The United Kingdom is facing an unusually severe heatwave in late May, with the Meteorological Office predicting temperatures to reach 35 degrees Celsius, the highest ever recorded for May, while several other European countries are also experiencing intense heat.
The UK's Meteorological Office forecasts that the country will break the record for the hottest day in May amid an unprecedentedly intense heatwave.
A statement posted on the Meteorological Office's social media said, "Today (25 May) is expected to be the hottest May day ever recorded in the UK, with temperatures predicted to soar to 35 degrees Celsius."
The previous highest temperature record for a May day in England was 32.8 degrees Celsius, set in 1922 and matched again in 1944. The Meteorological Office added, "Typically, records are broken by just a few decimal points, but this spike makes this heatwave an unprecedented phenomenon for this time of year." Additionally, Monday is expected to become the hottest bank holiday ever recorded.
Meteorologist Tom Morgan said, "Temperatures above 35 degrees Celsius are rare even in summer, so approaching 35 degrees Celsius in May is historically significant."
The intense heat is clearly affecting people's daily lives. Andrea Kevin, a 41-year-old mother in London, told AFP after temperatures surpassed 30 degrees Celsius on Sunday, "It's nice to have sunshine, but this is much hotter than England should be. I'm worried because it clearly shows that global warming is happening."
Meanwhile, 10-year-old Lisa Nizari, visiting London from Manchester, said, "The weather here feels like hell. It's as hot as boiling water, really hot. Even though sunscreen protects me, it's still very hot."
Scientists say human-caused climate change is making extreme weather events—such as heatwaves, droughts, and floods—more severe and causing temperature records to be broken more frequently. The UK recently experienced its hottest year on record in 2025.
Last week, climate advisory groups warned the UK government that "the country is no longer built for the climate it actually has," urging urgent upgrades to infrastructure like schools and hospitals to cope with a warming world.
The Meteorological Office sets different temperature thresholds for declaring heatwaves by region: 25 degrees Celsius for Scotland, Northern Ireland, and northern England; 26-27 degrees Celsius for other parts of England and southeast Wales; and 28 degrees Celsius for London, its suburbs, and Cambridgeshire. Temperatures must exceed these thresholds for at least three consecutive days.
As of last Sunday, eight areas in England officially met the heatwave criteria: Heathrow in Greater London; Benson in Oxfordshire; Brooms Barn in Suffolk; High Beech in Essex; Kew Gardens and Northolt in London; Santon Downham in Suffolk; and Writtle in Essex.
This heat crisis is not confined to the UK but is spreading across Europe. In recent days, May heat records have been broken in several countries, such as Spain, where temperatures hit 38 degrees Celsius on Sunday. France and Germany also saw temperatures climb into the mid-30s Celsius, with hundreds of localities breaking their hottest May day records.
Overall temperatures across the UK, France, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, and northern Italy are currently 10 to 15 degrees Celsius above average for late May. Since this unprecedented heatwave is expected to last nearly the entire week, it is highly likely that more local heat records will be broken.