Historic July sees record dryness, unprecedented sunshine and exceptional warmth

England and Wales have provisionally, recorded their driest July on record, with Southern England seeing its driest month ever recorded, in a series dating back to 1836. 

Wales recorded its joint warmest July on record for mean temperature, with the UK and England their second, and Southern England recording its warmest July on record.  

The month was also exceptionally sunny, with the UK, England and Wales recording their sunniest Julys on record, and England and Wales experiencing their sunniest calendar month ever observed. 

The remarkable conditions come after a summer already marked by multiple heat records, which have contributed to drought conditions affecting the whole of Wales and around half of England. 

Met Office Science Manager Dr. Amy Doherty said: 

"July 2026 has been a truly remarkable month in the UK's climate record. Both England and Wales have provisionally recorded their driest July on record – Wales also its joint warmest. Southern England has seen its driest month ever recorded, and England and Wales have each experienced their sunniest month ever observed.  

“The combination of record-breaking dryness, exceptional warmth and unprecedented sunshine has delivered one of the most notable summer months in our historical records."

Rainfall: England and Wales record driest July on record

Provisional rainfall statistics show: 

• England has recorded its driest July on record, in a series since 1836, with just 6.5mm of rainfall recorded – just 10% of its long-term meteorological average for the month, and less than half of the previous record of 13.4mm set in 1911. 
• July has also been the third driest month ever on record for England, behind February 1891 and June 1925.  
• Wales has recorded its driest July on record, with 9.3mm of rainfall – just 9% of its long-term meteorological average for the month and less than half of the previous record of 22.6mm set in 1911. 
• The UK has seen its third driest July on record, with 28.9mm of rainfall, which is 35% of average rainfall – the driest July nationally since 1868.  
• Northern Ireland has seen its eighth driest July on record, with 30% of average rainfall. 
• Scotland has recorded 69% of its average rainfall and is the only nation not to come close to breaking records.   
• Southern England has been particularly dry, seeing just 1.9mm – just 3% of its long-term average rainfall for the month. This makes it Southern England's driest month ever recorded. 

Nineteen counties recorded less than (or equal to) 1mm of rainfall across the entire month: Berkshire, Dorset, East Riding of Yorkshire, East Sussex, Essex, Gloucestershire, Greater London, Herefordshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Rutland, Surrey, Warwickshire and West Sussex.  
 
So far this year, four months have seen above average rainfall (January, February, March and June), with three months seeing below average monthly rainfall (April, May and now July).

This map shows the driest Julys on record for each county.  

The below graph shows just how little rainfall the UK has seen throughout the month.  

Helen Wakeham, Chair of the National Drought Group and Director of Water at the Environment Agency, said:

“Dry weather depletes our water, while the hot conditions mean we use more of it. This is a difficult combination, and we are seeing the effects on our farmers, our wildlife, and the amount available for public and business use.

“All sectors are taking action, and we are grateful to the public for following the restrictions, where in place, to make sure there is enough water for everyone this summer. 

“We want everyone to stay safe and hydrated during the hot weather but every drop we can save is a drop more for nature and agriculture.”

Temperatures: Wales records its joint warmest July on record    

The dry conditions have been accompanied by exceptional warmth across much of the UK. Provisional statistics show: 

• Wales has recorded its joint warmest July for mean temperature on record, joining 2006 and 1983 with a mean temperature of 17.8°C  
• The UK has seen its second warmest July for mean temperature on record. 
• England has seen its second warmest July for mean temperature on record. 
• Northern Ireland has seen its joint fourth warmest July for mean temperature on record. 
• Scotland has not seen mean temperatures within its top 10 on record.

It has also been Southern England's warmest July for mean temperature on record. 

This makes July the sixth consecutive month this year to see above average mean temperatures, with only January 2026 so far experiencing mean temperatures below average. 

Temperatures have been above average both day and night. 

Daily maximum temperatures (the highest temperature recorded during the 24-hour period from 09:00-09:00) have been the highest on record for July for Wales, second highest for England, and join second highest for the UK. 

Daily minimum temperatures (the lowest temperature recorded during the 24-hour period from 09:00-09:00) have also been exceptionally high, with Northern Ireland recording its highest temperatures on record. 

With a UK average temperature of 17.4°C, the July 2026 mean temperature was 2°C above the long-term July average (1991-2020), showing a continued trend of increasing average temperatures. The below graph shows mean temperatures for July from 1884. 

Sunshine: record-breaking for some 

The settled conditions also delivered above-average sunshine across much of the UK. 

Provisional sunshine statistics show: 

• The UK has recorded its sunniest July on record, in a series from 1910 
• England recorded its sunniest July on record 
• Wales recorded its sunniest July on record 
• Northern Ireland recorded its ninth sunniest July on record 

It has also been the sunniest ever calendar month for both England and Wales. 

So far this year, six months of 2026 have seen above average sunshine hours for the UK, with just the month of February seeing below its month average.   

Is there rain in the forecast ahead?

The week ahead does introduce some more unsettled weather for parts of the UK, though heavy and persistent rain is generally focused on northern areas. Those further to the southeast will continue to see little in the way of rain, though some isolated showers are possible at times in central and southern England.

Temperatures will gradually decrease in the second half of the week, with any warmth increasingly confined to the far east of England on Tuesday and a return to more average temperatures for many in the second half of the week.

Provisional July 2026 statistics

Provisional July 26 stats	Mean temp (°C)		Rainfall (mm/%)		Sunshine (hours/ %)
	Actual	91/20 anomaly	Actual	91/20 anomaly	Actual	91/20 anomaly
UK	17.4	2.1	28.9	35	258.7	149
England	19.2	2.8	6.5	10	305.6	156
Wales	17.8	2.5	9.3	9	308.0	174
Scotland	14.5	1.1	72.0	69	178.6	127
Northern Ireland	16.4	1.8	26.9	30	194.2	143

Where does the monthly data come from? 

The Met Office’s monthly climate statistics use HadUK‑Grid data to work out county, regional and UK‑wide averages. The dataset takes weather observations from across the country and interpolates them across the UK onto a 1km x 1km grid, covering every part of the UK. Some of these records stretch all the way back to 1836, meaning almost 200 years of weather data. 
 
READ MORE: How do we know when weather records are broken? 

READ MORE: What is HadUK-Grid?