UK has its sunniest spring since records began, Met Office says

Met Office scientist Emily Carlisle said seven of the top 10 sunniest springs on record for the UK have occurred since the year 2000.

Wednesday 28 May 2025 15:38, UK

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The UK has had its sunniest spring since records began in 1910, according to provisional figures from the Met Office.

The UK recorded 630 hours of sunshine between 1 March and 27 May - beating its previous sunniest spring in 2020 by four hours, the forecaster said.

Last week, the Met Office confirmed both Scotland and Northern Ireland had already had recorded their respective sunniest springs, beating records also set in 2020.

The UK had only 377 hours of sunshine across March, April and May in 2024 - making it one of the dullest springs on record.

Could next four days push this spring to a new record?

Jo Robinson

Weather producer

Recent months have been remarkable with mostly dry, sunny, and warm conditions.

The latest news from the Met Office is that provisional figures for the UK show it's been the sunniest spring since records began in 1910.

630 hours of sunshine have been reported up to 27 May, beating the sunny spring of 2020.

Scotland and Northern Ireland have also had their sunniest springs, with 570 and 598.3 hours respectively.

In fact, Northern Ireland is just 13 hours off its sunniest season, with the record standing at 611 hours for summer 1995.

As for spring for England and Wales, they are currently just short of their 2020 sunshine records, with 28 hours and 6 hours needed respectively to take top spot.

There are still four days to go (including today), which will bring some sunshine, especially for England and Wales.

It won't be the widespread blue skies we've been used to this season, but may be enough for all nations to see their sunniest springs on record.

It's likely to be one of the driest and warmest springs for the UK too.

Looking further ahead to June, the meteorological start to summer, the changeable conditions are likely to continue for the first week.

Computer models then suggest high pressure will return to settle things down again.

Temperatures are likely to be above average, perhaps with some hot spells at times.

Met Office scientist Emily Carlisle said seven of the top 10 sunniest springs on record for the UK have occurred since the year 2000. The forecaster's data for sunshine began in 1910.

Ms Carlisle said: "The UK has now, provisionally, recorded its sunniest spring on record, with still a few days of the season to go. We all remember the exceptionally sunny spring of 2020, but that title has now been surpassed by the spring of 2025."

"It has indeed been an extremely sunny and dry spring for the majority, but with a few days left of the season and more unsettled weather this week, it's too early to say what will happen with other records."

Find out the forecast for your area

The Met Office has said it will be releasing the full statistics for spring 2025 on 2 June.

Figures for rainfall are due to be published by the Met Office later this week and likely to show the UK has had one of its driest ever springs, despite heavy downpours in some areas in recent days.

Earlier this month, millions of UK households were warned they could face water restrictions as parts of the country experienced an "unusually dry spring".

It came as the Environment Agency said North West and North East England had both seen their driest start to a calendar year since 1929, while England as a whole had endured its driest February to April period since 1956.

This was before the recent rainfall, however.

England's overall reservoir storage stood at 84% at the end of April, lower than at this time of year in the drought summer of 2022.

The Environment Agency has said the UK faces a "medium" risk of drought this summer without sustained rainfall.

It said while there are currently no hosepipe bans planned, water companies might have to implement measures including restrictions in the months ahead.

The regulator also urged utilities to take action to cut leaks and help customers save water.

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UK has its sunniest spring since records began, Met Office says

Could next four days push this spring to a new record?

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