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

Abstract

Abstract Summer 2025 was the warmest so far recorded 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.