Maps of the UK now point to a sharp turn in the weather from Sunday, with cooler temperatures and outbreaks of rain ending a spell of unseasonably hot conditions that pushed parts of England and Wales into record territory this week. After London hit 35.1C at Kew Gardens on Tuesday, the highest May temperature ever recorded in the capital, the heat is giving way to fresher Atlantic air and a more unsettled pattern.
That change is why the forecast is being watched so closely today. Temperatures fell to 24C on Sunday after reaching 30C on Saturday, and the cooler air is expected to settle further in the first few days of June as a stronger jet stream drives areas of low pressure across the country. Rain is expected to develop in most places on Monday, with heavier falls in the west, followed by sunshine and heavy showers on Tuesday and more rain on Wednesday.
The shift comes after England and Wales registered their hottest May days on record for two days in a row, with 32.9C recorded at Cardiff’s Bute Park on Tuesday and heatwave conditions met in several areas. Amber and yellow heat health alerts were issued by the UK Health Security Agency for much of England during the hot spell, which briefly turned gardens brown and left growers waiting for the rain to return. For them, the arrival of damp weather will be welcome. For anyone who has spent the last week trying to stay cool, the prospect of 15C to 20C by Wednesday will feel like a complete reset.
But the heat has carried a far heavier cost than scorched lawns and tired fans. At least 14 people have died in water-related incidents during the hot weather, including a 15-year-old girl who died in hospital on Saturday after getting into difficulty in the sea off the Merseyside coast on Monday. A 19-year-old man also died after being recovered from a lake in Nottinghamshire, and emergency services in Yorkshire said a search was under way on Sunday for an 11-year-old boy last seen entering the River Don in Mexborough. Fresh warnings about the dangers of swimming in open water, especially for children, have followed those cases.
For now, the story is less about where the heat peaked than how quickly it is breaking. The rain moving in on Monday and the risk of thunder and lightning on Tuesday will bring relief to some parts of the country and disruption to others, but the biggest change is simple: after a record-breaking May burst of heat, much of the UK is heading into a colder, wetter start to June.
