England had its hottest summer on record this year, while the rest of the UK enjoyed the joint-hottest, the Met Office says.

England's temperatures beat the previous record mean temperature of 17C (62.6F) set in 1976. This year's mean hit 17.2C (62.96F).

Temperatures for June to August in the UK reveal this year is joint top of the league table in records which date back to 1910.

The temperatures are tied with those for 1976, 2003, and 2006, all of which are within 0.03C of each other.

To the nearest 0.1C, 1976, 2003, 2006 and this year have had an average temperature of 15.8C (60.4F).


Wales had its second hottest summer, Scotland its sixth and Northern Ireland, its joint fourth.

England has had its hottest summer on record - but not Northern Ireland, Wales or Scotland. This map shows just how much variety there can be even within regions... pic.twitter.com/r0spG7zQhg — Met Office (@metoffice) September 3, 2018

It has also been a particularly dry season, but rainfall in August has helped level out low levels of precipitation in June and July.

The Met Office explained it usually only quotes statistics to the nearest 0.1C, as any smaller than this could be a result of numerical differences in statistical calculations.

In a statement, a spokesman added: "The provisional temperature for the summer of 2018 is nominally 15.80C, for 2006 is 15.78C, for 2003 is 15.77C, and 1976 is 15.77C all of which are within 0.03C of each other, and will therefore be quoted as 15.8C (60.4F)."

Temperatures reached new heights across the country throughout the summer, with Scotland recording its highest temperature at the end of June.

:: Global weather: Record temperatures around the world

Image: This summer beat the previous England record, set in 1976

A temperature of 33.2C (91.7F) was recorded by the Met Office in Motherwell, Scotland, on 28 June - breaking the previous high of 32.9C (91.2F) set in August 2003 at Greycrook in the borders.

Joanna Robinson, Sky News weather producer, said: "It was always going to be close, but this summer is the joint hottest on record for the UK.

"There is just 0.03C separating 2018, 2006, 2003 and 1976, therefore they have all become the hottest on record, with a mean temperature of 15.8C

"The long term average mean temperature for the summer months is 14.4C for the UK.

"Separating the nations, England has had it's hottest summer ever recorded, with some regions there more than 2C above the average."

The Met Office said September may be more unsettled, particularly in the second half of the month, but high pressure is likely to dominate weather patterns.

Last month the Met Office said: "As of 15 August 2018, the mean UK temperature for this month is currently 16.3C (61F) - this compares with a long term average for August of 14.9C (59F)."

Friends of the Earth's head of policy Mike Childs said: "This is yet another bleak warning that we're racing towards catastrophic climate change.

"It's time for the government to take the heat of the planet by ending our fossil fuel fixation, investing in energy efficiency and developing the UK's huge renewable power potential."

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The warm and dry summer has been devastating for some farmers though, who have accused Environment Secretary Michael Gove of not doing enough to help them deal with the drought.

It has also impacted the cost of food, as overall shop prices rose 0.1% in August - moving into inflation territory for the first time since April 2013.