Europe swelters under unusually early heatwave • FRANCE 24 English

Added: 2026-05-27

[00:00:00]It was a sweltering commute for Londoners Tuesday after the thermometer rose to 34.8° C in the British capital Monday, a heat record for May and a rare tropical night when the temperature didn't fall below 20 C. It's a far cry from the around 18° typical for this time of year.

[00:00:21]>> Just trying to keep cool, really, keep the fans on and yeah, looking forward to going to the air conditioned office.

[00:00:26]>> It's tough. It's like we're struggling.

[00:00:28]>> Yeah.

[00:00:29]>> Like, so we're having ice cream, loads of water, >> and hiding in the shed.

[00:00:33]>> After the heat wave sent people flocking to beaches over the long weekend, several drownings were reported in Britain and France as people tried to cool down. France's weather agency also reported Monday as its hottest Mayday on record with Tuesday forecast to be even hotter.

[00:00:52]Every year we see higher thresholds of temperature or drought. So it's very worrying. It's probably one of the most worrying things we're facing.

[00:01:02]>> We're starting to get used to it.

[00:01:04]Unfortunately, it's been like this for several years. So there is a bit of resignation, but we are also concerned about the future.

[00:01:11]>> In Spain, people hit the pool earlier in the year than usual. grateful for the resppite with temperatures expected to peak later this week at 38 C in parts.

[00:01:22]I think each year we suffer a little earlier and a little longer. We cope as best we can. A so-called heat dome of warm air from northern Africa trapped under a high pressure system over Western Europe is behind this unusually early heat wave. Europe is warming faster than the global average with heat waves growing more frequent and severe across at least 95% of the continent.

[00:01:44]Scientists say human-driven climate change is amplifying such extremes.