Britain is becoming sunnier, according to science

Despite the dismal start to the year, the UK has become 4 per cent sunnier since 1994 due to a reduction in pollutant particles

For Britons across the country, the first few weeks of 2026 have brought serious flooding, travel disruption, flight cancellations and school closures.

Weeks of heavy rain – as well as three named storms – have battered the UK, with Sheffield failing to record a single hour of sunshine in February so far.

But despite the dismal beginning to the year, scientists have discovered that Britain’s weather is improving overall and has become 4 per cent sunnier since 1994.

Due to government action across Europe to clean up the air, countries have become significantly sunnier in the last three decades due to a reduction in pollutant particles.

Britain’s weather is improving overall and has become 4 per cent sunnier since 1994 (PA)

Concerns over acid rain in the 1970s prompted governments to fit power stations with devices to capture sulphur dioxide and create cleaner car engines, before embracing renewable energy and electric vehicles.

In the UK, sulphur dioxide emissions have fallen by 97 per cent since 1990 due to the closure of coal power stations, with researchers discovering that clouds formed differently in cleaner air.

As a result, more sunlight has been allowed to pass through to the ground.

Researchers for the study, called “Past, current and future solar radiation trends in Europe” by the universities of Malaga and Murcia in Spain, found this trend was mirrored across Europe, with the most dramatic increases in sunniness occurring in the most industrialised areas such as western Germany.

José Antonio Ruiz-Arias, a professor at the University of Malaga and lead researcher of the study, said it was a “good message for the solar energy industry” and that he expected Europe’s weather to continue on this trajectory but at a slower pace.

It is estimated that improvements to air quality in the last 50 years have saved the lives of around 80,000 people a year in Europe by reducing respiratory illnesses.

The UK has seen severe flooding across the country due to an ‘exceptionally wet’ start to 2026 (PA)

While the prospect of better weather is an enticing prospect, the Met Office warned that for the foreseeable future, the UK is set to continue with the “exceptionally wet” start to the year, with no sign of a prolonged dry spell.

It comes after a record-breaking month of rain, which became the wettest January on record for Cornwall in southwest England and County Down in Northern Ireland, according to the Met Office.

The forecaster said many have been left with a sense that winter has been “stuck on repeat”, with 26 of its weather stations setting new records for January rainfall.

The UK has already seen 89 per cent of the average rainfall expected for meteorological winter – December, January and February – while England has exceeded it by 11 per cent, it said.