Records are being broken every day across the continent, with even warnings from countries that were built “for a climate that no longer exists”
Temperature records are being broken across Europe as parts of the continent suffer from a heat wave that brings extreme temperatures alarmingly early in the year.
The continent is dealing with a powerful heat dome, a persistent high-pressure system that acts like a lid on a pot, trapping hot air and pushing it downward. It can remain in place for days or even weeks and is a meteorological phenomenon that is becoming more likely and more intense due to human-caused climate change.
This Monday, the United Kingdom recorded the hottest May day in its history, with temperatures reaching 34.8 degrees Celsius in the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, in London, breaking the previous record by 2 degrees Celsius. Typically, heat records are broken by just fractions of a degree.
This Tuesday, the record was broken again, with temperatures reaching 35 degrees. The average maximum temperature in London at the end of May is around 20 degrees Celsius.
As the heat increased on Monday, a forest fire broke out near Arthur’s Seat, a hill in Edinburgh, Scotland, and hundreds of properties in southeast England were left without water due to the sudden increase in demand.
The night was short for the United Kingdom, which experienced a “tropical night” with temperatures that did not drop below 20 degrees.
These temperatures may not seem extreme, but they are very uncomfortable – even dangerous – in the UK, where the majority of homes do not have adequate thermal insulation and only around 5% of homes have air conditioning. A report released last week by the UK Climate Change Commission warned that the country was “built for a climate that no longer exists”.
“While we occasionally have warm spells in May, what we are seeing now is unprecedented,” says Stephen Dixon, Met Office spokesman. Climate change is increasing the chances of breaking temperature records in May, Dixon adds to CNN. “What was once an event that occurred every 100 years now occurs every 33 years.”
The UK is not the only place to suffer. Much of Western Europe faces temperatures 10 to 15 degrees Celsius above normal this week.
France is experiencing “unprecedented” heat for this time of year, according to the Météo France meteorological service, and this Monday was the hottest day in May on record.
Extreme temperatures are having deadly consequences. There were “seven deaths directly or indirectly linked to heat, including at least five due to drowning, as well as deaths related to extreme heat during sporting events”, said Maud Bregeon, spokeswoman for the French government, to the TF1 television channel.
On Sunday, a 53-year-old man died during a race in Paris and a woman died at a Hyrox sporting event in the city of Lyon, according to the Associated Press, which cites local press reports.
It has not yet been confirmed whether the deaths were heat-related, but French Sports Minister Marina Ferrari appeared to make a connection, saying the deaths were “a strong reminder that practicing sport in extreme heat requires absolute vigilance.”
Spain is also experiencing “extraordinarily high temperatures for this time of year”, according to meteorological service AEMET, with temperatures forecast in the south of the country reaching 40 degrees in the second half of the week, as well as in Portugal.
Heat is one of the clearest signs of the climate crisis. Planet-warming gases, expelled by the burning of fossil fuels, envelop the Earth like a blanket. Scientists are unanimous that climate change is fueling more extreme heat waves – and Europe is the continent that is warming the fastest.
“We know beyond doubt that heatwaves like these have become more likely and more severe due to climate change,” said Peter Thorne, director of the ICARUS Climate Research Center at Maynooth University in Ireland. “But even so, many of the records being broken, particularly in the UK and France, are unbelievably absurd,” he added.
The consequences are deadly. More than 62,000 people died from heat-related causes in Europe during the hottest year on record, 2024. The emerging El Niño, a natural weather pattern that could bring above-average global temperatures, could make 2026 and 2027 even hotter.
Scientists warn of even more extreme heat waves in the coming years and decades. This year promises to be one of the hottest on record, but it is still likely to be one of the coldest we will experience in our lifetimes.
Taylor Ward contributed to this story
