Updated: 2026-07-31
The last extreme heat event near Birmingham was registered on 19 July 2022, when the nearest official Met Office station recorded 38.9 °C as the daily maximum temperature. That is the absolute record for the 1991–2025 period. The day before, 18 July 2022, reached 36.9 °C, making those two consecutive days the hottest spell this measuring point has seen in over three decades.
The point of measurement closest to Birmingham is the Met Office station at Coton-in-the-Elms, Derbyshire, situated at 85 m above sea level, about 32.6 km from the city centre. These are its official historical records. Birmingham itself may experience different temperatures due to local factors such as urban heat island effects, altitude differences, or proximity to water bodies, but this station provides the best available reference for the area.
That July 2022 heatwave was part of a short but intense burst: the station recorded 2 days in the entire 1991–2025 series with maximum temperatures reaching or exceeding 35 °C, and both of them fell in 2022. No other year in the analysed period produced a single day at that threshold, making 2022 exceptional in the records of this location.
Looking at the full daily series from 1 March 1991 to 31 December 2025, the highest maximum temperature ever recorded at Coton-in-the-Elms was 38.9 °C on 19 July 2022. The overnight minimum that day was 15.8 °C, which meant the heat did not relent much even after sunset. This record stands alone at the top of the list, more than a full degree above the next hottest day.
Here are the five most extreme days by maximum temperature at Coton-in-the-Elms since 1991. Notice how concentrated they are: three of the top five occurred within a single week in July 2022, and four of the top ten fell in August 2022:
| Date | Max (°C) | Min (°C) |
|---|---|---|
| 2022-07-19 | 38.9 | 15.8 |
| 2022-07-18 | 36.9 | 14.7 |
| 2019-07-25 | 34.9 | 14.0 |
| 2020-07-31 | 34.5 | 11.9 |
| 2006-07-20 | 34.1 | 17.7 |
The other notable dates in the top ten include 2020-08-12 with 34.1 °C, 2003-08-10 and 2022-08-14 both at 33.8 °C, and 2022-08-13 with 33.7 °C. The 2003 and 2006 events are the only entries from before 2019, showing how exceptional the recent summers have become at this station.
The table below shows how many days each year reached the extreme heat threshold of 35 °C, along with the hottest day of that year. As the data makes clear, 2022 was the only year with any such days in the entire period. The chart next to it displays the annual maximum temperature for each year from 1991 to 2025:
The chart shows the annual maximum temperature for each year from 1991 to 2025. The table lists the most notable years; the full series comes from Met Office.
| Year | Days ≥35 °C | Annual max (°C) |
|---|---|---|
| 1993 | 0 | 25.5 |
| 2003 | 0 | 33.8 |
| 2006 | 0 | 34.1 |
| 2019 | 0 | 34.9 |
| 2020 | 0 | 34.5 |
| 2022 | 2 | 38.9 |
| 2025 | 0 | 32.9 |
Before 2022, the station never recorded a single day at or above 35 °C. The closest approaches were in 2003 with 33.8 °C, in 2006 with 34.1 °C, and in 2019 with 34.9 °C. Then, in July 2022, the station not only crossed that threshold but blew past it by nearly four degrees on 19 July. The 2022 heatwave remains unsurpassed as of the end of 2025.
This data paints a clear picture: extreme heat is rare but has happened recently and decisively. The last heatwave near Birmingham, measured at Coton-in-the-Elms, occurred in mid-July 2022 with two consecutive days above 35 °C and a peak of 38.9 °C. Since then, the station has seen hot summers — 2025 reached 32.9 °C — but nothing close to that threshold. For residents planning outdoor events or assessing heat risk, the 2022 event is the benchmark to remember.
Source: Met Office MIDAS data, Coton-in-the-Elms station, period 1991–2025.
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© 2026 HistoClima · data: Met Office (OGL v3.0) · not affiliated with Met Office · citation permitted with source.