Record-Breaking Heat Wave Kills Seven in France as UK May Records Fall Again

A record-breaking heat wave struck western Europe in late May, with the UK’s Met Office saying May 26 broke the record for the hottest day in May ever recorded in England and Wales, reaching 35.1 degrees Celsius at Kenley Airfield and 32.9 degrees Celsius at the other listed location.

USA TODAY reported that the record-breaking day followed what it described as a "tropical night" in London, where overnight lows didn't dip below 21.3 degrees Celsius at the Kenley Airfield.

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The BBC said the UK record for the hottest May day was broken for a second day in a row, with Kew Gardens in south-west London recording a provisional temperature of 35.1C after Monday’s 34.8C record-high in the same place.

The BBC also reported that Wales broke May records for a consecutive day, with provisional temperatures reaching 32.3C at Cardiff's Bute Park, surpassing Monday's 32.2C at Hawarden Airport in Flintshire.

In France, USA TODAY said May 25 was the hottest day ever recorded in May, with the high Monday in Angoulême reaching 36 Celsius, or 96.8 degrees Fahrenheit, and it reported seven deaths in France attributed to the heat, though most were indirectly linked.

As the heat pushed into Tuesday, the BBC reported police warning people to take care in open water after five young people and one man drowned in separate incidents in the past few days.

The BBC said that on Tuesday evening a body was recovered from River Ribble, Lancashire Police said, and it also described a 13-year-old boy dying after getting into difficulty while in a reservoir in Halifax, West Yorkshire.

BBC

In France, USA TODAY said French Junior Energy Minister Maud Bregeon reported seven deaths in France attributed to the heat, with five of the seven deaths being drownings at lakes, rivers and beaches.

The UK Health Security Agency issued amber heat health alerts, and the BBC said six amber heat health alerts issued by the UK Health Security Agency cover much of England and will be active until Thursday.

The BBC also quoted the Met Office’s chief operational meteorologist Dan Suri saying the high temperatures were due to "the influence of warmth building under an area of high pressure near the UK."

USA TODAY said the record-breaking temperatures were under the influence of a high pressure area that’s allowing exceptional heat to build up, reaching levels not previously reported for this time of year, and it quoted Dan Suri saying the high pressure is expected to lose that influence in late May.

The BBC reported that a location has to reach a threshold temperature - 25C for northern and western areas and 28C in London and Home Counties - for three days in a row, and it said much of England and Wales are in an official heatwave as of Tuesday.

USA TODAY also reported that a 2025 study by the Met Office forecasters found the chances of surpassing the May temperature record is more than three times as likely now because of climate change than it would have been without greenhouse gas emissions.

On the question of El Niño, USA TODAY quoted Jon Gottschalck, meteorologist at the Climate Prediction Center, saying the heat in Europe "is linked to an ongoing atmospheric blocking and not forced by the [El Niño Southern-Oscillation pattern]."

Looking ahead for the United States, USA TODAY said NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center forecast widespread above-average temperatures across much of the country, with the exception of the Great Lakes and Upper Midwest, and it said the June-July-August temperature outlook "favors above-normal temperatures throughout the West, much of the Great Plains, Lower Mississippi Valley, and East."