There is no doubt that it has been exceptionally and unusually hot in parts of the south and east of England over the last few days and pleasantly warm elsewhere in the UK. Yes, the heat has been unusual, but is it – as the Guardian claims – “unprecedented”?

Such a claim sits a little uneasily, to my mind, with the fact that the previous high temperature record for the UK in May was set in 1922 and repeated in 1944. It should also be borne in mind that May started off distinctly chilly (following on from a cold April), and also that the heat isn’t going to last. Here in Cumbria I don’t think we exceeded 30C at all, and the forecast for where I live is for a distinctly unsettled period for at least the next fortnight, with a high temperature of 18C next Saturday steadily declining to highs of 16C, 15C and 14C well into June, with rain and wind also in the forecast as the anticyclone gives way to low pressure.

Is this unprecedented? Fortunately the UK Met Office makes historic daily weather reports and monthly summaries available on its website, and for the month of May 1922 they can be found here. The monthly summary for 1922 is as follows (temperatures, of course, are expressed in Fahrenheit):

Variable weather, especially with regard to temperature is frequently experienced in May and it happens occasionally, as for example in 1920, that the hottest day of the whole year occurs in this month. The first few days of May 1922 were cold, as had been the greater part of April, but by the end of the week the thermometerhad risen considerably and on the 8th touched 80 [almost 27C] at Benson and S. Farnborough. At Kew the maximum was 77 [25C], a record for the early part of month. Subsequently high pressure to the northwestward of the British Isles caused a renewal of coll weather for a few days about the 10th-13th.

The most notable feature, however, was the hot spell which began about the 20th in the Southeast. On four days in succession (21st-24th) temperature rose above 80 at Kew and in three cases out of the four the maximum value, 86 [30C], was above any previously recorded there in May since 1871: 84 [29C] was registered on the 30th in 1895. The latter month with its abundant sunshine and scanty rainfall bore considerable resemblance to the one just ended…..

Sound familiar? We can follow the continuing story by looking at the Met Office reports for June 1922. The monthly summary tells us:

The very warm weather which had prevailed during the last part of May was maintained at the beginning of June. Maxima above 80 were recorded in many places on the 1st and again in some districts on the 2nd but in the West nothwesterly winds in the rear of a depression near the Hebrides caused a marked drop in temperature. At Birr Castle, for instance, the highest reading on the 2nd was 58 [c. 14.5C] as against 78 [c. 25.5C] on the 1st.

After reasonable warmth the temperature fell by 20 degrees fahrenheit over much of the country, including London.

The interesting thing to note about these old weather reports is the matter-of-fact tone, the calmly factual narrative. No propaganda, no hype. Unusually high temperatures for the time of year are described as “very warm”. I wonder what Met Office employees from a century ago would make of the hysterical outpourings from their employer today?

The other record-breaking year was 1944, famous for the bad weather that delayed the D-Day invasion from 5th to 6th June. The Met Office report for May can be read here.

It was a month of remarkable extremes, with the monthly report noting:

Mean temperature showed no marked deviations from the average, but the range of the temperature extremes was exceptional, as much as 57F at Croydon.

If that happened today, it would probably be described as climate whiplash, and cited as unequivocal proof of the “climate crisis”.

For present purposes, however, the high temperatures late in the month are what concern us here:

…warmer air from a continental anticyclone began to affect the South and maximum temperatures reaching 74F were reported. This anticyclone dominated the southern half of the country until the 29th when a shallow trough moved in and high pressure became established in the North until the end of the month. It became very hot in the South on the 29th and a number of stations recorded the highest ever for the month of May. It reached 91F [c. 32.8C] in central London and night minima for 29th-30th did not fall below 62F [c. 16.7C] at some places. It remained very warm. Thunderstorm activity developed during the 29th and continued until the end of the month in various places in England and Wales….

Does that also sound familiar? Of course, as we all know from history, the weather broke down after that, just as it is forecast to do this year.

So what? It was hotter this year, and that’s because of climate change, or so we’re told. But is it? In the first place, thermometers are much more sensitive nowadays, and are more capable of recording temporary upward blips in temperature. Secondly, today’s records just keep being set at airports and other inappropriate locations and the Met Office has (in my view rightly) come in for a lot of criticism for the fact that so many of its weather stations (where the record temperatures are being recorded) are not of WMO class 1 or 2, and therefore have considerable uncertainty regarding their accuracy. Then there’s the compounding effect of the Urban Heat Island which might – or might well not – be properly allowed for when the new record temperatures are claimed.

I’m not arguing that the last few days haven’t been unusually hot. Of course they have. I’m not arguing that record temperatures have definitely not been set (though taking the above factors into account, perhaps they haven’t been). I am suggesting that the media hysteria we’ve just witnessed has been unjustified and claims that the recent weather and high temperatures are “unprecedented” are profoundly inaccurate and misleading. Instead of being scared to death, I for one am happy that I’ve finally been able to turn the central heating off, especially in view of the ever-increasing price of energy, due in no small part to the government’s energy policy.

Postscript

I highly recommend reading a couple of other articles on the recent high temperatures. First, at Paul Homewood’s website, here. Secondly, Jaime Jessop’s recent Substack article here.

10 Comments

  1. Thanks for the nod Mark. What it comes down to is this: did the increasing trend in mean maximum May temperature from the 1970s onwards (assumed to be anthropogenic) cause or make far more likely the 2026 ‘record breaking’ heatwave, which is an almost perfect analogue (meteorologically speaking) for the record breaking heatwave in late May 1944? The Met Office and the craven MSM insists it did. The available science and evidence suggests that ‘climate change’ (aka general background warming – assumed to be due to GHGs) had a minimal effect, if any. But the climate cultists don’t like it when you throw science and data in their faces, which tend to contradict the ‘climate crisis’ narrative. They get very defensive.

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  2. Hi Mark – posted this on Jaime’s, but worth posting again under your article, pointing out the contortions the MET use to keep the “boiling” narrative going.

    I have been trying to find a heat anomaly map for Europe & N Africa covering the last week.

    The reason – when UK weather presenters show heat anomaly maps for UK & Europe (red everywhere) they usually only show a sliver of N Africa which is to my eye white.

    Can you guess the only half decent map I can find –

    https://maps.greenpeace.org/maps/climate_anomalies/

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  3. “Serious Doubts Arise About Kew Temperature ‘Records’ as Recent UK Heatwave is Weaponised to Drive Net Zero”

    https://dailysceptic.org/2026/05/31/serious-doubts-arise-about-kew-temperature-records-as-recent-uk-heatwave-is-weaponised-to-drive-net-zero/

    Kew Gardens is rapidly becoming the new Heathrow as the favoured Met Office site for producing unnatural heat spikes in place of true, uncorrupted ambient air temperatures. This is, of course, useful for suggesting climate collapse and catastrophe to back the Net Zero fantasy, but it is hardly meteorological science at its finest. Kew played a central role in the curated alarums that greeted the recent first heatwave of the British summer. Notable by its absence in the mainstream was the relevant information that Kew has shocking form in producing sudden spikes into record territory, displaying a recording pattern that would be highly unlikely to occur at a site that measured natural air properly….

    …It is easy to understand why Kew is now giving Heathrow airport some competition in the heat spikes and ‘record’ temperatures stakes. Dr Huxter’s illustration below has been doing the rounds on social media. There are no jet aircraft on the move, but there are plenty of nearby sources of heat available to bump up the temperatures. Of interest is the plethora of large glasshouses that automatically vent hot air when temperatures climb above 28°C. Every little helps, the cynical might note, when new records are being chased….

    …The main culprit in producing these heat spikes is the switch from liquid-in-bulb thermometers to PRT automatic electronic measuring devices during the last 30 years. These provide a more accurate reading every minute, but it is plain that they are picking up every passing heat spike – often unnatural – that were missed by slower-moving liquid in a glass bulb….

    …It was always a mystery why Kew was a CIMO Class 2 site with no recording ‘uncertainties’. This designation now appears to have been withdrawn, and it is presumably in the junk classes of 3, 4 and 5 – where possible recording errors up to 1°C, 2°C and 5°C respectively are officially noted – that it now resides.

    Paul Homewood has suggested that the early June heatwave of 1947 was every bit as intense as last week’s blast. Temperatures of 94°F were recorded on June 3rd at Waddington and in London at Camden Square and Kensington. Notes Homewood: “In contrast, 95°F at Kew probably includes three degrees of UHI [Urban Heat Island]… the evidence from June 1947 does more than undermine Met Office claims that this week’s heatwave is evidence of climate change. It raises the question why they are not giving the public all of the relevant facts by telling them we have had similar weather in the past.”

    The last word must go to Dr Huxter: “The observed changes in temperature over the past 30 years therefore owe more to flaws in measurement… rather than any wider anthropogenic effect. The uncritical adoption of the PRT technology, which conveniently reinforced what the modellers believed, now drives the Net Zero Cult.”

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  4. Cold and wet here again in Cumbria. Rain every day in the forecast for the next fortnight, with top temperatures between 14C and 17C. 1944 all over again.

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  6. The only time during spring I didn’t have the central heating and/or wood burner on was the last few days during the “unprecedented” heatwave. Now the Met Office tells us that it was the warmest spring evah in England and Central England, second warmest in Wales and third warmest in the UK. This is just getting totally stupid now. It’s gone way beyond a joke. Defund the Met Office. No doubt a miserable summer 2026 will miraculously turn out to be the ‘hottest ever’ too.

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  7. Hi from dreary/misty & wet Isle of Man. Right on time the weather turns cr*p for TT race week.

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  8. Indeed Jaime, same here. When the evidence of your own eyes and other senses is so completely different to the Met Office narrative, it’s difficult to avoid the conclusion that the Met Office is lying (or, more likely, their data simply isn’t fit for purpose). I have no doubt that, with the exception of a few days towards the end of the month, spring 2026 where I live was colder than usual.

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  9. “More heatwaves likely as warmer-than-normal summer forecast”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/articles/clypk7j0qqdo

    The UK could see a warmer-than-average summer with the potential for more heatwaves, according to latest forecasts.

    The Met Office released its three-month summer outlook on 1 June – the first day of meteorological summer – citing higher-than-normal chances of hotter weather during the month.

    And for the whole summer – which runs through to the end of August – the outlook suggests “an increased chance of heatwaves and heat-related impacts”….

    …Now, long-range forecasts from the Met Office and MeteoGroup – the latter being providers of BBC Weather data – suggest the summer ahead will bring the risk of additional heatwaves.

    A “few notable high temperature spikes” are also possible according to MeteoGroup.

    They also go on to say that “above-average temperatures” are expected for each of the months of June, July and August, and “significant bursts” of heat are expected in the UK, and across Europe….

    Given that the Met Office forecast for three months ahead is almost invariably wrong, my money’s on a cool summer. Certainly it needs to up its game if the Met Office and Meteo are to be proved right. Three days in and it’s very disappointing, but no suggestion of heat in the forecast for the next fortnight (high temperatures of 14, 15 and 16C where I live over that timescale).

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  10. My summer forecast: it will be generally quite wet, near average or cool temperatures, punctuated by short warm/hot periods when the Met Office will rush to point out “notable high temperature spikes” at notable locations like Kew Gardens and Heathrow Airport.

    In the first few days of September, the Met Office will tell us it was the second or third warmest UK summer, or maybe even ‘the hottest summer evah!’

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