More climate records under threat as spring heatwave bakes western Europe

LONDON

People enjoy a boat ride with Muiderslot as a backdrop during a heatwave in Muiden, the Netherlands, on May 25, 2026.(AFP)

Western Europe faced another day of record-breaking temperatures on May 26 as a heatwave pushed the mercury well above normal levels for May.

A so-called "heat dome" of warm air from northern Africa trapped under a high-pressure system over western Europe is behind the sort of heat not usually seen until high summer.

France's weather agency reported that May 25 was its hottest day in the month of May on record, with May 26 forecast to be even hotter, while the United Kingdom also posted unprecedented highs and Italy imposed restrictions on outdoor work.

French authorities on May 26 also reported at least seven deaths linked to the heatwave — five of which were drownings, as many people sought relief on beaches and other bodies of water.

Scientists say human-driven climate change is amplifying such extremes, with weather events like heatwaves, droughts and floods becoming more intense and frequent.

The United Kingdom's Met Office weather agency said May 25 was the hottest May day on record, with temperatures hitting 34.8 degrees Celsius at Kew Gardens, southwest London — a full two degrees above the previous high.

The Met Office forecast a drop later in the week.

Met Office meteorologist Greg Dewhurst told AFP the increase in extreme temperatures was "a good indication of climate change in action" and more likely to become "the new norm."

Across the English Channel, France's weather agency said "May 25 was the hottest day recorded for the month of May since measurements began", with tennis fans in the capital Paris baking in temperatures of 33 degrees Celsius at Roland Garros.

Government authorities also noted the heat had taken a deadly turn.

"What I can say today is that there have been seven deaths directly or indirectly related to the heat," government spokesperson Maud Bregeon told television broadcaster TF1 on May 26.

The heat drove many people to the country's beaches to cool off in the water, even though lifeguard supervision is not due to start in many areas until July.

Spain's State Meteorological Agency (Aemet) warned the "extraordinarily high temperatures for this time of year" will continue across the country all week, except in the Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean.

"Widespread tropical nights" are also forecast in southwestern Spain, with temperatures peaking from today to May 29 at between 36 and 38 degrees Celsius, it wrote on X.

Farther east, Italy's Lazio region, which includes Rome, on May 25 approved rules limiting work in conditions "with prolonged exposure in the sun" between 12:30 p.m. and 4 p.m.

An April report by the European Copernicus Climate Change Service and the World Meteorological Organization stated that since the 1980s, "Europe has warmed twice as fast as the global average" and "heatwaves are becoming increasingly frequent and severe" across at least 95 percent of the continent's territory.