UK heatwave expected as temperatures near record highs for May

England, Wales and Northern Ireland recorded their highest temperatures of 2026 on Sunday, which was also the UK’s hottest May day for at least 79 years.

Kew Gardens in west London recorded 32.3C (90.1F), Cardiff 27.4C and Armagh 23.4C.

Scotland reached 23.5C in Edinburgh, just 0.1C below the record of 23.6C set in Aboyne on 1 May.

The first area of the UK to hit the heatwave threshold was Santon Downham in Suffolk, which reached the criteria of recording temperatures of more than 27C for three consecutive days at 11.30am on Sunday.

The other areas officially in heatwave conditions are Heathrow, Kew Gardens and Northolt in London, Benson in Oxfordshire, Brooms Barn in Suffolk, and High Beach and Writtle in Essex.

Temperatures could rise again on Monday, with possible highs of between 33C and 34C.

The climate crisis is increasing the likelihood of extreme heat. Large parts of western Europe are experiencing similar peaks, and the French national weather agency, Météo-France, said periods of exceptional heat are to be expected “more and more often and more and more prematurely, and to be more and more intense”.

A Met Office spokesperson said: “Breaking the 32.8C May record is around three times more likely now in our current climate than it would have been in natural climate conditions before the Industrial Revolution.

“What was around a one-in-100-year event is now around a one-in-33-year event.”

The Met Office sets the criteria for a heatwave, which vary by region. In London and its surrounding counties, a heatwave is defined by temperatures reaching or exceeding 28C on three consecutive days.

For many other areas of England and south-east Wales, the threshold is 26C or 27C. For the rest of Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern England it is 25C.

Saturday was the UK’s first 30C day of the year, the earliest date that temperature has been reached since 1952.

Sunbathers flocked to beaches across the UK, and Lord’s cricket ground relaxed its strict dress code for its members’ pavilion. The Marylebone Cricket Club usually requires spectators there to wear lounge suits or tailored jackets and ties.

There were also drinks breaks at the League One playoff final between Bolton Wanderers and Stockport County at Wembley and during the Premier League games as the top-flight football season concluded.

People living in three villages in Kent experienced no water or low pressure for a second day. The affected areas were Charing, Challock and Molash near Ashford, where people first reported supply problems on Saturday evening.

South East Water apologised and said the issue had been resolved overnight, but that supply problems had resumed on Sunday as a result of pumping station issues.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) issued amber heat alerts on Friday morning for the East Midlands, the West Midlands, the east of England, London and the south-east.

The alerts will remain in place until 5pm on Wednesday, meaning “an increase in risk to health for individuals aged over 65 years or those with pre-existing health conditions, including respiratory and cardiovascular diseases”, according to the UKHSA website.

There were also pleas for caution around open bodies of water such as lakes and quarries to reduce the risk of drowning.

According to 2024 data from the National Water Safety Forum, 61% of accidental water-related fatalities occurred in inland waterways, including rivers, canals, lakes, reservoirs and quarries. May that year had the largest number of deaths at 28.

The data also suggests many such deaths occur among people who are not intending to enter the water.

Prof Mike Tipton, the chair of the forum and an expert in water safety and cold water shock, said: “We encourage people to think before entering the water, and if they decide to go in, go to a supervised location, enter the water slowly to reduce the cold shock response and keep breathing under control.

“If people get into trouble, they should ‘float to live’ – roll on to back, tilt head back to keep airways out of the water, do as little sculling arm and leg exercise as necessary to stay afloat until breathing is back under control.”

Tipton also advised against entering the water to rescue someone struggling because doing so often leads to two people in trouble. People should call the emergency services, tell the person in the water to float and throw them a flotation aid if possible, he said.

On Sunday evening police were searching for a boy, 15, who had not been seen since going into a lake in Lincoln.

Emergency services were called to Swanholme Lakes in the afternoon after reports the boy had got into difficulty in the water.

Just after 11pm, police said divers had found a body and it had been identified as the teenager, Declan Sawyer.