Britain was on course to break its all-time record for the hottest day ever recorded in May on Monday, with the national weather agency warning that the country was experiencing an “unprecedented” early-season heatwave.
The UK’s Met Office said temperatures were expected to soar to 35 degrees Celsius (95 Fahrenheit) in parts of southern England, surpassing the current May record of 32.8C, first set in 1922 and matched again in 1944.
“Today will be the hottest day in May in the UK in our temperature records, with highs of 35C expected,” the Met Office said in a statement posted on social media.
The agency described the heat as highly unusual for this time of year, noting that weather records are typically broken only by fractions of a degree.
“Records are usually only broken by tenths of a degree, making this heatwave unprecedented for the time of year,” the statement added.
Monday was also forecast to become the hottest bank holiday ever recorded in Britain, as heatwave conditions spread across southeast England and London after intensifying overnight.
Met Office meteorologist Tom Morgan said such extreme temperatures are rare even during the height of the British summer.
“We rarely see temperatures above 35C, even in the summer months, so to see temperatures getting close to 35C in May is pretty historic,” Morgan told the Press Association.
Across London, residents and visitors sought shade and relief as temperatures climbed above 30C on Sunday, prompting both excitement and concern.
“It’s nice to have it, but it is much, much hotter than it should be in the UK,” said Andrea Quaine, a 41-year-old mother enjoying the sunshine in central London.
“I am worried about it because it obviously shows that global warming is happening,” she added.
For younger visitors, the heat was overwhelming.
“The weather here is like a mini version of hell. It’s boiling. It’s really hot,” said 10-year-old Liza Nizari, who was visiting the capital from Manchester in northwest England.
“The sunscreen will protect me, but it’s still really hot,” she said.
Scientists have repeatedly warned that human-driven climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events worldwide, including heatwaves, droughts, floods, and wildfires. Rising global temperatures are causing records to be broken more often and in more dramatic ways.
The UK recorded its hottest year ever in 2025, continuing a pattern of rising average temperatures over recent decades.
Last week, the government’s independent climate advisers warned that Britain was “built for a climate that no longer exists”, urging urgent adaptation measures to protect public infrastructure such as schools, hospitals, railways, and power systems from worsening heat extremes.
The warning highlights growing concerns that Britain’s infrastructure, historically designed for mild and often wet conditions, is increasingly vulnerable to the realities of a warming world.
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