London was scorching on Tuesday, as more weather records were broken with the capital reaching unprecedented May temperatures.
The UK record for the hottest May day ever was smashed for a second straight day when the mercury touched 35.1C in Kew Gardens on Tuesday afternoon.
Before Monday and Tuesday’s highs, the warmest May day in the UK was 32.8C, recorded in both 1922 and 1944 - but that has now been topped by over 2C.
The Met Office also said that 34C was surpassed at Bushy Park in west London and Northolt in north-west London, as well as Santon Downham in Suffolk, Cippenham in Berkshire, and Wellesbourne in Warwickshire
Today is now the hottest day in May on record with Heathrow and Kew Gardens provisionally reaching 35.0°C
— Met Office (@metoffice) May 26, 2026
Until yesterday the highest temperature in May was 32.8°C, but we've now exceeded that record on consecutive days by a full two degrees Celsius 🌡️ pic.twitter.com/s4ichw1fZU
London is now in an official heatwave - exceeding the threshold temperature of 28C for three days in a row.
The Met Office said that while temperatures in the capital should dip to the mid twenties on Wednesday, highs of 31C are forecast for Thursday, and the “exceptional” late-spring heat should continue for much of this week.
Met Office chief forecaster Andy Page said that more “tropical nights” are also expected.
Mr Page said: “Last night provisionally recorded the warmest May night on record, and we’re likely to see further very warm nights in the south over the coming days.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has said that amber alerts for the South West, South East, London, East and West Midlands and the East of England will remain in place until 5pm on Thursday.
The alert warns that significant impacts are likely across health and social care services, with increased demand caused by the high temperatures.
The Met Office has also issued a yellow weather warning for thunderstorms in England, including covering parts of London and the south-east.
Amid the hot weather, four teenagers have drowned and a 60-year-old man has died in separate open water incidents across the UK over the Bank Holiday weekend
Police in Lincolnshire, Devon and Cornwall, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire and Warwickshire, confirmed the deaths amid warnings from the RNLI of the “very real risk” of swimming in open water during the heatwave.
The soaring temperatures also led to severe travel disruption in London on Tuesday, with services struggling to cope with the heat.
Network Rail imposed a series of speed restrictions on tracks to keep trains safe, while National Rail said heat could see overhead lines expand and sag and cause rails to buckle.
South Western Railway (SWR) had issues across their whole network, delaying or revising a number of routes and cancelling a number of services altogether, including journeys between London Waterloo and Weymouth via Winchester, and between London Waterloo and Aldershot via Woking and Guildford.
High track temperatures also caused issues with LNER services between Peterborough and London Kings Cross, while there was also major disruption to Great Northern, Thameslink and Southern networks.
