The United Kingdom, France and northern Spain: the heat arrives early and breaks records

Barcelona / LondonThe full summer atmosphere that has been accompanying us for days is leaving thermal records that, in some cases, have never been seen in the middle of May. The United Kingdom, France, and Cantabria and Asturias in Spain are some of the places where unusual values have been recorded in a heatwave with few precedents, both for its date on the calendar – at the end of meteorological spring –, and for its intensity and persistence, with many days well above the climatic average. Also in Catalonia, in recent days, temperatures more typical of early July than of May have been reached, with thermometers nearing 35 °C in some areas.

The cause of all this is the powerful anticyclone that has been installed over Western Europe since a little after the middle of the month. This atmospheric situation is blocking any possible low-pressure system approaching from the Atlantic and preventing the weather from changing. Combined with a sun that is already intense and long-lasting and heats the surface a lot, the anticyclone sends temperatures soaring due to subsidence, which is the downward movement of air layers from upper levels, compressing the most superficial air layer, the one surrounding us, and causing it to gain even more degrees.

Although it is not an exceptional phenomenon, in this case it is leaving unusual or unprecedented records on the continent and the British Isles. In the United Kingdom, temperatures exceeded 30 °C on Saturday, the first time this has happened in May since 2012. But this Monday, a new heat record has been set in the middle of May, in an episode of unusual temperatures affecting a large part of the country. Thermometers reached 34.8 degrees in Kew Gardens, southwest of London, far exceeding the previous historic maximum of 32.8 degrees. In fact, this record also surpasses the station's June record.

The day has set up to three new records and becomes the hottest day recorded in May, as well as the warmest bank holiday Monday on record. At Heathrow Airport, the maximum temperature record for May in the country was reached this same Monday, with 33.5 °C. These are very high temperatures that in countries not accustomed to extreme heat are more difficult to bear, due to the lack of air conditioning systems.

"Early" heat in France

The heatwave has not been limited to England. Wales has recorded its hottest May day, while Scotland and Northern Ireland have also reached the highest temperatures of the year so far. This episode, unprecedented for the time of year, with still four weeks to go until summer, is more typical of July or August than late May. In some areas of the country, temperatures have been up to fifteen degrees above the usual average. According to forecasts, the anomalous heat will continue for at least one more day and in southeast England, today's records could be surpassed again.

In France too, the anticyclone has left temperatures higher than normal and, for the first time in May, an alert for intense heat had to be activated. According to the national meteorological service (Météo-France), this is an "early heat episode" that mainly affects the west of the country and the capital. The heatwave is extending northwards with thermometers above 30 degrees, and only parts of the Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts are escaping these high temperatures. Further south, in Portugal, seven municipalities in the Algarve and about thirty in the interior of the country are at "maximum" or "very high" risk of fire due to the rise in temperatures, according to the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and the Atmosphere (IPMA).

Records, far from Catalonia

For now, however, this heatwave is not breaking records in Catalonia, where the context of climate crisis has made it usual in recent years for intense heat to visit us before June. The episode's maximum is, provisionally, 36.1 °C recorded last Friday in Seròs, in El Segrià. Nevertheless, it is foreseeable that the mercury will rise further between Wednesday and Friday, when 37 or 38 °C could be exceeded in the regions of Ponent and in parts of the interior of the Ebro valley.

In Barcelona, and coinciding with the second Easter bank holiday, a day with a fully summery atmosphere has been experienced. On Bogatell and Nova Icària beaches, the sand has filled with families, groups of friends, and tourists who wanted to take advantage of the day to "inaugurate the summer season" and take "the first dip" with water that "is still cool and very clean," according to ACN. The atmosphere has also spread to the terraces and beach bars, which have already reached 80% occupancy on weekends, with restaurateurs optimistic about a May they describe as "very good".

The situation in Catalonia is very different from the Cantabrian coast. This is the case in Asturias: Oviedo exceeded the record for maximum temperature in a May month on Friday… recorded the previous day. They reached 35.5 °C. Records have also been registered in Cantabrian towns such as Torrelavega or Santillana del Mar, while in the southern peninsula they have already approached 38 or 39 °C, although without reaching any unusual values.