May.
‘All three months of the summer also saw above-average sunshine hours and while sunny periods are not unusual at this time of year, the duration and consistency of high-pressure systems made 2025 notably sunnier than average.
‘So far this year, only the months of February and October have recorded below-average sunshine hours.’
