Exceptionally early heat wave shatters records and brings deaths in Europe

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By JILL LAWLESS
Updated 10:06 AM CDT, May 26, 2026
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LONDON (AP) — The U.K. smashed a century-old temperature record for the second time in 24 hours on Tuesday as a spring heat wave continued to scorch parts of Western Europe, triggering government warnings about risks to life. Several drownings were reported in Britain and France as people tried to cool down.

A temperature of 35 Celsius (95 Fahrenheit) was recorded at London’s Kew Gardens and Heathrow Airport, Britain’s Met Office weather service said, breaking the 34.8 C (94.6 F) record set a day earlier at Kew. The provisional readings smashed the long-standing record of 32.8 C (91.4 F) set in 1922 and matched in 1944.

London also recorded a rare “tropical night,” defined as one in which the temperature does not fall below 20 C (68 F).

Records also fell in France, where temperatures reached 36 C (97 F) on Monday in the country’s southwest and widely remained above 20 C at night.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/europe-heatwave-temperature-records-france-uk-5e08af7830e72ffa9fccdcf48cf4f7b5

[MLWR]

1. And most of these cities do not have many air-conditioned buildings since they have never needed AC before.