People enjoy the sunshine on the beach at Clacton-on-Sea in Essex. Photo / Getty Images
People enjoy the sunshine on the beach at Clacton-on-Sea in Essex. Photo / Getty Images
This year was the joint-hottest summer on record for Britain as a whole as well as England, it was revealed today.
UK temperatures for June to August 2018 reveal that this year is top of the league table in Met Office records dating back to 1910, along with 2006, 2003and 1976, all of which are within 0.03C of each other, the Daily Mail reports.
England saw its hottest summer on record, with average temperatures narrowly beating those seen in 1976, but it is not the warmest for the other nations of the UK, the figures show.
A man lies on the grass with his feet resting on a tree in St James's Park in London, England. Photo / Getty Images
Summer 2018 was notably dry and sunny too, although the dry, sweltering conditions seen in much of the country in June and July gave way to a much more average August, the Met Office said.
To the nearest 0.1C, all four years - 2018, 2006, 2003 and 1976 - saw an average temperature for the summer of 15.8C (60F).
In the Central England Temperature (CET) series, which only covers an area of central England but dates back to 1659, this summer slips behind 1976 and 1826 for the hottest June to August.
Only ten summers in the CET series have recorded average temperatures above 17C (63F), six of which have occurred since 1976 and only two of which were pre-20th century.
This is consistent with the general picture of the climate warming globally and in the UK, the Met Office said.
And autumn looks set to get off to a good start, with high pressure dominating the UK's weather, with warm, dry and sunny days for many in the first part of September, the forecasters said.
Meanwhile, forecasters have said the scorching summer could give way to an autumn of 'above-average' temperatures.
England saw hottest summer on record, with average temperatures narrowly beating those in 1976. Photo / Getty Images
The Met Office's three-month outlook - covering August, September and October - shows 'an increased chance of high-pressure patterns close to the UK'.
Sea surface temperatures at 'near-record levels' following the hot weather also make above-average temperatures more likely, according to the long-range prediction system.
The report said: 'This would result in more settled UK weather conditions overall.
