UK basks in sunniest spring since records began with four days still to go, Met Office confirms
28 May 2025, 14:36
The UK has experienced its sunniest spring on record, with four days of the season still to go.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
The record means seven of the top 10 sunniest springs have all occurred since the year 2000.
Some 630 hours of sunshine were clocked up across the country between March 1 and May 27, according to provisional figures from the Met Office.
This beats the previous record of 626 hours set in 2020.
The Met Office’s data for sunshine began in 1910.
Last year the UK saw only 377 hours of sunshine across March, April and May, making it one of the dullest springs on record.
Met Office Scientist Emily Carlisle said: “The UK has now, provisionally, recorded its sunniest spring on record, with still a few days of the season to go.
“We all remember the exceptionally sunny spring of 2020, but that title has now been surpassed by the spring of 2025. Now, seven of the top ten sunniest springs on records for the UK since 1910, have occurred since the year 2000.
“It has indeed been an extremely sunny and dry spring for the majority, but with a few days left of the season and more unsettled weather this week, it’s too early to say what will happen with other records.”
Figures for rainfall are due to be published by the Met Office later this week.
They are likely to show the UK has experienced one of its driest ever springs, despite heavy downpours in some areas in recent days.
It is set to break the record for the driest spring in over a century, as the country has only seen 80mm of rainfall so far this year - compared to the average 229mm.
Experts have already warned of an increased risk of droughts and wildfires this summer because of this prolonged dry spell, as well as the increases in heat and sunshine.
The last time the country was officially in drought was in 2022, when temperatures hit 40C.
The situation this year is much worse than in 2022, however. Spring of 2022 saw around 78% of expected rainfall – spring of 2025 has only seen 35% rainfall.
Reservoir levels are also 10% lower this year than they were in 2022, which saw 19 million people banned from using their hosepipes.
This has led to the Environment Agency warning of a "medium" risk of drought in England this summer without sustained rainfall.
The regulator has said there are currently no hosepipe bans planned, but it warned water companies might have to implement measures including restrictions in the months ahead.
Earlier this month, the Environment Agency said North West and North East England had both seen their driest start to a calendar year since 1929, while England as a whole had endured its driest February to April period since 1956.
This was before the recent rainfall, however.
