The big picture
Real talk: this summer was objectively intense. The UK just hit its hottest summer on record, with almost everyone dealing with persistent heatwaves and a major lack of rain. If it felt like the vibes were off and the ground was turning into dust, you weren't imagining it.
Across the UK, the average daily maximum temperature hit 21.3C, which is 2.4C higher than the historical average from 1991 to 2020. While Southern England and Wales really felt the burn, Scotland and Northern Ireland were a bit closer to what we usually expect.
Rain was a myth
It wasn't just hot; it was thirsty. We saw 195mm of rain on average, which is about 23% lower than normal. Aside from north-western Scotland, which actually caught some extra rain, much of the country was stuck in a drought.
The science tea
Why did this happen? It’s giving climate change. According to the Met Office, human-caused climate change made this summer’s extreme temperatures about 130 times more likely. High-pressure systems parked over the country, and thanks to global warming from burning fossil fuels, those warm spells reached levels they wouldn't have in the past.
Keep in mind, this data from the HadUK Grid is still provisional, so things might shift slightly as more info comes in. But the takeaway is clear: the planet is heating up, and it's impacting our local weather patterns in real-time.
Why it matters
As the world keeps pumping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, these kinds of "record-breaking" summers are becoming the new normal. It’s not just about sweating through a heatwave; it’s about how our soil, vegetation, and infrastructure handle the long-term shift toward a drier, hotter climate.
