This has been UK's sunniest spring ever and there's still time for more
The Met Office has confirmed that the UK has set a new record for sunshine hours this year, beating 2020.
We are currently in the midst of the UK's sunniest spring ever. The Met Office confirmed today that Britain has set a new record for sunshine hours this year.
There have been 630 hours of sunshine recorded in the UK between March 1 and May 27, four hours more than the previous record set in 2020. It is the highest number ever recorded, with data stretching back to 1910.
With four days still to go on the Met Office calendar, there is a chance for the record to be stretched even further before we reach summer. In Scotland, the record was set last week.
By May 22, we had seen 520.5 hours, which saw us sneak past 2020's record of 520.4. Although the weather north of the border has been fairly dreich since then, it's likely that will have been extended.
Northern Ireland also beat their record last week, again edging out 2020. And, unlike that year, at least we have been able to enjoy the sun in 2025, rather than being locked down for most of the season.
It follows a trend of things getting warmer in the UK, which comes with the usual climate change warnings about the global temperature reaching unsustainable levels.
Of the 10 sunniest springs recorded since 1910, seven of them have been this century.
Met Office scientist Emily 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. Now, seven of the top ten sunniest springs on records for the UK since 1910, have occurred since the year 2000.
'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.
"We will bring more updates as we have them this week, and will be releasing the full May and Spring 2025 statistics on Monday, June 2.'
The Met Office measures its patterns by using the HadUK-Grid dataset, which provides monthly stats for UK weather.
It takes observations from weather stations across the country, including: minimum, maximum, and average temperatures; rainfall; sunshine hours; wind speed; days of snow; days of ground frost.
HadUK-Grid processes the figures into a detailed grid of 1km x 1km, covering the entireity of the UK. While the sunshine figures date back to 1910, some of the records stretch back as far as 1836.
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The data allows Met Office scientists to track climate patterns confidently and means they can understand how our climate changes over time.
The sheer coverage of the HADUK-Grid means that individual weather stations opening and closing does not have as big an impact for the national forecaster in tracking weather across the country.
A 30-year period is the internationally accepted standard for calculating climate averages, and with the HadUK-Grid stretching back well over a century, it puts the Met Office in a strong position.
The weather agency is currently using the 1991-2020 period, so if they refer to a weather pattern "compared to average", it means they are measuring current trends against that time period.
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