'This is our future,' climate adviser warns as 2025 to break heat records
2025 Set to be UK's Hottest Year on Record
The Met Office has announced that 2025 is on track to be the UK's hottest year since records began in 1884. With just over a week remaining, the average annual temperature is tracking at 10.05°C, marginally beating the previous record of 10.03°C set in 2022.
Professor Rachel Kyte, the UK's Special Representative for Climate, warned that these rising temperatures are becoming the "new normal" and urged the government to prioritize resilience and adaptation.
Key Records and Trends
The expected record for 2025 is the result of persistent, record-breaking warmth throughout the year rather than a single extreme peak.
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Warmest Summer & Spring: Both spring and summer 2025 were the warmest ever recorded in the UK.
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Sunniest Year: The UK also surpassed its record for sunshine hours, recording 1,622 hours by mid-December, beating the 2003 record.
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Rapid Warming: If confirmed, 2025 will be the sixth time this century that a new annual temperature record has been set (following 2002, 2003, 2006, 2014, and 2022).
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Decade of Extremes: By the end of this year, the UK's ten warmest years on record will all have occurred within the last two decades.
Environmental and Economic Impact
The combination of high temperatures and low rainfall has triggered significant environmental challenges across the country.
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Wildfire Crisis: 2025 has been the worst year on record for wildfires. More than 47,100 hectares (roughly 182 square miles) have been burned—nearly double the previous record of 28,100 hectares set in 2019.
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Agricultural Strain: The persistent heat and dry soil have impacted crop yields and led to "serious water scarcity" in parts of eastern Scotland and droughts across England and Wales earlier in the summer.
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Public Health: The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) issued multiple heat-health alerts during the summer as four separate heatwaves posed risks to the elderly and vulnerable.
The Call for Adaptation
Professor Kyte emphasized that while emissions must be curbed, the UK must also invest heavily in adaptation to survive the "new normal."
"This is our future, encapsulated in data. The question is: how can we prepare ourselves and strengthen our resilience to this? If we don't invest in our adaptation now, it's going to cost us way more."
Met Office scientists warned that the "baseline" temperature is shifting. What was considered a "hot" year ten or twenty years ago will likely be viewed as a "cool" year in the future. Furthermore, while summers are becoming drier and hotter, winters are projected to become wetter with more intense rainfall, leading to a higher risk of flooding.
