The United Kingdom's ongoing record-breaking heatwave has the 'fingerprints of climate change all over it,' according to a leading climate scientist, who has cautioned that the government must do significantly more to adapt to this new reality.
Record-Breaking Temperatures
Britain is experiencing its fifth consecutive day of soaring temperatures, with 35 degrees Celsius recorded at Heathrow Airport on Tuesday, breaking the May temperature record for the second time in two days. The Met Office confirmed that locations from Suffolk to Berkshire and Warwickshire have all set new temperature records. Monday's reading of 34.8 degrees Celsius in Kew Gardens, London, smashed the previous May record of 32.8 degrees Celsius, set in 1922, by a substantial two degrees. That record was then surpassed on Tuesday.
According to early forecasts, London was set to be warmer than Lagos, Cairo, or Ho Chi Minh City during the blistering heat.
Expert Warnings
Friederike Otto, professor of climate science at Imperial College London, described these 'astonishing' spring temperatures as evidence of the climate crisis significantly disrupting weather patterns. 'This record-breaking heat has the fingerprints of climate change all over it,' she said. 'Seeing 35 degrees Celsius in the UK during spring is absolutely astonishing, but the science is very clear: climate change makes these heatwaves hotter, longer, and far more frequent.'
Professor Otto emphasised that the current climate is no longer the one people grew up in, and that buildings and infrastructure are woefully unprepared for what lies ahead. She warned that temperature records will continue to be broken until global emissions are fundamentally halted and net zero is achieved.
Government Adaptation Report
Her warning comes just a week after a major report from the government's advisory body, the Climate Change Committee (CCC), highlighted that insufficient action is being taken to adapt to the escalating climate crisis. The CCC's findings include that over 90 percent of homes are not adequately insulated to keep out heat, and by 2050, the UK should expect a daily water supply shortfall of five billion litres.
International climate action since the 2015 Paris Agreement has reduced projected future warming, the CCC stated, but the world is still not on track to meet the key target of keeping average global temperature rise below 2 degrees Celsius. Warming as high as 4 degrees Celsius remains a possibility. Even at 2 degrees Celsius of global warming by 2050, heatwaves will be hotter and longer, with temperatures 'regularly' exceeding 40 degrees Celsius in parts of the UK.
The global average temperature has so far increased by just over 1.3 degrees Celsius since pre-industrial times. When UK temperatures exceeded 40 degrees Celsius for the first time in July 2022, an estimated 3,000 people died, Network Rail issued a 'do not travel' warning, and thousands of homes in the north lost power.
Investment Needs
The CCC has stated that investment of around 11 billion pounds per year is now necessary to adapt to the climate crisis, including controlling temperatures in hospitals and care homes, shoring up supply chains, and increasing the resilience of food systems.
Gareth Redmond-King from the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit said: 'I don't want to rain on anyone's parade if they are enjoying the sun, but we have to realise that what we are experiencing right now is extreme weather. It's very dangerous and it will likely kill people, as we know that excess deaths go up when we have these extreme temperatures.'
His comments follow the UK Health Security Agency issuing its first amber health alert of 2026 last Friday, warning of significant impacts across health and social care services. The alert remains in place until Wednesday.
Call for Action
'It's clearly exceptional when the May temperature record falls not once but twice in two days, and this is what is happening at a global average temperature increase of just 1.3 degrees Celsius,' Mr Redmond-King continued. 'As the CCC rightly has pointed out, investing in adaptation is very important. But governments also need to double down on net zero, because there will come a point at which we can no longer adapt, which is why decarbonising has to remain at the forefront of everything.'
The current heatwave is expected to last until Wednesday, after which temperatures will gradually decline, though remaining in the high 20s, with dry, sunny spells expected.
