Australia Weather News

Heat records have tumbled across Europe for the second straight day as an unprecedentedly early heatwave continues to bake the continent, with some fatalities reported.

In London, temperatures topped 35 degrees Celsius in the mid-afternoon, officially making Tuesday the hottest day in May since records began.

This broke the previous record, set only a day prior on Monday, when the British capital sweltered under 33.5C temperatures.

London also recorded a rare "tropical night" on Monday evening, defined as one in which the temperature does not fall below 20C.

Maximum temperatures in the UK can reach and exceed 30C in the northern hemisphere's summer months, particularly in July and August, but such high temperatures in May are rare.

"Today is now the hottest day in May on record with Heathrow and Kew Gardens provisionally reaching 35 [degrees Celsius]," the UK's Meteorological Office said in a post on X.

"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."

Many homes in the UK lack air conditioning and other design features common in warmer parts of the world.

The unusual heat was also having tragic consequences, with authorities in England reporting that four teenagers had drowned since Sunday in separate incidents.

French authorities also reported at least seven deaths linked to the heatwave. Five of those were drownings, as many people sought relief at water spots, even though lifeguard supervision on beaches is not due to start in many areas until July.

France logged its hottest-ever May day on Monday and then again on Tuesday.

"We are not in an emergency situation," French Health Minister Stephanie Rist said, but added:

"We need to be wary of these heatwaves, even if we're starting to get used to them."

Tennis fans in Paris baked in temperatures of 33C at the French Open, with players battling through heat that Norway's Casper Ruud said left him feeling "like a zombie".

The high temperatures were also wreaking havoc with the UK's infrastructure.

Much of London's famous Underground network is not air-conditioned, forcing commuters to travel in sweltering and humid conditions on packed trains on Tuesday.

Trains to and from the busy Waterloo station were disrupted by a report of smoke on the tracks.

In Scotland, firefighters worked through the night to douse a grass fire that sent smoke billowing from Arthur's Seat, the rocky hill that looms over Edinburgh.

Scientists say human-caused climate change is causing European heatwaves to occur earlier in the year and become more extreme.

Continent bakes under early heatwave

The unseasonable heat extended to Spain, where weather service spokesperson Rubén del Campo said: "We find ourselves with temperatures we normally see in the middle of the summer now in the month of May".

He said Seville hit 38C over the weekend, while large parts of the Iberian Peninsula saw temperatures 5 to 10 degrees Celsius higher than normal.

And in Rome, temperatures were expected to reach 32C on Tuesday.

The BBC reported that Ireland had also recorded its warmest May day on record, in Oak Park in Country Carlow, where it hit 29.2C on Tuesday.