The UK’s hottest summer on record has delivered mixed fortunes for businesses across south-west England and the Channel Islands, with some companies benefiting from increased visitor numbers while others have suffered from prolonged heat and dry conditions.
Provisional Met Office figures show the average temperature across June, July and August reached 16.5C, making summer 2026 the warmest since records began in 1884. The figure was 1.9C above the 1991-2020 average and exceeded the previous record of 16.1C set in 2025.
Rainfall during the three months totalled 195.4mm, just 77% of the seasonal average.
Jersey and Guernsey also recorded their warmest summers on record, with average temperatures of 20.5C and 18.9C respectively.
For some hospitality businesses, the weather created an opportunity to attract more customers. The Avon Inn in Avonwick, Devon, reported stronger trade after expanding its outdoor seating area.
Manager Eda Iannone said the pub had experienced a “fantastic summer for footfall”, allowing the business to increase bookings and organise more outdoor events.
However, extreme temperatures did not benefit every seasonal business. Ice cream seller Hocking’s in Appledore, Devon, said trade remained steady, but some customers preferred drinking water to eating ice cream during the hottest periods.
The heat also affected agricultural production. Guernsey Dairy said high temperatures and dry conditions had reduced milk volumes from local farms, although supplies remained sufficient to meet daily demand.
Rocquette Cider in Guernsey expects its apple harvest to fall by around 80% compared with a normal year. Manager James Miller described the outlook as “appalling”, saying the lack of rainfall had left grass and trees extremely dry.
The company has enough cider from last year’s harvest to maintain supplies, but Miller warned that another poor harvest could have serious consequences.
Other businesses experienced more positive results. Tina Bessell of Cornish Lavender said the hot weather produced a “fantastic” oil yield, although visitor numbers dropped during the hottest days.
The wider economic impact has also raised concerns. Thinktank Verdant estimated that repeated UK heatwaves had resulted in £4.4bn in lost output by the end of July, partly because of lower worker productivity and equipment shutdowns.
Environmental impacts are also becoming increasingly visible. The National Trust for Jersey said low water levels and algae at St Ouen’s Pond were threatening an important wetland habitat for migrating birds.
Jon Parks of the trust said extreme summers were a major contributing factor to the pond’s problems, although he stressed that other factors were also involved.
The contrasting experiences underline how a warmer summer can create opportunities for some businesses while placing pressure on agriculture, food production, workers and natural habitats.
