Extreme weather events across the UK are no longer rare but are becoming the country’s “new normal,” according to the Met Office, as its latest climate report warns that rising temperatures are driving more frequent and intense heatwaves, droughts and heavy rainfall.
The warning comes as the Met Office published its annual State of the UK Climate report, revealing that 2025 was the warmest year on record since national records began in 1884. Scientists say the pace of warming is accelerating, with the last four years ranking among the five hottest ever recorded in the UK.
Mike Kendon, the Met Office’s lead climate scientist and report author, said weather conditions once considered exceptional are now becoming increasingly common.
“What we used to think of as extreme, we increasingly consider as normal,” Kendon said, pointing to a sharp rise in record-breaking temperatures and more frequent heatwaves.
The report highlights that average UK temperatures have risen by around 0.25°C per decade since the 1980s. In parts of southeast England, the hottest day of the year is now more than 4.5°C warmer than it was during the 1961–1990 period, while Greater London experiences more than four times as many days above 30°C compared with previous decades.
Scientists also noted significant shifts in rainfall patterns, with wetter winters, drier springs and increasingly frequent marine heatwaves. England experienced its driest spring in more than a century during 2025, while prolonged periods of extreme heat have become more common.
The Met Office warned that without stronger climate adaptation and emissions reductions, the UK should expect more frequent and severe weather extremes in the years ahead. The findings come amid another summer of heatwaves across Britain and Europe, reinforcing concerns that climate change is reshaping the country’s weather patterns.