UKs hottest May day record broken for second day in a row
The UK record for the hottest May day has been broken for a second consecutive day, with parts of London surpassing 35 degrees Celsius on Tuesday. Kew Gardens in south-west London recorded a provisional temperature of 35.1C, exceeding Monday's 34.8C record-high at the same location.
Wales also set a new May record for the second day running, as provisional temperatures reached 32.3C at Cardiff's Bute Park, surpassing Monday's 32.2C at Hawarden Airport in Flintshire. The soaring temperatures led to delays to train services due to heat-related speed restrictions imposed on tracks.
Temperature Records and Heatwave Conditions
Before Monday and Tuesday's record-breaking highs, the warmest May day in the UK was 32.8C, recorded in 1922 and 1944. "Until yesterday, the highest temperature in May was 32.8C, but we've now exceeded that record on consecutive days by a full two degrees Celsius," the Met Office posted on X. Much of England and Wales are officially in a heatwave as of Tuesday. A location must reach a threshold temperature — 25C for northern and western areas and 28C in London and the Home Counties — for three consecutive days to qualify.
Health Alerts and Climate Context
Six amber heat health alerts issued by the United Kingdom Health Security Agency cover much of England and will remain active until Thursday. The alert warns that significant impacts are likely across health and social care services, with increased demand caused by the high temperatures. The Met Office's chief operational meteorologist Dan Suri said the high temperatures were due to "the influence of warmth building under an area of high pressure near the UK." This early season heat is consistent with the long-term trend of rising temperatures because of human-caused climate change.
Transport Disruptions
Network Rail imposed a series of speed restrictions on tracks to keep trains safe. National Rail said heat can cause overhead lines to expand and sag, and rails to buckle. South Western Railway warned that train services running across its whole network may be cancelled, delayed by up to 60 minutes, or revised due to issues including heat-related speed restrictions. High track temperatures disrupted London North Eastern Railway services between Peterborough and London Kings Cross. There was also major disruption to Great Northern, Thameslink and Southern networks. Commuters at London Euston station faced delays.
Water Supply Incidents and Swimming Fatalities
In Kent, dozens of homes have been left with little or no water for the third day. The outages began on Saturday and peaked on Sunday when approximately 800 properties in the villages of Charing, Challock and Molash were unable to get water. South East Water said teams were working hard to restore drinking water supplies across the region following "high demand during the exceptionally hot weather," which led to "storage reservoirs running low in parts of Kent." Bottles of water were unloaded in Challock on Monday.
As exceptionally warm spring temperatures hit during the bank holiday long weekend, four people died at swimming spots in different locations around England. On Monday, a 13-year-old boy died after getting into difficulty while in a reservoir in Halifax, West Yorkshire, and at Kingsbury Water Park in Warwickshire, the body of a teenage girl was recovered in the evening. Another body was recovered from the water of Rother Valley Country Park in South Yorkshire in the early hours of Tuesday morning after a teenage boy went missing. At Tregirls Beach near Padstow, Cornwall, a man in his 60s died on Monday after running into the sea to help two relatives who got into difficulty, police said. The Royal Life Saving Society has urged people to stay safe and warned that "warmer weather unfortunately sees an increase" in water-related incidents.
Context
This event follows similar temperature record-breaking patterns seen in recent European heatwaves. In July 2022, the UK recorded its highest ever temperature of 40.3C at Coningsby, Lincolnshire, during a heatwave that caused widespread transport disruption and led to hundreds of excess deaths. The current May records reflect a broader trend of rising spring temperatures across the UK, with the Met Office noting that climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme heat events.