It was the sunniest spring on record, including the sunniest April and May.
The year had 109 per cent of the 1981–2010 average and 113 per cent of 1961–1990 average sunshine hours, with a total of 1,497 hours.
Summer was significantly less sunny than spring, with just three-quarters of the spring sunshine total recorded.
Climate change ‘on our doorstep’
Professor Liz Bentley, chief executive of the Royal Meteorological Society, said: “I think sometimes, particularly in the UK, we can become a little bit complacent because we see climate change happening somewhere else or some distance in the future.
“This report clearly is evidence that climate change is already happening and already happening on our doorstep with a number of extremes that are having an impact on us as humans.
“I still find them shocking myself when you see these records being broken, and the frequency with which records are being broken in the UK. It is still a shock to me as a meteorologist, having worked in this area for the last 25 years or so.”
