International News
Summer 2025 Was UK’s Warmest On Record — Weather Agency
Britain sweltered through its hottest summer on record this year, the UK’s meteorological agency announced on Monday, the latest in a string of global temperature records.
“Provisional Met Office statistics show that summer 2025 is officially the warmest on record with a mean temperature of 16.10C, surpassing the previous record of 15.76C set in 2018,” Met Office scientist Emily Carlisle said in a statement.
Scientists have warned persistently that human-driven climate change is resulting in more frequent and intense weather events worldwide.
In Britain, “the persistent warmth this year has been driven by a combination of factors including the domination of high-pressure systems, unusually warm seas around the UK and the dry spring soils,” Carlisle said.
“These conditions have created an environment where heat builds quickly and lingers, with both maximum and minimum temperatures considerably above average.”
The provisional 2025 record means all of Britain’s five warmest summers have taken place in the 21st century.
The Met Office noted “a summer as hot or hotter than 2025 is now 70 times more likely than it would be in a ‘natural’ climate with no human caused greenhouse gas emissions”.
It comes as the UK saw its warmest and sunniest spring in over a century, with England also experiencing the warmest spring on record.
Britain, known for its damp and grey climate, then sweltered through four separate heatwaves during the summer months, posing a host of challenges.
Homes in the UK are designed to keep the heat in during the winter, and are often not equipped to handle prolonged warm periods.
Air conditioners are a rare feature as well, and remain an expensive and largely inaccessible technology.
Researchers at Loughborough University warned that around 20 percent of UK homes are overheating and posing a health risk to inhabitants.
“Oh my God. I think there’s no air conditioner in our dorm. It is sometimes very hot, and especially in public transport,” Ruidi Luan, a 26-year-old student from China, told AFP in London during the latest heatwave in August.
“I think it’s hard to spend a hot day.”
Nearly half the responders to a survey by charity Citizens Advice reported difficulty sleeping during the summer, with 11 percent experiencing their health deteriorating due to overheating homes.
Drought was declared in five out of 14 regions in England, which experienced its driest first six months in half a century this year.
A water shortfall in England was classed as “nationally significant” by the Environment Agency in August, with farmers struggling with stunted harvests.
Reservoir levels across England were below average in August, nearly 50 percent of river flows were below normal, and bans on hosepipe use were enforced in some of the worst-affected regions.
One village which was deliberately flooded in 1939 to create a reservoir for the northwestern hub of Manchester re-emerged in May due to the lack of rain.
AFP
Jeremy Doku insisted Manchester “will keep on fighting” in the Premier League title race despite their “painful” draw with Everton on Monday.
City drew 3-3 with the Toffees at Hill Dickinson Stadium, with Doku scoring a 97th-minute equaliser, having also scored the opening goal.
Doku’s equaliser (96:49) is City’s third-latest goal on record (since 2006-07) in a Premier League game after John Stones’ strike against Arsenal in September 2024 (97:14) and Gabriel Jesus’ goal against Everton in February 2019 (96:52).
Doku has had a hand in six goals across his last five games for City in all competitions (four goals, two assists), as many as in his previous 22 games combined (one goal, five assists).
The Belgian also created the most chances in the match against Everton (four), completed the most dribbles (5/7) and won the most duels (14/19).
City avoided defeat in a Premier League game despite trailing by 2+ goals as late as the 82nd minute for the first time since March 2012 against Sunderland (3-3).
They went on to win the league title in 2011-12, and Doku believes City can still beat Arsenal to the trophy this season.
“First half, we played well and created a lot of chances. We know if we don’t score those chances, it is going to get difficult at the end,” said Doku.
“Obviously, they are at their own stadium, they create chances, and they are dangerous, and they scored two goals, but I think we gave them the game.
“Good that we came back because one point is not bad in games like this.
“We will see. It feels painful now. There is still a lot of games to go. We lost two points, but we know that one point can be important at the end.
“We will keep on fighting. We owe it to ourselves and to our fans.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Nigerians interested in repatriation from South Africa will be responsible for the cost of their return trip to Nigeria.
The ministry’s spokesperson, Kimiebi Ebienfa, stated this during a press briefing on Monday in Abuja.
The briefing came shortly after a closed-door meeting between the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Dunoma Ahmed, and the South African Acting High Commissioner, Lesoli Machele.
Mr Ebienfa said the process will be self-funded and not state-funded, as it is a voluntary decision that the Nigerian government will only facilitate and coordinate.
In the recent past, such reparations have been sponsored by Nigerian airline owners, particularly Allen Onyema, the CEO of Air Peace.
The Nigerian government, on Sunday, indicated its readiness to repatriate its citizens from South Africa due to xenophobic violence.
The effort primarily targets Nigerians who feel threatened by the xenophobic violence and tension in parts of South Africa, as the protests against black immigrants in the country continue. Two Nigerians were killed last month.
Since the announcement, about 130 Nigerians in South Africa have expressed a willingness to return home voluntarily.
Mr Ebienfa stated that the return of the Nigerians depends on their financial capacity, as they would be expected to fund their trip back home individually.
He said, “Those willing to leave are expected to approach the high commission and, given that their decision is voluntary, have the resources to fund their return to Nigeria.”
The government will not “provide an aircraft from Nigeria to convey them.”
He also noted that the speed of the repatriation process will be determined by the availability of funds.
“Yes, 130 as of this morning have registered, but actualisation would be required to have their flight ticket to move back to Nigeria.”
Mr Ebienfa also explained that Nigerians who have so far expressed interest are motivated either by concerns about threats to their lives or by fear of arrest by South African law enforcement agencies.
“There are two groups of Nigerians who want to come back. One group feels the country is not safe for them and wants to come. They have all their papers intact.
“Then there is also the second group that has travel document violations or resident permit violations. And instead of running away from law enforcement, they are appealing that the government facilitate their movement back to Nigeria,” he explained.
However, he noted that the process is still being worked out and that the government would step in to provide aircraft or other needed assistance if tensions rise and the situation becomes more volatile.
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