// BBC UK NEWS — CRONACA
Summer 2026 expected to be declared UK's hottest on record
The Met Office is expected to confirm that the UK has had its hottest summer since records began in 1884.
Provisional figures for the months of June, July and August are due to be released on Tuesday afternoon and are likely to reveal that mean temperatures - which include daytime and overnight values - have broken the previous record, set just last year.
It follows a spring and summer of persistent heat with five widespread heatwaves and 40 days of temperatures above 30C (86F), smashing the previous record of 34 days.
The temperature figures are in line with evidence that summers are getting hotter, with more intense and frequent heatwaves, as a result of human-induced climate change. Records are being broken more often - and by bigger margins.
For much of the summer, areas of high pressure have dominated the UK weather, with dry conditions and winds from continental Europe allowing temperatures to rise repeatedly.
On 11 August the Met Office said it was looking increasingly likely to be the hottest summer since records began.
The UK's mean temperature for the summer up to that point stood at 16.48C (61.66F), with only average conditions needed during the remainder of August to confirm the seasonal record.
The second half of the month did bring a change in the pattern with cooler, wetter weather for many - but overall temperatures have mostly remained around or above the seasonal norm.
Some variations are expected in the final figures for the four UK nations.
England and Wales are both expected to set new records, Northern Ireland is likely to come close - but Scotland will fall short.