UK has its coolest summer since 1993

This summer has been the UK's coolest since 1993, provisional Met Office figures indicate.

The data covers the three months from 1 June to 29 August and may confirm what many have already been thinking: it hasn't been the best of seasons.

The temperature during August has been 1C below average in most parts of the country. The UK has also received 126 per cent of the average monthly rainfall for August.

But while this summer has been wetter than last year, it has not been as wet as those in 2007, 2008 or 2009. The amount of sunshine in Britain in August has also been below average, standing at 76 per cent of usual levels. Full summer statistics will be published by the Met Office on Thursday.

Forecaster Brian Gaze, of TheWeatherOutlook, said that 2011 was likely to be remembered for the wrong reasons. "Since the last real heatwave in July 2006 we've had a run of average or poor summers in Britain, but 2011 will probably be remembered as the worst of them," he said.

"During the 1990s and 2000s, summer heatwaves were more frequent than usual, and perhaps some people began to think this was the norm. During the last few years the run of poor summers has coincided with colder weather during the winter months."