The Met Office is expected to confirm on Tuesday that summer 2026 was the UK's hottest since records began in 1884, breaking the mean temperature record set only last year. The season featured five widespread heatwaves and 40 days above 30C, far exceeding the previous record of 34 days, and fits a broader pattern of hotter, more frequent heatwaves driven by human-induced climate change, with weather records now being broken more often and by larger margins.

England and Wales are expected to set new records, with Northern Ireland close behind, though Scotland will fall short. The summer's peak temperature was 38.1C at Kew Gardens on 13 August, and 35C or higher was recorded across four separate months, doubling the previous record of two. Persistent dry, high-pressure conditions fuelled drought across Wales and much of England and contributed to destructive wildfires, including one in Stourbridge that destroyed 19 homes, before wetter weather returned late in August, bringing flash flooding to areas such as Sheffield.