A comparison of the UK’s hot, dry summers of 1976 and 2025

Baker, L. H. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0738-9488 (2026) A comparison of the UK’s hot, dry summers of 1976 and 2025. Weather. ISSN 1477-8696 doi: 10.1002/wea.70129

Abstract/Summary

Summer 2025 was the warmest on record for the UK, and low precipitation amounts in preceding months and through the summer led to drought conditions in many areas of the UK. The hot, dry conditions prompted many comparisons with the infamous hot, dry summer of 1976. Despite occurring 50 years ago, the summer of 1976 is still considered a benchmark extreme year for the UK, in terms of the exceptional length of the heatwave, and the severe impacts on water availability. In this paper, we compare these two summers, in terms of their meteorology and drought characteristics.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/id/eprint/131255
Identification Number/DOI	10.1002/wea.70129
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Science > School of Mathematical, Physical and Computational Sciences > NCAS Science > School of Mathematical, Physical and Computational Sciences > Department of Meteorology
Publisher	Wiley
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