The Met Office expects temperatures to reach 33C on Monday – which would constitute a new record for May.
“It is likely that the May and Spring UK temperature records will be broken over the Bank Holiday weekend, with forecast temperatures surpassing the existing record of 32.8C,” Met Office Deputy Chief Forecaster Steve Kocher said.
This comes after a study published last summer by Met Office scientists found the chances of surpassing the May temperature record set in 1944 have been increasing as our climate changes.
The study found that breaking the 32.8C May record is around three times more likely now in our current climate than it would have been in a natural climate not impacted by greenhouse gas emissions. What was around a 1-in-100 year event is now around a 1-in-33 year event.
