Near 35 C: Britain bakes during hottest day on record for May

LONDON, May 25 (Reuters) - Britain had its hottest day on record for May on Monday, the country's national weather service said, with the temperature nearing 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit).

On a day that also broke records for a public holiday, the Met Office said the temperature hit 34.8 C (94.64 F) at west London's Kew Gardens, provisionally exceeding Britain's previous 32.8 C (91 F) May record, seen in both 1922 and 1944.

A study last year found that the chances of surpassing the previous 32.8 C May record were three times more likely as a result of changes in climate as a result of human greenhouse gas emissions, the Met Office said.

People refill their water bottles from a fountain in Green Park during a heatwave as the UK experienced record temperatures for the month of May in London, Britain, May 25, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Coombs

"This heat would be exceptional in the UK even in mid summer, let alone in May," it said.

Monday was also the hottest public holiday recorded since Met Office UK-wide records began in 1884, exceeding a previous high of 33.3 C in August 2019.

Swimmers flocked to open air pools and pedestrians sought to cool off in public fountains, while near the village of Brockworth in south-west England, competitors braved both the heat and a steep hill for an annual cheese-rolling contest.

(Reporting by Alistair Smout, additional reporting by Isabel Infantes, editing by Alexander Smith)

Thumbnail courtesy of REUTERS/Kevin Coombs.