Climate change UK: heat charts show how England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales are getting hotter

Climate change is already making every part of the UK hotter, with environment experts warning that the country is already beginning to feel the effects of climate change.

Friends of the Earth climate campaigner, Jamie Peters, told NationalWorld that the record-breaking heatwaves experienced last summer were going to become more frequent and intense. It comes as parts of the UK currently experience a heatwave, with temperatures above 30°C. 

For areas of the UK to be classed under a heatwave, the area needs to see highs of at least 25°C for more than three consecutive days. The Met Office has also raised the risk of wildfire to ‘very high’ across most of England and parts of Wales and firefighters in Scotland have been battling huge wildfires seen from space. 

“The impacts of climate change are already hitting Britain,” said Mr Peters. “With floods, storms and episodes of extreme heat – such as the record-breaking temperatures of last summer. As the planet warms, these impacts will become more frequent and more severe.

“The climate crisis is one of the biggest challenges we face, increasingly affecting our crops, disrupting our lives and damaging our health.” 

What do official figures tell us about the UK’s changing climate? We’ve crunched data published by the Met Office to show how the UK, its nations and regions are getting hotter.

Which UK nations are becoming the hottest?

The Met Office projects that climate change will result in the UK having warmer and wetter winters, hotter and drier summers and more frequent and intense weather extremes.

It says that by 2070 (compared to the UK’s climate in 1990) summers will be between 1 and 6°C warmer, summers will be up to 60% drier, depending on the region, and hot summer days between 4 and 7°C warmer. Winter will also be between 1 and 4.5°C warmer and up to up to 30% wetter. The projections are based on a ‘RCP8.5’ high emissions scenario – this is the likely outcome if society does not make an effort to cut greenhouse gas emissions. RCP8.5 would mean greenhouse gases continue to grow unmitigated. The Met Office says this would lead to a best estimate global average temperature rise of 4.3°C by 2100.

The chart below shows the UK's annual mean air temperature (°C) from 1884 to 2022. The data, sourced from the Met Office, shows the UK’s temperatures peaked last year, hitting 10.03°C – in comparison, more than a century ago the UK’s temperature was 8.48°C. 

England was found to have the highest annual mean air temperature last year, hitting 10.93°C, whereas Scotland had the lowest at 8.49°C.  

How has the temperature changed in your country? The chart below will allow you to filter the information to compare the UK with each nation. Can’t see the chart? Click here to view it in a new tab.

Which UK regions are becoming the hottest?

The Met Office also publishes annual average air temperature figures at a regional level. These regions do not use the standard geographical boundaries and instead follow Met Office district regional boundaries (for example South West England is grouped with South West Wales).

How are temperatures changing in your local region? The chart below will allow you to see how temperature has changed across your local region. If you can’t see the chart click here to view it in a new tab. 

The figures show South East England and Central South had the hottest average air temperature last year with temperatures hitting 11.61°C, closely followed by East Anglia with 11.56°C and South West England and South Wales at 10.93°C. 

North Scotland was found to have the coldest annual air temperature last year with 8.13°C, followed by West Scotland with 9.1°C.