July was driest for 20 years in Northern Ireland but sunshine was in short supply

According to provisional statistics from the Met Office the UK saw just 56% (46.3mm) of its average rainfall for July, making it the driest July in over 20 years (with 1999 recording 46.1 mm) and continues a run of all months, bar February, being drier than average in 2022 so far.

Northern Ireland had 51% (45.8mm) of its average rainfall for the month, England had just 35% (23.1mm), Wales 53% (52mm), and Scotland topped the billing with 81% (83.6mm).

With seven months of the year’s statistics now having being reported, mean temperatures have been higher than average for every month so far this year, with the average mean temperature at 9.7°C making the first seven months of this year the second warmest on record after 2014.

The UK saw 179.4 hours on sunshine on average throughout July, which is just over the national monthly average.

But in Northern Ireland it was the eighth dullest July on record, with 95.7 hours of sunshine, which is 30% fewer hours than average.

Dr Mark McCarthy of the National Climate Information Centre said: “The dominant weather pattern for the month has only allowed interludes of rain into northern areas of the UK, with areas further south largely getting any rainfall from isolated and fleeting showers in a month that will ultimately be remembered for extreme heat.”