Monthly average daily temperatures in the UK 2015-2020

The highest average daily temperature in the United Kingdom since 2015 was recorded in July 2018, at 18.7 degrees Celsius. The summer of 2018 was the joint hottest since institutions began recording temperatures in 1910. By comparison, the summer months of 2020 had a peak average temperature of 17.2 degrees Celsius as recorded in August. One noticeable anomaly during this period was in December 2015, when the average daily temperature reached 9.5 degrees Celsius. This month also experienced the highest monthly rainfall in the UK since before 2014. with England, Wales, and Scotland suffering widespread flooding.

Daily hours of sunshine

Unsurprisingly, the heat wave, which spread across the British Isles in 2018, was the result of particularly sunny weather. July of 2018 saw an average of 8.8 daily sun hours in the UK, which was roughly two hours more than the average for all other years recorded. As for 2019, February proved to be especially noteworthy. On average, the sun shone 4.4 hours per day, roughly 0.7 hours more than the previous year.

Temperatures are on the rise

Since the 1960's, there has been an increase in regional temperatures across the UK. Between 1961 and 1990, temperatures in England averaged nine degrees Celsius, and in the period of 2009 to 2018, average temperatures in the country had increased to 10. Due to its relatively southern location, England continues to rank as the warmest country in the UK.