United Kingdom Climate
Coverage: England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland
This month in numbers
April 2026 was notably warm and sunny for the United Kingdom, ranking as the 7th warmest April on record with an average temperature of 9°C, an anomaly of +2.3°C compared to the 1961–1990 baseline. Sunshine hours were particularly high, with 215 hours recorded, making it the 4th sunniest April in 117 years of records. Looking at the three-month period from February to April 2026, the mean temperature of 7.2°C ranked as the 4th warmest on record, with an anomaly of +2.4°C. This period also saw significantly fewer frost days, with only 12 days, ranking as the 3rd fewest in 96 years of records.
What changed
The past three months (February-April 2026) have seen a clear trend towards warmer and less frosty conditions across the UK. The country's mean temperature for this period was 7.2°C, placing it as the 4th warmest on record. This contrasts with a global land temperature that also ranked as the 2nd warmest for the same three-month period, indicating a widespread warming trend. The United Kingdom's 1-month anomaly of +2.84°C placed it 67th of 234 regions globally, while its 3-month anomaly of +2.34°C also ranked 67th.
What’s driving change?
The warmer and less frosty conditions experienced in the UK over the past few months can be attributed to several factors. A strong, south-shifted jet stream has been steering low-pressure systems towards the UK, contributing to periods of heavy rainfall earlier in the year. This was particularly evident in January and February 2026, with several named storms bringing heavy rainfall and flooding across large parts of the UK, including Storm Chandra in late January. Some areas in the south-west of England experienced nearly twice the long-term average rainfall in early 2026, leading to widespread flooding and infrastructure damage. While the early part of the year was exceptionally wet, April saw a shift to drier and sunnier conditions, with southerly winds from continental Europe contributing to unseasonably warm temperatures, including the UK's hottest day of 2026 so far on April 8th. The current ENSO state is Neutral, with a strong probability of transitioning to El Niño by May-July 2026, which typically brings cooler conditions to Northern Europe in winter, though very strong El Niños have historically led to warmer winters. The has also played a role, with a strengthened jet stream influencing weather patterns.
Looking ahead
The forecast suggests a dominant shift towards El Niño conditions in the coming months, with an 87% probability by July-September, which could influence future weather patterns for the United Kingdom.
Sources:
Generated by Gemini from climate data and web sources
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Data Sources
Data Sources for United Kingdom
Every figure on this page is sourced from official, openly published climate datasets. Anomalies are calculated against the 1961–1990 baseline (temperature) and 1991–2020 (rainfall, sunshine, frost) — see the Methodology & Sources page for the complete dataset list and update calendar.
Country-level temperature anomaly, sourced from Copernicus ERA5 and Hadley HadCRUT5.
UK Tmean / Tmax / Tmin, rainfall, rain-days, sunshine and air-frost series. © Crown copyright.
Annual country and global CO₂ emissions, from the Global Carbon Project.
FAQs
FAQs
How is the climate in United Kingdom changing?
United Kingdom is warming in line with the rest of the world. The page above shows the latest monthly temperature anomaly versus the 1961-1990 baseline, the long-term annual trend, and the region's rank in the historical record. The trend rate is shown as °C per decade in the headline panel; you can also see the warmest and coolest years on file.
Where does the climate data for United Kingdom come from?
Climate data for United Kingdom comes from the UK Met Office HadUK-Grid (temperature, rainfall, sunshine, air frost), Our World in Data, sourcing Copernicus ERA5 and HadCRUT5 (national temperature anomaly) and the Global Carbon Project via Our World in Data (CO₂ emissions), refreshed every month, when the upstream temperature and rainfall data are refreshed.
What is the climate baseline used on this page?
Anomalies on this page are calculated against the 1961-1990 climatological baseline, which is the standard reference period used by the Met Office, NOAA, IPCC and most national climate services. Some panels also show the source-native 1901-2000 (NOAA) or 1991-2020 (WMO) baselines for verification. See Methodology & Sources for the full reference.
Which areas does the United Kingdom climate data cover?
The United Kingdom climate profile covers England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and surrounding areas. Temperature, rainfall, sunshine & frost data since 1884
How often is the United Kingdom climate update refreshed?
The United Kingdom climate update is refreshed monthly, typically a few days after the previous month closes and the upstream provider (Met Office HadUK-Grid, NOAA Climate at a Glance, Copernicus ERA5 or the Global Carbon Project) publishes its update. See the Climate Rankings for cross-region comparisons.