The UK has provisionally experienced its sunniest spring since records began, according to new data from the Met Office. Between 1 March and 27 May 2025, the country recorded 630 hours of sunshine, surpassing the previous record of 626 hours set in 2020.
The Met Office noted that the figures are still provisional, with a few days of spring remaining. However, the total already exceeds all previous sunshine records since the dataset began in 1910. The full statistics for spring 2025 are scheduled to be published on 2 June.
Scotland and Northern Ireland had already confirmed their sunniest springs on record last week, both beating their respective 2020 records.
Met Office scientist Emily Carlisle said: “The UK has now, provisionally, recorded its sunniest spring on record, with still a few days of the season to go. We all remember the exceptionally sunny spring of 2020, but that title has now been surpassed by the spring of 2025.”
She added that seven of the top 10 sunniest springs in the UK have occurred since the year 2000, highlighting a noticeable trend over recent decades.
Despite the sunshine, the spring of 2025 has also been marked by notably dry conditions. While some parts of the country have experienced recent downpours, much of the UK has seen lower than average rainfall over the season. Official rainfall data is expected later this week, but early indications suggest one of the driest springs on record.
Earlier in May, the Environment Agency warned that millions of households could face water restrictions due to the “unusually dry spring”. It reported that the North West and North East of England had experienced their driest start to a calendar year since 1929. Across England, the February to April period was the driest since 1956.
These warnings were issued before the recent bouts of rain, which may affect the final rainfall figures, though not enough to offset the season’s dry conditions overall.
In comparison, spring 2024 recorded just 377 hours of sunshine, making it one of the dullest on record. The stark contrast between the two years underlines the variability in UK weather patterns.
The Met Office continues to monitor conditions closely and will release a full seasonal analysis in early June.
Diana spent much of her early life at Althorp after moving there with her family in 1975The Telegraph
Meera Syal
Waris Hussein
Actress Varada Sethu with their ACTAs
Waris Hussein (pictured centre with Jean Louis Nancy, left, and Nitin Ganatra)
Cauvery Madhavan for The Inheritance
AA Dhand. The award was collected on Dhand’s behalf by Paul Trijbits , executive director of Virdee, and Kulvinder Ghir
Aakash Odedra and Rani Khanam for Songs of the Bulbul. MN Nandakumara, Sona Datta and Aakash Odedra
Neil Basu for Turmoil: 30 Years of Policing Politics and Prejudice. Kaly Kaul, Neil Basu and Swati Dhingra
Professor Nandini Das, for Courting India: England, Mughal India and the Origins of Empire. Professor Nandini Das, Nimisha Madhvani and Anuja Dhir 
Niraj Chag (pictured left with Raj Ghatak)
Varada Sethu (pictured right with Vikash Bhai)
Shanay Jhaveri for The Imaginary Institution of India: Art 1975-1998 at the Barbican. The award was collected on behalf of Shanay Jhaveri by the Barbican’s Ali Mirza
Bradford 2025 and the Bradford Literature Festival.Julia Randell-Khan from the Bradford Literature Festival and Dan Bates from Bradford, UK City of Culture
Mikhail Sen (pictured right with Ayesha Dharker)
Amit Roy
Nihal Arthanayake
Adam Karim for Guards At The Taj. Adam Karim with Farzana Baduel
Reeta Chakrabarti (pictured with Lord Rumi Verjee, right)
Ram Murali for Death in the Air. Vaseem Khan, Ram Murali and Neil Basu
Professor Partha Mitter.Sundaram Tagore, Prof Partha Mitter and Rithika Siddhartha
Susan Stronge (pictured right, with Richard Blurton)
Soumik Datta (pictured right, with Sangita Myska)
Rishi Nair (pictured centre, with Samir Ahmed, left, and Rishma Dhaliwal)
Meera Syal (pictured right, with Saima Mohsin)
Saachi Sen (pictured left with Darren Henley)
Overview of guests at the annual ACTA ceremony at the May Fair hotel in London 
Justin Bieber faces backlash for ‘I love you’ comment on 17-year-old star Ariana Greenblatt’s post