Europe faces extreme heat for the month of May

Several European countries face high temperatures this Monday (25), well above normal for the month of May, with thermometers registering 33.5º C near London, eight departments on orange alert in France and more than 30º C in some parts of Spain.
In the United Kingdom, where the maximum ever recorded in a month of May was 32.8º C in 1922 and in 1944, records were broken.
At Heathrow, west of the capital, 33.5º C was recorded, the national meteorological agency, Met Office, indicated on X, which warned that the temperature could continue to rise throughout the day.
"Records are usually surpassed by only tenths of a degree, which makes this heat wave exceptional for this time of year", highlighted the meteorological agency.
On Sunday, the agency declared a heat wave in eight regions of England, including Greater London and the counties of Suffolk and Essex (east of the country). This classification is triggered when temperatures exceed 27º C for three consecutive days, a limit that in London is 28º C.
In Spain, the state meteorological agency (Aemet) warned in X that the "episode of extraordinarily high temperatures for the time of year" will continue "throughout the country and throughout the week, except in the Canary Islands".
In addition, from Wednesday there will be "widespread tropical nights in the southwest of the Peninsula", he added, specifying that the peak in temperatures will arrive "between Wednesday and Friday, with widespread maximums of 36-38º C".
In France, the national meteorology institute (Météo-France) declared an orange alert for a heat wave in eight departments, a level above the "very strong heat episode" in which the country has been immersed since Sunday.
The orange alert corresponds to heat wave episodes, that is, at least three consecutive days and three nights of intense heat.
This Monday, 18 departments in the west and Île-de-France, where Paris is located, were on yellow alert (peak intense heat or persistent heat); something that had never occurred in the month of May since this warning system was created in 2004.
"The situation will change little this week, with minimum and maximum temperatures occasionally exceptional for the season (...) and sometimes suffocating weather", warned Météo-France in a statement.
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Source: G1