Britain broke its record on Monday for the hottest day in May, according to the national weather agency, with the mercury rising to 33.5℃ near London as the country baked in a sweltering heatwave.
The previous hottest May day saw 32.8℃ heat, first registered in 1922 and again in 1944.
It is just the latest temperature record to tumble in the UK, which saw its hottest year on the books in 2025, with scientists warning that the country is unprepared for the ever-more frequent heatwaves driven by man-made climate change.
The Met Office had earlier forecast highs of 35℃, after heatwave conditions spread to parts of southeast England and London by Sunday night.
“Temperatures at Heathrow have recently reached 33.5℃, provisionally beating the all-time May record,” the Met Office wrote 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 added earlier.
Monday is also expected to be the hottest bank holiday ever.
“We rarely see temperatures above 35℃, even in the summer months, so to see temperatures getting close to 35℃ in May is, as I say, pretty historic,” Met Office meteorologist Tom Morgan told the domestic Press Association news agency.
“It’s nice to have it, but it is much, much hotter than it should be in the UK,” Andrea Quaine, a 41-year-old mother, told AFP in London as temperatures exceeded 30℃ on Sunday.
“I am worried about it because it obviously shows that global warming is happening,” she added.
“The weather here, it’s like a mini version of hell. It’s boiling. It’s like really hot. The sunscreen, it will protect me, but it’s really hot,” said 10-year-old Liza Nizari, who was visiting London from Manchester in the northwest.
Scientists say human-induced climate change is making extreme weather events like heatwaves, droughts and floods more intense, resulting in temperature records being broken more frequently.
Climate advisers last week warned the UK government that the country was “built for a climate that no longer exists” and urged it to adapt infrastructure like schools and hospitals for a warming planet.
