Updated: 2026-08-13
How often does London get a day that is genuinely fine? Not just dry, not just mild, but combining a maximum temperature of at least 20°C, a minimum of at least 5°C, and zero precipitation from start to finish. Using the Met Office's official MIDAS record for London St James's Park, we can count those days for every year from 1912 to 2025 and ask a simple question: are they becoming more frequent?
The answer is a clear yes at the top end. In 1990, London recorded 91 fine weather days — the highest total in the entire series from 1912 onward. That is the most fine days in a single year at St James's Park. It was followed closely by 1989 with 87 days and 1995 with 86. The 1990s, in other words, delivered a stretch of summers that Londoners still talk about — and the data confirms it.
For perspective, consider the early part of the record. In 1912, the first year of the series, there were just 31 fine days. That is 60 days fewer than the 1990 peak, and a reminder that a London summer a century ago was a far more uncertain prospect than the heat-dome summers of recent decades. The data spans more than a hundred years, from 1912-01-01 to 2025-12-31, and the contrast between its beginning and its later decades is striking.
The full series shows how the number of fine days fluctuates. Some years are famously poor — 2008 managed only 8 fine days, the lowest in the entire period, a summer that was memorably grey and wet. Others spike dramatically. The following table lists the complete annual counts for every year in the series, so you can trace the ups and downs yourself.
The chart shows the complete annual series. The table lists the most notable years; the full series comes from Met Office.
| Year | Fine weather days |
|---|---|
| 1976 | 85 |
| 1983 | 75 |
| 1989 | 87 |
| 1990 | 91 |
| 1995 | 86 |
| 1997 | 76 |
| 2008 | 8 |
Looking at the run from the 1960s through the 1990s, the pattern is not a smooth climb but a series of leaps. 1976, the year of the great drought and the famous heatwave, delivered 85 fine days. 1983 reached 75. Then came the extraordinary pair of 1989 and 1990, with 87 and 91 days respectively — a two-year burst that has not been matched since.
Beyond the annual counts, the Met Office data also gives us a decadal perspective by measuring the percentage of spring and summer days that qualify as fine (with a maximum temperature between 20°C and 25°C and precipitation below 1 mm). This broader view confirms what the annual numbers suggest: the recent decades have a markedly higher share.
In the 1960s, fine weather conditions were present on 15.5% of days. That share dipped slightly to 15.0% in the 1970s, then fell to 13.7% in the 1980s — a reminder that the 1980s, despite their famous summers, were not uniformly fine. The 1990s climbed back to 15.0%. Then comes the big shift: in the 2000s, the share jumps to 38.7%.
| Decade | Share of fine weather days (%) |
|---|---|
| 1960 | 15.5 |
| 1970 | 15.0 |
| 1980 | 13.7 |
| 1990 | 15.0 |
| 2000 | 38.7 |
That leap in the 2000s is the single biggest change in the record. It is not a subtle drift — it is a step change. After decades hovering between roughly 14% and 15%, the share of fine days more than doubles to 38.7%. For anyone planning an outdoor event, a garden party, or a research project on London's changing climate, that is a difference you can plan around.
What does this mean in practice? The average Londoner in the 1960s could expect fine conditions on roughly one day in six or seven during the warmer months. By the 2000s, that had shifted to nearly four days in ten. The increase is not evenly spread across every summer — 2008 stands as a stark reminder that a poor summer can still happen — but the underlying trend is unmistakable.
The 91 fine days of 1990 remain the highest annual total at London St James's Park in the entire 1912–2025 series. That year featured a run of warm, dry weather that began early and persisted late, and the data shows it clearly. It has not been surpassed in the 35 years since. Whether the 2000s decadal jump will eventually produce a year that overtakes 1990 is an open question — the data so far says no, but the overall direction is upward.
For balance, it is worth noting 2008. That year recorded just 8 fine days — the fewest in the whole series. The summer was dominated by Atlantic systems, cloud and rain, and the numbers reflect it. It is a useful reminder that London's climate is still highly variable: the long-term trend is towards more fine days, but individual years can still fall far below the average.
The picture, then, is one of clear change. From the 31 days of 1912 to the 91 of 1990, and from the 13.7% share of the 1980s to the 38.7% of the 2000s, London's fine weather days are increasing. The most recent complete decades show the highest proportions of the entire record, and although the peak year remains 1990, the broader trend suggests that summers like it may become more common.
Source: Met Office MIDAS data for London St James's Park station, covering the period 1912–2025.
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© 2026 HistoClima · data: Met Office (OGL v3.0) · not affiliated with Met Office · citation permitted with source.