UK records hottest May day ever as heatwave grips London and south-east England
London hit 34.8C at Kew Gardens, setting the UK’s hottest May day on record and beating a mark that stood since 1922.
Britain’s May heat record fell at Kew Gardens as temperatures reached a provisional 34.8C, a reading that made Monday the hottest May day ever recorded in the UK and pushed well beyond a benchmark that had survived for 104 years. The Met Office said the temperature was enough to be “exceptional in the UK even in mid-summer, let alone in May.”
The previous May high was 32.8C, first set at Camden Square on 22 May 1922 and matched again on 29 May 1944 at Horsham, Tunbridge Wells and Regent’s Park. The new figure also surpassed the hottest Bank Holiday Monday on record, 33.3C on the August bank holiday in 2019, underlining how far conditions had shifted into midsummer territory while spring was still barely over. Sunday had already signaled what was coming, with 32.3C recorded at Kew Gardens before the latest surge.
The Met Office warned that 34C and 35C were forecast for parts of the South and South East on Monday and Tuesday, with the heatwave affecting London and south-east England. The event came during what broadcasters described as the warmest bank holiday ever, including the August holiday comparison, a reminder that the calendar no longer offers much protection from extreme heat when Atlantic and continental weather patterns align.
The scale of the spike matters because heat thresholds in the UK are set region by region, not by a single national number. London typically uses 28C as its benchmark for a heatwave, while some northern areas use lower thresholds, reflecting different local vulnerabilities and preparedness. That means a reading of 34.8C in south-west London is not just a record for the books; it is a test of how quickly transport, workplaces, schools and health services can respond when May starts to resemble peak summer.
The wider trend has been moving in the same direction. The Met Office has said May 2024 was the warmest May on record for the UK overall, with mean temperatures about 1C above the previous record. Researchers linked part of that month’s warmth to a marine heatwave around the UK, adding another signal that exceptional spring heat is becoming harder to dismiss as a one-off.
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