Scorching temperatures hit Spain, UK & France driven by African ‘heat plume’

The unusually high temperatures are being driven by a ‘heat dome’ — a mass of hot air moving north from Africa and trapped beneath a high-pressure system over western Europe — creating conditions more typical of the height of summer.

Spain is forecast to see temperatures rise as high as 41C later this week in Extremadura, while parts of Italy have already introduced limits on outdoor work because of the heat.

The UK’s Met Office confirmed the country had experienced its hottest May day since records began, after temperatures reached 34.8C at Kew Gardens in southwest London — surpassing the previous record by two degrees.

‘This heat would be exceptional in the UK even in mid-summer, let alone May,’ the agency wrote on X.

Scientists increasingly link human-driven climate change to more frequent and more severe extreme weather events, including heatwaves, floods and droughts, leading to records being broken more regularly. ALSO READ: Sánchez unveils Spain’s largest anti-wildfire operation after devastating 2025 fires.

In Spain, the national weather agency Aemet warned that ‘extraordinarily high temperatures for this time of year’ would persist throughout the week across most of the country, with the Canary Islands the main exception.

The agency also forecast ‘widespread tropical nights’ in southwestern Spain from Wednesday onwards, with peak temperatures expected between Wednesday and Friday ranging from 36C to 39C, it said on X. Spain’s state broadcaster RTVE forecast the region of Extremadura to hit 41C on Thursday (main image and link below).

Meteo-France also issued heatwave alerts for eight western regions in France, indicating three consecutive days and nights of dangerous heat likely to threaten public health.

France had already experienced exceptionally high temperatures over the weekend, with at least 10 areas recording ‘record high maximum temperatures for the month of May’, including the Atlantic coastal towns of Lorient and Noirmoutier.

Paris also recorded its first temperature above 30C this year on Saturday, reaching 31.9C.