Record late-May heatwave shatters 82-year-old UK temperature record

A late-May heatwave has broken an 82-year-old temperature record in the UK, with southern England measuring 19.4°C overnight—the highest minimum May temperature ever recorded, according to Norwegian daily Dagbladet.

The extreme heat extends across western and central Europe, where temperatures are 12–16°C above seasonal averages, reports Severe Weather Europe. Portugal, Spain, and France have seen highs of 35–38°C, while Italy, Germany, and Alpine regions recorded 30–33°C.

Hans Olav Hygen, a climatologist at the Norwegian Meteorological Institute, attributes the surge to a mix of African heat moving northward and long-term climate change. “The likelihood of such heat has grown significantly compared to 30–40 years ago,” he said, noting that Oslo’s Blindern station logged 19°C at midnight on Sunday.

Hygen warned that while short-term impacts remain manageable, long-term shifts will force mass displacement as regions become uninhabitable. “International politics are far from climate-friendly—quite the opposite,” he added, criticizing policymakers’ focus on short-term cycles over decades-long climate trajectories.

In Norway, Hygen—also an orienteer and father—observes accelerating seasonal shifts firsthand. “Spring arrives earlier, birch trees leaf out sooner, and ski seasons shrink,” he said. “The Norway of my childhood is vanishing.”

Europe, the world’s fastest-warming continent per the latest European State of Climate report, faces worsening heatwaves, droughts, and wildfires, particularly in the south. “Forest fires are now a standard summer feature,” Hygen noted. Globally, extremes intensify: arid regions grow drier, wet zones face heavier floods, and Arctic ice retreats at unprecedented rates.