Exceptionally early heat wave shatters records and brings deaths in
Europe
[May 27, 2026]
By JILL LAWLESS
LONDON (AP) — The United Kingdom smashed a century-old temperature
record for the second time in 24 hours on Tuesday as a spring heat wave
scorches parts of Western Europe, triggering government warnings about
risks to life. Several drownings were reported in Britain and France as
people tried to cool down.
A temperature of 35.1 degrees Celsius (95.2 degrees Fahrenheit) was
recorded at London's Kew Gardens, Britain's Met Office weather service
said, breaking the 34.8 C (94.6 F) record set a day earlier at Kew. The
provisional readings smashed the long-standing record of 32.8 C (91.4 F)
set in 1922 and matched in 1944.
London also recorded a rare “tropical night,” defined as one in which
the temperature does not fall below 20 C (68 F).
Records also fell in France, where temperatures reached 36 C (97 F) on
Monday in the country's southwest and widely remained above 20 C at
night.
The national weather service, Météo-France, said a “heat dome,” with
heat held in place by a high-pressure weather front, was producing
temperatures more than 10 degrees Celsius above what is usual for this
time of year.
Unpredictable and extreme weather is becoming more frequent as Earth
warms. Experts say unprecedented and deadly weather extremes that
sometimes strike at abnormal times and in unusual places are putting
more people in danger.
“We know beyond a shadow of a doubt that heat wave events such as this
have been made more likely and more severe due to climate change arising
from our emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases,” said Peter
Thorne, director of the ICARUS Climate Research Centre, at Maynooth
University, in Ireland.
“But, nevertheless, many of the records being set, particularly in the
U.K. and France, are mind-bogglingly crazy,” he said.
After a long weekend that sent people in Britain flocking to beaches,
pools and shady parks, London commuters sweltered on Tuesday in subway
carriages without air conditioning. Trains to and from the busy Waterloo
station were disrupted by a report of smoke on the tracks.
In Scotland, firefighters worked through the night to douse a grass fire
that sent smoke billowing from Arthur’s Seat, the rocky hill that looms
over Edinburgh.
The U.K. Health Security Agency issued an amber health alert for large
parts of the country through Thursday, warning of a potential health
risk, particularly among older people, at the hottest times of the day.
The U.K. is used to moderate temperatures and many homes, schools and
businesses do not have air conditioning.
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A man drinks outside the Palace of Westminster in London, Tuesday,
May 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
At least four teenagers died in apparent drownings in U.K. lakes and
reservoirs, and a 60-year-old man died in the sea in southwest
England, authorities said.
French government spokesperson Maud Bregeon said there have been
reports of at least seven deaths potentially related to high
temperatures, including five drownings and two deaths in sports
competitions.
The early heat wave has struck before the annual summer window when
lifeguards watch over bathers at popular beaches, increasing risks.
On France’s Atlantic seaboard, where magnificent beaches have
powerful riptides, officials reported a rash of emergencies in the
surf, with two drowning deaths on Sunday at popular resorts in the
Gironde region in the southwest.
The top regional administrator, Sophie Brocas, urged beachgoers “to
exercise the utmost caution.”
The unseasonable heat extended to Spain, where weather service
spokesperson Rubén del Campo said: “We find ourselves with
temperatures we normally see in the middle of the summer now in the
month of May.”
He said Seville hit 38 C (100 F) over the weekend, while large parts
of the Iberian Peninsula saw temperatures 5 to 10 degrees Celsius
higher than normal.
And in Rome, temperatures were expected to reach 32 C (89.6 F) on
Tuesday.
___
Associated Press writers John Leicester in Paris and Joseph Wilson
in Barcelona, Spain, contributed to this report.
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