Radcliffe Meteorological Station records warmest ever July and driest for 200 years
July 2026 was the warmest July on record at the Radcliffe Meteorological Station, and the driest since 1825.
Illustrating the extremity of 2026, eight days reached 30˚C or above in July alone, taking the annual total to 17 days. In comparison, the 1991-2020 average is 2.6 days per year.
The mean air temperature of 21.4˚C surpassed the previous record of 21.1 ˚C, set in 1983. There were 19 heatwave days where maximum air temperature was ≥ 27 ˚C, and the mean daily maximum of 28.1 ˚C was notably 5.0 ˚C warmer than the 1991-2020 average. The RMS has collected daily temperature data since 1815.
The driest July for 200 years
With just 1.7mm of rain, this was also the third driest July on record – the driest since 1825.
It was the sunniest month on record, exceeding the May 2020 record by 17.1 hours with a total of 348.8 hours of bright sunshine.
The mean soil temperature (taken at 30 cm at 0900 UTC) was also remarkably over four standard deviations above the 1991-2020 mean.
About the Radcliffe Meteorological Station
The School of Geography and the Environment (SoGE) maintains the Radcliffe Meteorological Station on behalf of the University of Oxford. The site is situated off Woodstock Road in the garden of Green Templeton College, adjacent to the Radcliffe Observatory building.
Meteorological records commenced here in 1772; an unbroken daily air temperature record exists from November 1813, daily rainfall from January 1827 and sunshine from February 1880. These are the longest single-site weather records in the United Kingdom, and amongst the longest in the world.
Radcliffe Meteorological Station records warmest ever July and driest for 200 years
July 2026 was the warmest on record at the RMS, and the driest since 1825.
