Updated: 2026-07-31
In July 2022, Sheffield experienced its most intense heatwave on record, with the Met Office station registering 2 consecutive days reaching 35°C or higher — the longest such streak since records began in 1882. The heatwave ran from 18 July to 19 July 2022, marking 2 days of extreme heat that broke all previous records for the city.
For a city like Sheffield, known more for its steel industry and green hills than for scorching summers, reaching 35°C is an exceptional event. In the entire 143-year period from December 1882 to December 2025, the weather station at Sheffield has recorded only a handful of days at or above this threshold. The 2-day streak of 18–19 July 2022 stands as the definitive record — a moment when the city baked under conditions that residents had never experienced before in their lifetimes.
What makes this record remarkable is not the length itself, but the rarity of the event. A single day at 35°C is already a notable occurrence for Sheffield. Two consecutive days at that level represents a sustained burst of tropical heat in a region whose climate is normally much cooler. The fact that this happened in July 2022, a summer that saw widespread heat records across the UK, underscores how extraordinary the conditions were.
To put it plainly: 2 days is the maximum heatwave duration Sheffield has ever recorded at this threshold. No other period in the station's 143-year history has produced even 2 days in a row at or above 35°C. That is the measure of how singular this event was.
The table below lists the longest streaks of consecutive days with maximum temperatures of 35°C or more at the Sheffield Met Office station, spanning the entire observation period from December 1882 to December 2025.
| Start Date | End Date | Consecutive Days |
|---|---|---|
| 2022-07-18 | 2022-07-19 | 2 |
| 2019-07-25 | 2019-07-25 | 1 |
As the table shows, only two heatwave episodes have ever been recorded at or above 35°C in Sheffield. The 2022 event, with its 2 consecutive days, stands alone at the top. The single-day event of 25 July 2019 — a date that may ring a bell, as it was during one of the UK's most memorable heatwaves — is the only other instance where the city reached this extreme temperature.
The 2022 record is also notable for when it occurred. The heatwave struck in mid-July, a time of year when Sheffield's average high temperature normally hovers in the low 20s Celsius. To see the thermometer climb past 35°C on one day was exceptional; to have it repeat the next day was unprecedented. The fact that this record has not been matched in the years since — through 2025 — highlights its significance.
For residents of Sheffield, this record is more than a statistical curiosity. It represents how much the city's climate can shift under extraordinary weather patterns. The 2022 heatwave, which affected much of the UK, showed that even cities in the north of England — places not typically associated with extreme heat — are susceptible to these intense episodes.
Since the 2022 event, no other heatwave has come close to matching the 2-day streak. The record from 18 July to 19 July 2022, with its 2 consecutive days at or above 35°C, remains intact as of the end of 2025. Whether future summers will challenge this record remains to be seen, but for now, Sheffield's longest heatwave belongs to July 2022.
It is worth remembering that these measurements come from the official Met Office station in Sheffield, which has been continuously recording weather data since December 1882. That gives the 2-day record a context of more than a century of observations — a truly long window against which to measure such an event.
Heatwaves of this intensity are rare in Sheffield. The 2-day streak of 18–19 July 2022 is the benchmark against which all future hot spells will be measured, and the 1-day event of 25 July 2019 serves as a reminder that extreme heat, while uncommon, has visited the city more than once in recent years. As the climate continues to evolve, these records may well be tested again.
Source: Met Office MIDAS data, Sheffield station (1882–2025). Official UK Met Office records under Open Government Licence.
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