Heat waves in the UK and India

[wtg]

Temperatures are expected to hit 35C in parts of England on Monday, in an “unprecedented” May heatwave.

The Met Office is already predicting that records will be broken. A spokesperson said: “Today will be the hottest day in May in the UK in our temperature records, with highs of 35C expected. The current May record is 32.8C. Records are usually only broken by tenths of a degree, making this heatwave unprecedented for the time of year.”

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/may/25/uk-weather-35c-england-unprecedented-may-heatwave

[wtg]

Roads and markets have emptied during afternoons and some farmers have switched to nighttime work to avoid scorching temperatures as a heat wave grips large parts of India.

The India Meteorological Department forecast maximum temperatures Thursday of around 45 degrees Celsius (113 Fahrenheit) in the capital, New Delhi, where authorities have opened temporary “cooling zones” to help people cope.

The weather department warned conditions will likely persist across several northern regions in the coming days, with temperatures staying well above seasonal averages. Authorities urged people to stay indoors during the hottest hours and take precautions against heat-related illnesses.

India declares a heat wave whenever temperatures are above 40 C (104 F) in the plains and 30 C (86 F) or more in its hilly regions.

https://apnews.com/article/india-heatwave-temperatures-3aa179491366cc8a283907392c70c73d

[AndyD]

It is quite warm, but hey, it is our May Bank Holiday.

28c in the living room (and garage) which are on the south side of our house.

22c in the sitting room where I am with piano on the NW corner.

Unbearable outside in the sun at 4pm when I went out to lock the gates.

[ShiroKuro]

@AndyD said:

22c in the sitting room where I am with piano on the NW corner.

You’re going to have to sleep in the piano room…

[wtg]

Amazing map showing where the heat waves are.

https://www.space.com/astronomy/earth/its-so-hot-across-europe-you-can-see-the-heat-wave-from-space-space-photo-of-the-day-for-may-29-2026

[AndyD]

Friday Saturday and Sunday in London all hit 30 degrees. Some relief today as 23 forecast.

Let me bore you all with my first world misfortune.

Wife flying 11am Saturday on SIA.
"Let's get the super-fast Queen Elizabeth line"... 6.20am we walked past our car to tube.

Got to Paddington no problem then told both tubes to Heatrow were down.
Shambles, absolute nightmare, tube stopped at Hayes station one stop away from Heathrow.
Up the stairs, one young lad the only visible member of staff.

We stood in the sun with hundreds of other people waiting (with suitcases, increasingly hot &panicked) for a replacement bus service.

After an hour waiting & literally unable to get on a bus, we ordered an Uber, shared with a young American on his way to Chicago to visit girlfriend.
Our driver was just great, sailed past stationary three lane traffic and into terminal 2 drop-off by a clever back way, taking only 10 minutes.

God knows what foreigners think of our inability to cope with incidents (flooding at Heathrow, obviously can't get an emergency plumber out early on Saturday).

Anyway Mrs A got through baggage in 2 minutes and away she went.

Guess what?
I joined a couple of hundred weary frustrated arrivals with suitcases queuing (another hour of joy) for the replacement bus service back to Hayes tube. In full sun.

I use the word queuing loosely as the bus drivers are incapable of stopping at the sign, just anywhere within 20ft either side of the sign will do. Pot luck if you were by the doors when it stopped.

Given the traffic I witnessed, driving may not have got us there in time.

Six hours after leaving the house I was in a cafe in Covent Garden trying to chill (in every sense of the word) with daughter, not really hiding her amusement very well.
She has the daily joy of London Transport's unpredictability.