The UK experienced its hottest summer on record in 2026, marked by extreme heat and widespread drought. Much of the country endured repeated heatwaves, with temperatures significantly higher than usual. The average maximum daily temperature reached 21.3°C, which is 2.4°C above the average for summers between 1991 and 2020. While most of the UK saw temperatures above normal, Southern England and Wales experienced particularly extreme heat, whereas Scotland and Northern Ireland had temperatures closer to their historical averages. Rainfall was below average for the summer, with an overall total of 195mm—23% less than the average from 1991 to 2020. Only north-western Scotland received more rain than usual, while drought conditions were declared across much of the rest of the country. These conditions were influenced by high-pressure weather systems that lingered over the UK, bringing prolonged periods of clear skies and dry weather. The data comes from the HadUK Grid dataset, produced by the Met Office Hadley Centre. This dataset uses information from land-based weather stations, along with factors like altitude, terrain, and proximity to the coast, to estimate weather conditions across a 1km by 1km grid. However, the data for 2026 is considered provisional, as fewer observations were available due to delays in data collection. This means the final figures could change slightly as more information becomes available. The Met Office has stated that human-caused climate change made this summer's high temperatures approximately 130 times more likely. Warmer temperatures can cause vegetation and soil to dry out more quickly, which worsens the impact of low rainfall. Climate models predict that UK summers will become drier on average in the future, although heavy rainfall events may become more intense when they occur.