England had its hottest summer on record in 2022, equaling the summer of 2018 for average temperatures, the Met Office said on Thursday.

The average temperature reached 17.1 degrees Celsius during the three summer months (June, July and August), which also includes night-time temperatures, and “some regions recorded less than 50% of their normal rainfall,” said experts from the Met Office based on preliminary data, writes Agerpres.

In the UK, the summer of 2022 was the fourth warmest on record.

“Four of the five hottest summers in England have occurred since 2003 and the effects of human-induced climate change are being felt in summer temperatures in England,” the Met Office added.

In July 2022, temperatures in the UK exceeded 40 degrees Celsius for the first time since meteorological records began, and it was also the driest month on record in many areas of southern and eastern England, forcing authorities to introduce water restrictions in some parts of the country.

Although rainfall returned slightly in August, “it was not enough to bring us anywhere near normal levels for this time of year,” the UK Met Office said.

The UK has received just 538ml/m3 of rainfall since the start of the year, making 2022 the driest year on record since the 1976 drought.

Britain also recorded its “warmest first eight months of the year” since records began in 1885, according to the Met Office.