Northern Ireland sunshine hours 25% less than average and lowest in UK

Jane Corscadden
·2-min read
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-Credit: (Image: Justin Kernoghan/Belfast Live)


Northern Ireland recorded the lowest amount of sunshine hours in the UK last month, it has been revealed.

The Met Office said June 2024 was drier and colder than the average for this time of year, with the average mean temperature at 12.9 C, which is 0.4 C colder than average.

Throughout the UK as a whole, sunshine hours were slightly above average, with 178.8 hours of sunshine recorded - 4% higher than expected. However, in Northern Ireland the lowest number of sunshine hours were recorded, with 112.3 sunshine hours throughout June.

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This is 25% fewer hours than the average, while in England, the most sunshine was recorded with 210.2 hours or 12% higher than average.

The average maximum temperature in Northern Ireland in June was 16.2 C, while the average minimum temperature was 8.5 C - making these the lowest temperatures in the UK last month.

Northern Ireland also experienced the second most rainfall compared to the rest of the UK, with an average of 60.4 mm. Scotland experienced the most rainfall, with 91.2 mm recorded.

Towards the end of June, Northern Ireland enjoyed some sunshine and high temperatures, however, this was short-lived with temperatures returning to around or below average for the final few days of the month.

A Met Office spokesperson said: “Temperatures in the first two weeks of June were around 2 C below average. This was due to northerly winds bringing cold Arctic air across the UK in what was a cool start to meteorological summer.

“The second half of the month saw high pressure as the jet stream moved north, bringing warmth to many, especially in the south. Some areas of southeast England exceeded 28°C for several days.”

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