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UK Weather Reports Flooding Jet Stream Hurricanes Atlantic Ocean Climate Change

May overall was sunny, warm and dry, with high pressure dominating for most of the month. May started with high pressure situated to the west of the UK. A few frontal systems brought rain to Scotland on the second and third, before the high pressure shifted to sit over the UK. A low pressure system to the southwest of the UK brought some heavy rain and thunderstorms to southwestern England, Wales and Northern Ireland on the 11th and 12th, before the high pressure returned once again. The second week of May saw temperatures slightly below average for most areas, before temperatures increased into the third week. Clear skies at night led to some cooler nights, with some frost conditions in northern and rural areas. High pressure persisted through mid-month, with some scattered showers in places but otherwise fine weather for most of the UK. The weather turned more unsettled from the 23rd onwards, as lower pressure pushed towards the UK and frontal systems brought rain to much of the country. Some showers were heavy with hail and thunder in northern areas on the 25th, but there were still many areas that saw dry weather. Scattered showers persisted for the next few days, in an unsettled end to May.


Read the full May 2025 climate summary


The May 2025 global surface temperature was 1.10°C higher than the 20 century average. This was the second-warmest May since NOAA's records began in 1850. Only May of 2024 was warmer, with a temperature 0.08°C higher than 2025. The May 2025 global surface temperature was 0.10°C higher than in 2020, which currently holds the third-warmest May on record. May 2020 notably marked the first time a May temperature reached 1.0°C above the 20 century average. The ten warmest Mays on record have all occurred since 2014. May 2025 also marked the 49 consecutive May with above average global temperatures. The global land-only surface temperature for May 2025 was also the second-highest in the 176-year record, with a temperature 1.61°C higher than the 20th-century average. May 2024 was the warmest on record, with a temperature 1.63°C higher than average. The global ocean only May surface temperature was 0.88°Chigher than average — also the second-highest for May in the 176-year record. Only May 2024 was warmer (+0.98°C / +1.76°F).


May 2025 was warmer than average for the United Kingdom. It had its fifth warmest May on record, with a mean temperature 1.3°C higher than average. Each of the four UK nations experienced a top 10 warm May, with England having its second-warmest May, Northern Ireland its third warmest, and sixth warmest for Wales.


Maximum temperature in May 2025 was the warmest on record for the UK as a whole and individually for England Wales and Northern Ireland.


Globally, the March–May 2025 surface temperature was 1.22°C higher than the 20th-century average and was the second-warmest on record (out of 176 years). This value was only 0.05°C cooler than the record set only the year prior (2024).The ten warmest March to May periods have all occurred since 2015.


Read the full Global Climate Report for May









UK Climate Forecast  38 Union Street  Grantham  Lincolnshire  NG31 6NZ  


Ocean temperatures are off the charts right now and scientists are alarmed


One major driver of the heat is believed to be an approaching – and potentially strong – El Niño, a natural climate fluctuation associated with warming in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean, which has a global heating effect.

February 2024 was the warmest February in England and Wales since records began in 1884. The mean temperature across the whole of the UK was 6.3C (43.3F), the second warmest February for the whole country since the last record of 6.8C (44.2F) was set in 1998. The south of England also had its wettest February in a time series dating back to 1836, with much of the region experiencing more than twice the average rainfall. Average rainfall across the UK was 139.8mm which falls just outside the top 10 wettest Februarys on record. The highest amount of February rainfall ever was 213.7mm in 2020. East Anglia broke records on both fronts having had its warmest and wettest February on record. The area saw 106.4mm of rain throughout February and had a mean temperature of 8.2C (46.8F).

State of the UK Climate Report 2023

Published 25 July 2024


Climate change indicators reached record

 levels in 2023




Climate Analytics    NCAR Climate Analysis    Climate Models   

WMO State of Global Climate 2024

Published 19 March 2025   

The goal of climate analysis is to better understand the Earth’s past and present climate, and to predict future climate response to changes in natural and human-induced factors, such as the Sun, greenhouse gases (e.g., water vapour, carbon dioxide and methane), and aerosols (e.g., from dust storms, pollution, fires, sea spray or volcanic eruptions). Climate analysis studies are routinely carried out using a mix of data from diverse sources including historical climate data, current and past satellite instruments, field campaigns, and outputs from regional and global numerical models. A climatic data element is a measured parameter which helps to specify the climate of a specific location or region, such as precipitation, temperature, wind speed and humidity.