Now it's official. 2022 was the hottest year ever across East Anglia and the UK - and in this part of the country it was the sunniest as well.

Forecasters at Norwich-based Weatherquest have now had all the data from 2022, and although December was the coldest it has been since 2010, it wasn't enough to knock the year as a whole off the top spot for temperatures.

Sudbury Mercury: Dan Holley of WeatherquestDan Holley of Weatherquest (Image: Archant)

The figures were compiled by head of forecasting at Weathequest Dan Holley who said that at the end of November it seemed certain that 2022 would be the hottest year on record.

The two-week cold snap at the start of the month called that into question - but the milder weather around Christmas ensured that 2022 would be a record-breaker.

Apart from December, every month in 2022 had average or above-average temperatures.

In nine out of the 12 months there was above-average sunshine and we enjoyed the sunniest ever January and March.

But apart from the heat, the big story for much of the year was the rainfall - or lack of it.

 

Sudbury Mercury: High summer at Santon Downham on the Suffolk/Norfolk border - where the lack of rain is clear.High summer at Santon Downham on the Suffolk/Norfolk border - where the lack of rain is clear. (Image: Archant)And 2022 was the driest year since 2011 with just 76% of normal rainfall. Only February and November saw above-annual rainfall with serious deficits in January, April, July and August.

East Anglia had the driest July on record as hot sunshine made all the headlines.

There were also some variations in October rainfall levels. In Norfolk rainfall was below average but in Suffolk and the west of the region, there was at least average and in some places above average rainfall.

Water companies said they were starting to see a slight improvement in November - but will be hoping for a drenching during the early months of this year to restore reservoir and groundwater stocks.

Internationally, 2022 was above the long-term average in terms of temperature but was not overall a record-breaker.

There are suggestions that 2023 could be the hottest year on record across the planet - but that is related to the El Nino effect in the southern hemisphere and forecasters do not think it will necessarily affect the British weather.

The records quoted date back to 1836 for rainfall, 1884 for temperature and 1919 for sunshine hours.