Met Office: UK enters new climate phase, marked by record temperatures and extreme weather

The UK's climate has changed significantly compared to that of the 20th century, with rising temperatures and extreme weather becoming the new normal, according to the latest report from the British Meteorological Agency (Met Office), cited by AFP. The document shows that warming is accelerating, with increasingly visible effects on infrastructure, the economy and society.

According to the Met Office report, 2025 was the warmest year ever recorded in the UK, with an average annual temperature of 10.1 degrees Celsius. It was also the sunniest year since records began in 1910. The authors of the report highlight that the spring and summer of 2025 together recorded a positive anomaly in the average maximum temperature of 2.1 degrees Celsius compared to the usual values, representing the highest value recorded to date. At the same time, the duration of sunshine reached 125% of the average for the period 1991-2020. "What we consider a normal climate today has changed profoundly compared to what it was for most of the 20th century,” the authors of the study emphasize.

• Warming seas and intensification of extreme phenomena

According to the report, the waters around the United Kingdom have also reached unprecedented values. There were 297 days of marine heatwaves in 2025, the highest level since records began in 1982, far exceeding the previous record of 178 days in 2023. The analysis shows that the UK has warmed by an average of around 0.25 degrees Celsius per decade since the 1980s, with the last four years among the five warmest years on record since 1884. At the same time, extreme heat events are becoming more frequent. In London, the number of days with temperatures above 30 degrees Celsius and tropical nights with temperatures above 18 degrees Celsius is more than four times higher than in the period 1961-1990.

• Infrastructure, facing a new climate reality

According to climatologist Mike Kendon, the lead author of the report, much of Britain's infrastructure was designed for climate conditions that no longer correspond to current reality. "The UK's housing, agriculture, health systems and infrastructure were designed for a climate that is no longer represented by current observations," he said, quoted by AFP. The first signs of adaptation have already begun to appear in the economic environment. The Marks & Spencer department store chain announced investments in equipment capable of operating in temperatures of up to 45 degrees Celsius, while the Eurostar rail operator has changed the technical specifications for its new high-speed trains so that air conditioning systems can operate in temperatures of up to 55 degrees Celsius, compared to the original limit of 45 degrees. The Met Office report comes after the UK experienced two record heatwaves this year in May and June, seen by experts as a new sign of accelerating climate change.