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Thursday, September 24, 2026

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UK summer 2026: BBC postcode lookup shows how hot and dry it was

Most of us experienced drought and heatwaves - but temperatures and rainfall were not the same everywhere.

· 270 words

The UK faced its hottest summer on record this year, with much of the country experiencing drought and repeated heatwaves.

But temperatures and rainfall were not the same everywhere. Type in your postcode to see what summer 2026 was like in your area.

High-pressure weather systems sat over the UK for much of the summer, bringing clear, sunny skies for many parts of the country and creating warm, dry conditions.

But global warming - mainly the result of the burning of fossil fuels - is raising average temperatures in the UK .

This means that any warm spells can reach higher temperatures than the same weather systems of the past.

The Met Office estimates that this summer's average temperature was made about 130 times more likely by human-caused climate change .

Rising temperatures also mean that our vegetation and soils dry out more quickly - which can worsen the effects of low rainfall.

UK summers are expected to become drier on average due to climate change - although when there is heavy rain it could fall in more intense bursts.

Not every summer will be as hot or dry as this one, as weather patterns vary from year to year.

But scientists warn that average temperatures will keep increasing while countries keep adding greenhouse gases to the atmosphere.

Development and testing by Ryan Smith, Stephen Connor and Adam Allen. Data support by Libby Rogers and Christine Jeavans.

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