The statistics for spring 2025 are out showing the sunniest and warmest times on record. For most of May, there was little rain, as water scarcity concerns grew,
Spring 2025 will be remembered for the warm, dry and sunny weather across the UK. The Met Office data has been published for May 2025 and spring 2025. It has been the warmest and sunniest spring on record for the UK.
Ignoring the last week of May, it will be no surprise to hear about the sunshine record. What is stunning is that spring 2025 is the fourth sunniest season overall for the UK. There have only been three summers that have been sunnier since 1910. Spring meteorologically is March, April and May whereas summer is June, July and August.
Whilst many people may have enjoyed the fine spring weather, the endless lack of rain increased concerns about water supplies. A drought was declared for northwest England on May 21st and parts of eastern Scotland had reached moderate water scarcity
“The Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra) said north-east and north-west England had not experienced as dry a period between January and April since 1929.”
All four nations recorded their warmest spring for mean temperatures in a series back to 1884. 2024 was the previous record holder.
“Eight of the ten warmest UK springs have occurred since the year 2000 and the three warmest springs have all occurred since 2017” Met Office. A worrying sign of our changing climate.
Northern Ireland's warmest spring beat a record set back in 1893. You would expect the high daytime temperatures to go hand in hand with plenty of sunshine. High pressure dominated the weather, barely moving and bringing a long settled spell with little rain.
It was the sunniest spring on record for the UK overall and also for Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. It was the second sunniest spring on record for England (2020 was sunnier) although England did record its sunniest March and April on record.
Northern Ireland recorded its sunniest overall season, not just for spring, but any season. It was the sunniest April on record for the UK and it was the second sunniest May on record for the UK.
There was a shift in the weather towards the end of May, which is lasting into the start of June. A mobile westerly flow is bringing more unsettled weather with frontal bands and plenty of showers from the Atlantic. This disrupted spring 2025’s run for the driest title and the Triple (sunniest, warmest, driest).
There was very low rainfall for much of May and overall in spring. Northern parts of the UK have seen a dry autumn and winter leading to concerns about the rest of 2025. Groundwater aquifer stores were helping southern England but northern Britain tended to rely on more surface supplies. These decreased as the dry spell continued. Farmers worried as crops became stressed. By mid-May, the UK was experiencing its driest spring in over 100 years. By the end of the month, the rain did arrive but it wasn’t enough to balance the many dry months in the north. The recent rain has boosted river flows and soil moisture content. In the end, it was the driest spring in more than 50 years for the UK, and for England the driest in more than 100 years, back to 1893.
May 2025
This was a sunny, warm month with high pressure until the change in the last week or so. Scotland and Northern Ireland saw their sunniest Mays. It was the second sunniest May for Wales and the UK. England saw its third sunniest May and its second warmest May. Lerwick, Shetland saw the highest daily sunshine amount with 15.7 hours on the 14th. The highest temperature was right at the start of the month for Kew Gardens, London with 29.3C on the first. The lowest temperature was -5.1C on the 14th/15th at Altnaharra, Highland in a chilly northeasterly flow with other Scottish observation sites recording a late-season air frost. In May Northern England recorded 75% of its monthly rainfall but Southern England recorded only 47%. The highest daily rainfall amount in May was in Achnagart, Highland with 46mm on the 25th.
We see yet another record warm season, another warmest month. “Globally, 2024 was also the warmest year on record, following on from the remarkable warmth of 2023”. Copernicus
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