The Met Office has said the mean temperature for April was 9.6°C, which is 1.7°C above average for the UK, meaning it was the third warmest April for mean temperature since the series began in 1884.
The warmest was 10.7°C recorded in 2011.
All four nations recorded a mean temperature of at least 1.6°C above their respective long-term meteorological averages, with all UK nations recording their third warmest April for mean temperature since 1884 too.
The high mean temperatures were chiefly influenced by higher-than-average daytime temperatures, though it was also warmer than average overnight.
Met Office Meteorologist Aidan McGivern said: “High pressure sat over the UK for the first two weeks of April as well as the last week, with low pressure bringing some unsettled weather in the middle. This has meant temperatures have been above average, and rainfall, for most, has been below.
“The last week of April has closed out with temperatures well above the seasonal average, with station records for temperatures and sunshine broken.
“The reason for the high temperatures over the last week has not been because we’ve been importing warm air from the south, but because cloud-free skies have brought strong solar insolation, warming the air up day-by-day. The sun is as strong at this time of year as it is in August. Under high pressure, the air tends to sink, get compressed, and warm up. So, it’s fair to say that this latest period of very warm weather has been ‘home-grown’ and not brought in from anywhere else.”
Met Office Scientist Emily Carlisle said: “It is quite unusual for temperatures to hit 25°C fairly widely in April. The last time was in April 2018, and before that was April 2011.
“Met Office UK Climate Projections indicate that hot spells will become more frequent in our future climate, particularly over the southeast of the UK, with temperatures projected to rise in all seasons.”
