October review: Warmest year on record so far

According to provisional Met Office statistics, October has come in as 1.8C above average.

October of 2022 was the seventh warmest October on record, with an average mean temperature of 11.5C in the UK, 1.8C above the long-term average dating back to 1884. Statistics also show six out of ten of the warmest Octobers have also occurred in the last century.

Temperatures across central southern England and East Anglia in particular, were especially high. England as a whole saw its average mean temperature of 12.5C, over one degree higher than the UK monthly average, placing it in the top four warmest Octobers. On October 29th, temperatures soared to 22.9C at Kew Gardens, London.

The warmth throughout the month was attributed to the position of the jet stream, allowing a warm south-westerly air flow to drive in. Other parts of Europe including France and Spain also saw notably high temperatures for the time of year.

This comes after an extremely hot and dry summer, where relief was needed from cooler, wetter conditions through autumn. Many parts of the UK saw near-average rainfall amounts for October, but even the parts that saw more rainfall barely saw its benefit. Ireland in particular saw plenty of rain.

So far, we are on track for the warmest year on record. So how will winter fare? Keep an eye out for our winter outlook coming soon.