Parts of the UK have experienced their warmest spring day on record this week, with the national record obliterated by 2°C, according to provisional data from the Met Office.

A slow-moving area of high pressure – sometimes referred to as a heat dome – has allowed heat to build over the UK and other areas of western Europe during the last few days. This weather pattern has sent temperatures soaring to levels not previously observed during spring.

Image: Modelled temperature and wind over the UK on Monday, May 25, 2026. Source: Weatherzone.

On Monday, May 25, a weather station at London’s Kew Gardens reached 34.8°C, provisionally breaking the UK’s previous spring daily maximum temperature record of 32.8°C from 1922 and 1944.

Kew Gardens was not the only place to experience remarkable late-spring heat on Monday, with Heathrow (34.4°C), Northolt (34.2°C), Reading University (33.2°C) and Brize Norton (32.9°C) among other locations to provisionally beat the old UK spring heat record.

Further abroad, May maximum temperature records were also broken at a plethora of weather stations in France on Monday. A weather station at Hawarden Airport in Clwyd also set a new May maximum temperature for Wales, reaching 32.2°C to beat the previous record of 30.6°C from Newport, Monmouthshire in 1944.

Temperatures will remain well above average in the UK and across large areas of Europe on Tuesday, with further records expected to be broken.

Image: Forecast air temperature anomaly at 12:00 UTC on Tuesday, May 26, 2026. Source: TropicalTidbits.com

Temperatures are expected to become somewhat cooler in the UK from Wednesday, although conditions will remain warmer than usual for the rest of the week, particularly in the south of the UK.

London’s maximum temperatures will drop from highs above 34°C at the start of the week to the high twenties in the middle of the week. While this will be a noticeable drop in daytime temperatures, maximums will still be running around 5 to 10°C above average for this time of year.

Image: Daily forecasts for London, UK in the Weatherzone app. London’s long-term average maximum temperature in May is around 18.4°C.

Some other areas of Europe – including parts of France, Switzerland, Italy and the Iberian Peninsula – will remain unseasonably hot for most of this week, with further records possible in the coming days.

The UK Health Security Agency advises the following actions to stay safe in hot weather:

• If you are going to do a physical activity (for example exercise or walking the dog), plan to do these during times of the day when it is cooler such as the early morning or the evening.
• Keep your home cool by closing windows and curtains in rooms that face the sun.
• Drink plenty of fluids and limit your alcohol intake.
• Check on family, friends and neighbours who may be at higher risk of becoming unwell, and if you are at higher risk, ask them to do the same for you.
• Know the symptoms of heat exhaustion and heatstroke and what to do if you or someone else has them.
• Try to avoid direct sunlight, especially between 11am and 3pm when UV levels are highest.
• If you are going out during this time, cover up with suitable clothing, wear a wide-brimmed hat and sunglasses, seek shade and apply sunscreen liberally and re-apply frequently.