Stay up to date with notifications from The IndependentNotifications can be managed in browser preferences.Jump to contentThank you for registeringPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged inAllNewsSportCultureLifestyleThe UK is set for a slight reprieve from a record-breaking heatwave, which saw Tuesday become the hottest May day on record for England and Wales. Kew Gardens provisionally hit 35.1C and Cardiff Bute Park reached 32.9C, with temperatures expected to drop from Wednesday due to cloud cover and easterly winds. Despite the overall cooling trend, parts of south-west England, London, and the East Midlands could still experience highs of 30-33C later in the week. At least six people have died in open water incidents across the UK during the heatwave, prompting warnings from the RNLI and National Fire Chiefs Council about cold water shock and unsupervised swimming. Met Office scientists attribute the increased likelihood of such record-breaking temperatures to human greenhouse gas emissions, calling the current spell "exceptional" and "quite worrying". In fullRelief in sight for sweltering Brits after days of record-breaking heatThank you for registeringPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in

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Highest temperatures of 2026 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland as Kew Gardens in London reaches 32.3C

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Parts of the UK were as hot as the Mediterranean on Sunday

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Britons are being urged to hydrate and seek shade as the United Kingdom wilts amid a record-breaking spell of hot weather for May that will last until Wednesday.

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Much of the country can expect scorching weather over and beyond the bank holiday weekend

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Stay up to date with notifications from The IndependentNotifications can be managed in browser preferences.AllNewsSportCultureLifestyleThe Met Office has warned that May's hottest…

Stay up to date with notifications from The IndependentNotifications can be managed in browser preferences.AllNewsSportCultureLifestyleFour teenagers, three boys and one girl,…

The UK is currently experiencing a heatwave, with high temperatures over the weekend and the hot weather is expected to continue this week - better keep those fans on then...In…

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Four teenagers, three boys and a girl, have died in ‘water-related incidents’

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Temperatures will drop slightly in some areas starting on Wednesday

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