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The UK has already had its sunniest year on record, the Met Office has confirmed, after the country battled droughts and sweltered in heatwaves.
Though the country is currently swathed in December gloom, the rest of the year brought vast amounts of sunshine.
Up to 15 December, the UK had recorded 1,622 hours of sunshine, beating its previous sunniest year, 2003, in a series which dates back to 1910. In contrast, 2024 was the dullest year since 1998.
This year was mostly driven by England, which has had its sunniest year on record, but Scotland has already had its second sunniest year on record, and Wales its sixth. Northern Ireland is not yet within its top 10 sunniest years, though the Met Office says this could change by the end of the year. However, Magilligan in County Derry recorded 301.3 hours of sunshine in May 2025, the highest monthly sunshine total ever recorded in Northern Ireland in any month.
Spring was the sunniest season, and was the sunniest spring on record. It was the season with the fourth most sunshine on record, beaten by three summers: 1911, 1976 and 1995. Summer was then sunnier than average.
While January was sunny, February brought cloudy weather and there was a duller meteorological winter than average. Autumn also had below-average sunshine amounts.
The Met Office senior scientist Mike 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.”
Met Office data shows the UK has become sunnier since the 1980s. Reduced aerosols in the air could be a cause, its scientists said, but climate projections currently show no definitive evidence of a future trend in sunshine amounts due to climate change.
The higher than average sunshine hours boosted the UK’s solar farms. More than 6% of Britain’s annual energy requirements were met by solar this year, which is more than a 50% increase on recent years.
Summer 2025 was the hottest on record in the UK, and the Met Office said this had been a very warm year generally, and that more data on this was coming.
Overall rainfall totals were below average, and some areas saw record low levels of rain.
