LONDON: The United Kingdom on Monday recorded its hottest May day, according to the national weather agency, with temperatures soaring to 33.5°C near London as an intense early-season heatwave swept across the country.
The new high surpasses the previous May record of 32.8°C, which was first set in 1922 and later matched in 1944, marking a significant milestone in the nation’s climate history.
Meteorologists have described the conditions as part of a broader pattern of increasingly frequent and severe heatwaves affecting the UK.
The country had already experienced its hottest year on record in 2025, with scientists warning that infrastructure and public services are not fully prepared for rising temperatures driven by human-induced climate
The Met Office had earlier predicted temperatures could climb as high as 35°C, as heatwave conditions spread across parts of southeast England and London by Sunday night, intensifying concerns over public health, transport disruption, and pressure on energy systems during extreme heat events.
“Temperatures at Heathrow have recently reached 33.5C, provisionally beating the all-time May record,” the Met Office said on social media.
“Records are usually only broken by tenths of a degree — making this heatwave unprecedented for the time of year,” the weather agency had said.
“We rarely see temperatures above 35C, even in the summer months, so to see temperatures getting close to 35C in May is, as I say, pretty historic,” Met Office meteorologist Tom Morgan told the domestic Press Association news agency.
Scientists say human-caused climate change is intensifying extreme weather events such as heatwaves, droughts, and floods, leading to more frequent breaches of temperature records.
Climate advisers recently warned the UK government that the country was “built for a climate that no longer exists,” urging urgent upgrades to infrastructure—including schools and hospitals—to better withstand the impacts of a warming world.
