17-05-2025
Scotland enjoys record-breaking sunshine as temperatures reach 24C
The sunniest spring on record was in 2020
SCOTLAND has already had more sunshine this year than the whole of last summer.
The Met Office say record books may need to be rewritten if the endless blue skies continue.
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Scotland has already had more sunshine this year than all of last summer
Credit: Michael Schofield
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In the first 15 days of May alone, we saw 136.6 hours of sunshine
Credit: Alamy
Last month already produced astonishing sunshine totals, making it the second-sunniest April in history.
Now, in the first 15 days of this month, Scotland saw 136.6 hours of sunshine, just around 40 short of the 178 hours you would typically see in an entire May.
With sunny Friday and Saturday still to be added to that total, it already works out around 75 per cent of the average for the whole month, when statistically it should only be 50 per cent.
Looking at the spring season as a whole, the months of March, April and May, we have had 460 hours of bright sunshine up to May 15.
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The sunniest spring on record was in 2020 with 520.4 hours.
In the whole of 2024, there were just 384.6 hours.
The fine conditions are expected to continue today and into the middle of next week.
Aiden McGivern of the Met Office said high pressure anchored south of Iceland continues to bring dry and settled weather across the UK.
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He said: "Wherever we had sunshine, it's been high teens or low 20s Celsius. The warmest spots are most likely in western Scotland, where we are seeing 23C or 24C (73-75F).
"And it's unbroken sunshine for western Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales."
Scotland to Enjoy Three Weeks of Sunshine with 25°C Heatwave
Mr McGivern said there would be "one or two drizzly showers in the north east of Scotland" on Sunday.
He added: 'There is always a chance of a shower breaking out across parts of southern Scotland but this will be very isolated.
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"For the vast majority, it's a dry and increasingly sunny day.
"Temperatures will be similar to Saturday, with the high teens or low 20's quite widely, perhaps the mid 20's for western Scotland.
"High UV levels in the sunshine so you might want to protect yourself if you are spending time outdoors."
In the Highlands, images show a rapidly-drying Loch Laggan to the north of Fort William.
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One local said: "I've only seen it as low as this in August or September, not in May."
