UK beats May heat record with 33.5C registered near London / Photo: Henry NICHOLLS - AFP
-
First-time boat buyers advised to assess full ownership costs
-
Panthers expected to begin 2027 NRL season away from new stadium
-
Planning and preparation can reduce stress of interstate relocation
-
Sweet As app launches restaurant discovery platform
-
Two more arrested in Carrie Mullane suspected murder investigation
-
MLA seeks inquiry into reported sectarian gestures on Ormeau Road
-
Mayo school appeals for information after convent and chapel vandalism
-
Louise O’Reilly attacks Simon Harris over unemployment remarks
-
GLP-1 Users Show Higher Rates of Nail Detachment in New Studies
-
Virginia overwhelms Arkansas 91-72 behind balanced scoring
-
Canadian soldier Aidan Goulding remembered at Vancouver funeral
-
Second major storm brings destructive winds and outages to British Columbia
-
Tayyab Arif hits 57 on Pakistan Test debut against Sri Lanka
-
Godzilla Minus Zero leads North American box office with $31.6m
-
Robert Trujillo discusses literacy and social justice children’s books
-
Advocate calls for coordinated support for children facing trafficking
-
Civil rights advocate William Bill Tucker dies aged 98
-
Pennsylvania Democrats secure state trifecta in midterm elections
-
US Treasury order targets bank transfers linked to crypto exchange MEXC
-
Godzilla Minus Zero sets foreign-language box-office opening record
-
Eagles record six sacks as rushing attack struggles against Giants
-
Villeneuve teases James Bond casting at Los Angeles museum gala
-
Thames Water seeks to delay £12bn in debt repayments
-
Nottinghamshire launches specialist rural crime policing team
-
Newark boxing gym expands alternative education programme
-
China confirms talks over possible Xi-Putin-Trump summit
-
Democrats consider impeachment drive against Defence Secretary Hegseth
-
The Sourdough Sidekick Review: Can an Automated Feeder Save Your Starter?
-
Rail journey offers a slower route to a Berlin city break
-
Energy bill plan could use HMRC income data to target support
-
Arsenal control title race as Manchester United fall into bottom three
-
Business owner earning £6,000 a month tackles £70,000 debt
-
Suspected Krakow gunman dies after attack that killed six
-
Nvidia chief faces inquiry after disclosing affair with suspected Chinese agent
-
Carrick backs Dalot after hostile reception from Manchester United fans
-
Comet returns as online electrical marketplace 14 years after collapse
-
Belgian PM Bart De Wever Given New Deadline to Resolve €10 Billion Budget Deadlock
-
Hunter Davies on How Post-War Britain Forged The Beatles
-
الدفاعات الروسية تسقط 38 طائرة مسيرة فوق لينينجراد
-
Brussels Education Unions Schedule Major November Protest Over Funding and Reforms
-
Amitabh Bachchan Drops Bulletproof Glass for Diwali Fan Greeting Outside Mumbai Home
-
Climate Change Extends U.S. Allergy Season by Weeks, Worsening Health Risks
UK beats May heat record with 33.5C registered near London
Britain broke its record on Monday for the hottest day in May, according to the national weather agency, with the mercury rising to 33.5C near London as the country baked in a sweltering heatwave.
The previous hottest May day saw 32.8C 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 35C, after heatwave conditions spread to parts of southeast England and London by Sunday night.
"Temperatures at Heathrow have recently reached 33.5C, 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 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.
"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 30C 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.
S.Abdullah--SF-PST
