Climate News

UK breaks its May heat record two days running, with 35.1C at Kew Gardens

The UK has set a new record for its hottest May day twice in two days. On 25 May Kew Gardens in London reached 34.8C, beating the old record of 32.8C from 1944, and on 26 May Kew climbed to 35.1C, as the BBC reported each new mark. Wales also set a new May record of 32.2C at Hawarden Airport, later raised to 32.9C in Cardiff, and Jersey recorded its hottest May day.

Nights stayed unusually warm. The Standard said the UK had endured a "tropical night" after the record fell for a second day, and a new record for the highest May minimum, 21.3C, was set at Kenley Airfield. The UK Health Security Agency raised its heat-health alerts to amber. Four days earlier, Channel 4 News had warned that record temperatures were on the way.

"Much of the UK is bracing itself for a heatwave, with record May temperatures expected over the coming days." — Channel 4 News

How each outlet framed it

• BBC News — the running tally: national, Welsh and Channel Islands records, day by day.
• The Standard — London's angle: records by day and a night that barely cooled.
• The New York Times — the view from abroad: the year's first heatwave hitting parts of Britain.
• Channel 4 News — the forecast warning, four days before the record fell.

What we don't know yet: whether June will bring more. The new May high is only 0.5C short of the UK's June record of 35.6C, set in 1976.