UK summer 2024: How was it for you? (2024)

UK summer 2024: How was it for you? (1)Image source, Getty Images

Simon King

Lead Weather Presenter

  • Published

Sorry, but summer is nearly over, at least in meteorological terms. Autumn starts on 1 September as far as weather forecasters are concerned.

So how was summer for you? I’ve been having a look at the numbers so far and of course the answer is "it depends where you live".

Parts of western Scotland have had their wettest August on record with temperatures below average, while in eastern England it has been warmer than usual.

So our perception of summer is shaped by where you are but also by a bit by what you expect it "should" be like.

Mixed summer weather

June started off on a cool and wet note across the UK with some complaining about having to put their heating on. We did get some hotter days towards the end of the month but overall it was cooler than average.

The slow start to summer continued into the beginning of July which was wet. Some counties in southern and north-east England had their monthly average rainfall in the first half of the month.

Warmer weather at the end of July meant that overall, across the UK it was pretty much average in terms of temperature.

It was through August where we saw the biggest contrasts in the weather.

Eastern and south-eastern areas of England was generally dry and warm with temperatures around two Celsius above average.

The highest temperature recorded was 34.8C at Cambridge on 12 August.

There was also an official heatwave, with four days above the heatwave threshold temperature in some southern locations.

Further north and west however, it was duller, cooler and wetter.

Parts of western Scotland have had one of their wettest summers on record.

For Achnagart, Highland it has been the wettest with more rainfall than the previous record of 727.4mm set in 2017.

Conversely, some parts of the Midlands and eastern England had a drier summer than normal.

So when looking at the whole UK, rainfall comes in at just below average.

Image source, BBC Weather Watchers / Jintysworld

Summer feels

Your experience of the weather throughout summer will clearly vary widely on where you live.

People have told me the weather has been both "rubbish" and "pretty decent".

From the statistics, you can probably guess where those people live.

However, even if the weather appeared to be below par where you are, away from the very wet western Scotland, it was a pretty typical British summer.

We had some brief "heat spikes" between spells of unsettled weather with rain at times.

My BBC Weather colleague Darren Bett told me he has noticed over his many years of presenting the national forecast that it used to be the case that we needed three or four days of dry weather to lift the temperature to 30C.

But now it seems more common for heat to build much more quickly.

  • Heat spike brings threat of thunderstorms

Perhaps our idea of what a typical British summer is may be changing.

Met Office, external Socio-Meteorologist Helen Roberts told BBC Weather that with human biases we tend to get used to extremes and then expect more of the same.

She said: "We notice and focus on the exceptions and extremes, as well as those rose-tinted glasses of our childhood, meaning we selectively remember warm, sunny days outside in the summer holidays, rather than the less fun grey, drizzly days when stuck inside."

We are therefore tricking ourselves to believe summers in the past have been warmer and "better" in the past when in reality they were not really.

Image source, BBC Weather

How is climate change affecting summer?

In 2023, summer was wet but warm, especially in June which ended up being the warmest on record.

The year before, frequent heatwaves in summer 2022 meant it was the joint warmest on record for England with numerous temperature records being broken by considerable margins.

It was also the year when the UK's highest recorded temperature of 40.3C was set.

  • Summer 2022 smashed dozens of records

  • Joint warmest on record for England

According to the Met Office, the number of very hot days when the temperature exceeds 30C have more than trebled in the most recent decade compared to the 1961-1990 average.

Summer heatwaves are becoming more frequent, longer and hotter.

Maximum temperatures recorded every year since the 1960s have also been getting higher.

In the 1960s one temperature above 34C was observed. In the 1990s there were two occurrences above 34C. Since 2010 there have been eight years where the highest temperature in the year exceeded that mark.

Our summers are therefore getting warmer so on occasions like this year when we have not had a particularly high temperature or heatwave, do we feel short-changed?

Climatologists agree that UK summers will become hotter and drier on average even though there will be more intense downpours.

Ms Roberts says, "We will perceive hot, dry weather as less extreme and come to expect more."

As for the weather going into autumn, it actually looks like it will be quite warm for some of us.

On Sunday, the first day of meteorological autumn, temperatures could reach 28C in south-east England.

Elsewhere temperatures should be higher than average, even as we go into the week ahead.

It will be a little mixed though with some showers or longer spells of rain at times.

More on this story

  • Monthly Outlook

    • Published

      1 day ago

  • Weather quiz: Five questions about summer

UK summer 2024: How was it for you? (2024)

FAQs

UK summer 2024: How was it for you? ›

Mixed summer weather

What is the weather like in the UK in summer 2024? ›

The state of British summer 2024 can be summed up in two words: wet and cold. Okay, we've had a few days of glorious sunshine, but for the most part, the weather this year has been bitterly disappointing. Of course, there are parts of the country that have had it worse than others.

Will there be a heatwave in 2024 in the UK? ›

Climatologists agree that UK summers will become hotter and drier on average even though there will be more intense downpours. Ms Roberts says, "We will perceive hot, dry weather as less extreme and come to expect more." As for the weather going into autumn, it actually looks like it will be quite warm for some of us.

Is 2024 the wettest summer on record? ›

Summer 2024 has been so wet it's a record breaker - even though some parts of the country have bucked the trend. It was the wettest ever summer in parts of the West Highlands, with other western areas recording a summer wet enough to make it into their top three. A weather station called Achnagart crowned the list.

Will summer 2024 get better? ›

But summer is a game of two halves, and the rest of July and August 2024 could bring warmer and drier weather that balances out the cool and wet conditions so far — just as that short blast of heat in June masked the chilly air that most of us remember.

Why is it so cold in the UK in July 2024? ›

This time last year, in July 2023, conditions were also unsettled with unseasonably low temperatures, and it seems July 2024 has followed suit, after a cold month prior too. Our July has so far been dominated largely by low pressure across the UK and Ireland, and we mostly have the jet stream to thank.

Are UK summers getting hotter? ›

The summer of 2022 saw temperatures surpass 40°C for the first time on record in the UK, and new national records set in England, Scotland, and Wales, according to the UK Health Security Agency's Health Effects of Climate Change report. Overall, the most recent decade has been the nation's warmest since records began.

Will 2024 be the hottest year? ›

The estimated 2024 annual value is based on the relationship between the January-June temperatures and annual temperatures between 1970 and 2023. Chart by Carbon Brief. Carbon Brief's projection suggests that 2024 is very likely to be the warmest year on record, with a central estimate of 1.57C.

Is the UK turning into a hot country? ›

In fact, the UK has experienced it's top ten hottest years since 2002, with June 2023 recorded as the hottest on record. While many of us enjoy a break from the dull weather, this intense change to our climate isn't all good news.

How hot will UK summer be in 2050? ›

The current annual temperature is roughly 8.8 degrees Celsius, but by 2050 temperatures could rise to between 9.1 degrees Celsius and 11.7 degrees Celsius. The probability of heatwaves could also increase five-fold. In July 2021, the highest ever temperature in England was recorded in Heathrow at 40.2 degrees Celsius.

Why is it so cloudy in the UK? ›

England's geographical location plays a significant role. Positioned on the northeastern edge of the Atlantic Ocean, England experiences a collision of air masses from different directions. This collision creates a recipe for ever-changing weather patterns, with clouds dominating the sky more often than not.

What year is the hottest summer on record? ›

The year 246 CE once held the crown for the warmest summer in the Northern Hemisphere in the last 2,000 years. But 25 of the last 28 years have beat that record, Torbenson says, and 2023's summer tops them all.

Is Glastonbury going to be wet in 2024? ›

“All areas can expect to see some spells of drier, sunnier weather, but there will also be showers or longer spells of rain at times,” Dixon explains. We're keeping you updated daily as the forecast changes, but for now, check out the current weather conditions throughout Glastonbury Festival 2024 (via AccuWeather):

Is UK summer going to be hot in 2024? ›

Although a few places reached heatwave conditions back at the end of June, summer 2024 so far has been cooler than average. At the time of writing, the mean temperature in the UK stands at 13.04°C, which is 1.55°C cooler than the long-term meteorological average for the summer reason.

What is the weather like in the UK in July 2024? ›

July 2024 has continued June's theme of cooler than average weather, with temperatures persistently below average across the UK for the first part of the month.

Will it be 40 degrees in the UK in 2024? ›

UK Heatwave July 2024: Exact Date a Scorching 10-Day 40C Heatwave Is Forecast For Britain. The best things in life are free. Sign up for our email to enjoy your city without spending a thing (as well as some options when you're feeling flush).

What was the hottest month in England? ›

England's highest monthly mean air temperatures are typically recorded in July and August of each year.

Will it be warm in April 2024 in the UK? ›

April 2024 was a month of two halves, with a warm fortnight in the first half that pushed the rolling 1991-2020 average Central England Temperature (CET) some 3C above average for a time, followed by colder weather, which brought colder than average temperatures for the last 2 weeks of the month bringing the average ...

Will we have a cold winter in 2024 in the UK? ›

Temperature Outlook: Cold Spells and Polar Vortex Influence

Winter 2024/2025 is predicted to see colder-than-average temperatures, particularly during the core winter months of December to February. The presence of a weaker-than-normal Polar Vortex could exacerbate these cold conditions.

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