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The Met Office has indicated that 2025 is set to become the hottest year on record in the UK since climate records began, a development driven by ongoing climate change. With only a little over a week remaining in the year, the average air temperature across the country is projected to reach approximately 10.05°C. Although a cooler period around Christmas might slightly influence the final average, it is expected that this figure will surpass the current record of 10.03°C, established in 2022.
This year’s elevated temperatures, combined with a significant reduction in rainfall, contributed to an increased risk of droughts and wildfires throughout both spring and summer, with temperatures reaching a peak of 35.8°C. While annual temperatures naturally fluctuate, scientists emphasize that the observed warming trend is unequivocally linked to human-induced climate change. By the end of 2025, the UK’s warmest ten years since records began in the late 19th century will have all occurred within the last twenty years, underscoring the rapid pace of temperature increase.
Amy Doherty, a climate scientist at the Met Office, explained, “Anthropogenic [human-caused] climate change is causing the warming in the UK as it’s causing the warming across the world.” She further noted that more record-breaking hot years are to be expected, saying, “What we have seen in the past 40 years, and what we’re going to continue to see, is more records broken, more extremely hot years […] so what was normal 10 years ago, 20 years ago, will become [relatively] cool in the future.” The Met Office’s forecast is based on observed temperatures through to 21 December and presumes that the remainder of the month will experience average December temperatures. Because of this, while they cannot guarantee 2025 will definitively be the hottest year, it is regarded as the most probable outcome, marking the sixth time since 2000 that the UK has set a new annual temperature record.
The record-setting temperature year in 2025 was underpinned by extended warm spells in both spring and summer. Each month between March and August recorded temperatures more than 2°C above the long-term average from 1961 to 1990. Although peak temperatures did not reach the July 2022 highs of 40°C, the UK endured four distinct, though relatively brief, heatwaves. These heatwaves prompted several heat-health alerts issued by the UK Health Security Agency. Furthermore, spring ranked as the sixth driest spring since 1836, and with warm weather accelerating soil drying, much of the country faced drought conditions. Various regions in England and Wales were officially designated as drought areas during the summer, while parts of eastern Scotland encountered significant water scarcity, as reported by environmental agencies.
The persistently dry and warm conditions also created a conducive environment for wildfires. By late April, the burned area in the UK had already surpassed previous annual records, with over 47,100 hectares affected throughout 2025, far exceeding the former high of 28,100 hectares recorded in 2019. Dr. Doherty highlighted that, as the UK continues to warm due to greenhouse gas emissions, extreme weather events such as droughts, wildfires, and heatwaves will become more frequent, alongside an increase in intense winter rainfall that may lead to flooding. She stated, “The conditions that people are going to experience are going to continue to change as they have in the last few years [with] more wildfires, more droughts, more heatwaves,” adding that heavier and more sudden rainfalls are also expected in the colder months. On a global scale, the year 2025 is anticipated to rank among the top three warmest years ever recorded, reflecting a worldwide warming trend despite ongoing challenges in international climate commitments
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