Britain’s unseasonably warm weather will continue today with 26C (79F) highs after the hottest ever start to May – but temperatures will plunge this weekend.
People across the UK might be thinking summer is already here after yesterday was the warmest May 1 on record as Kew Gardens in London hit 29.3C (84.7F).
It was the UK’s warmest day of 2025 so far for the fourth day in a row after highs of 26.7C (80.1F) on Wednesday, 24.9C (76.8F) on Tuesday and 24.5C (76.1F) on Monday.
The warm and sunny weather will stay in place today – albeit not as hot as yesterday – before temperatures slip to highs of 22C (71F) tomorrow as the weekend begins.
But a dramatic change in conditions will follow – with the mercury only expected to reach 15C (59F) on Sunday and Bank Holiday Monday, which will both be cloudy.
Highs of only 16C (61F) to 17C (63F) are then expected each day from next Tuesday and Friday as overcast conditions continue with only occasional sunny spells.
Forecasters said the bank holiday weekend as a whole is set to bring largely dry but noticeably cooler weather. While much of the country will avoid significant rain, temperatures are expected to dip – with Sunday likely to feel the chilliest.
Met Office meteorologist Craig Snell said: ‘Temperatures will range from low double figures in the north to the mid-teens in the south, with averages of around 10C (50F) in northern Scotland and 15C (59F) or 16C (61F) in southern England.’
Hollie Killick, 21, and her sister Libby, 18, cool off in the sea on Brighton beach yesterday
Firefighters are battling a moorland blaze which broke out near Ripponden, West Yorkshire
The fire near Ripponden in West Yorkshire quickly spread in the hot, dry weather yesterday
He added: ‘It will certainly feel a good deal cooler. The May sunshine is still strong, so it won’t feel too bad if you’re under the sun but if you’re under the cloud it will feel markedly different.’
Tomorrow may bring some showers, particularly in southern coastal counties, but Mr Snell said ‘a lot of the UK will be largely dry’ across the weekend.
‘There’s a fair bit of dry weather around, a few spots of rain here and there, but nothing too widespread,’ he said.
Sunday is expected to be the coldest day, before Monday brings highs of around 16C (61F) in the south and 12C (54F) in the far north.
Yesterday’s temperature at Kew Gardens beat the previous recorded high for May 1 of 27.4C (81.3F) in Lossiemouth, Moray, in 1990.
But firefighters have been battling a 2km (1.2m) moorland blaze which broke out near Ripponden, West Yorkshire, yesterday.
The blaze is one of more than 400 wildfires recorded across England and Wales so far this year.
West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service was called at 12.15pm yesterday to reports of a fire off Oldham Road.
It quickly spread in hot, dry weather and by mid-afternoon, 18 crews were at the scene with support units from Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service.
By 5pm, crews were fighting two active flanks of fire, each stretching around 2km.
Firefighters used large jets, beaters, blowers, backpacks and a water relay system to tackle the flames.
The area was split into sections to manage the response, with additional support from the Highways Agency, police and ambulance services.
There were no reports of injuries, and the public were urged to stay away.
According to the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC), as of 9am on May 1, fire and rescue services have responded to 439 wildfires since January 1.
That compares with 250 in the same period in 2022, 60 in 2023 and just 44 in 2024.
Meanwhile the Met Office revealed that last month was the UK’s sunniest and third warmest April on record.
The agency said high pressure over the UK for much of April led to cloud-free skies, strong sunshine and below-average rainfall.
However, the UK’s all-time April high of 29.4C (84.9F) in London in 1949 was not broken last month.
The highest ever recorded temperature in May was 32.8C (91.0F) on May 22, 1922, in the capital.
Also this week, fire chiefs are calling for urgent national action to prevent drownings after a 16-year-old boy died while swimming in a lake during a spell of hot weather.
The National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) has urged the Government to give fire services in England a legal duty to respond to water emergencies, such as rescues in rivers, lakes and canals.
The call comes during the NFCC’s Be Water Aware campaign and as emergency services report a rise in water-related incidents.
The teenager, named locally as Valentine Ikechukwu, died after getting into difficulty at Colwick Country Park in Nottingham on Wednesday evening. His body was recovered hours later.
Tom Staples, from Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service, said the incident was a ‘stark reminder’ of the hidden dangers in open water.
NFCC water safety lead Chris Kirby said: ‘1,400 people have died in accidental drowning incidents across just five years. We need urgent action to prevent anybody else coming to harm and that requires steps being taken at a national level.’
The NFCC says the lack of a legal duty in England means fire services face limits on how much they can invest in water rescue training, equipment and education.
It also leads to inconsistencies across the UK, with Wales having a statutory duty for inland water rescue, and Scotland and Northern Ireland holding duties in relation to major flooding.
Mr Kirby said clearer responsibilities for fire and rescue services, backed by law and funding, would help improve emergency response and public safety campaigns.
Figures from the Water Incident Database show 1,409 people died in accidental drownings between 2019 and 2023, with more than half in inland waters.
Kate Gibbs enjoys the morning sunshine at her beach hut in Folkestone, Kent, yesterday
Two people with ice creams during the warm weather at St James’s Park in London yesterday
A horticulturalist tends to the borders along Wisteria Walk at RHS Wisley in Surrey yesterday
The NFCC also wants the Government to appoint a lead department or minister for water safety to better coordinate prevention work.
The London Fire Brigade urged caution around open-water swimming after a 32 per cent increase in water-related incidents last month compared with the same period last year.
Assistant Commissioner Patrick Goulbourne said: ‘Even when the sun is shining, water temperatures can be dangerously cold.’
The RNLI urged swimmers to float on their backs if in trouble and to only swim at lifeguarded beaches.
It comes as Britons were warned to avoid driving today amid fears of road chaos as motorists plan a million more leisure trips by car for the May Day bank holiday.
The worst jams today are expected in the late afternoon and evening when holiday and commuter traffic combine – with motorists urged to travel before 10am.
Experts at the RAC also encouraged drivers to take to the roads before 11am or after 3pm if they are travelling tomorrow or on Sunday or Bank Holiday Monday.
Some 17million motorists are set to hit the roads between Friday and Monday, with traffic hotspots expected to include the A720 Edinburgh bypass towards Dreghorn.
The M25 clockwise from the South Mimms interchange to Essex could see delays of 40 minutes from 4pm on Friday as commuter traffic combines with holiday trips.
And the M5 southbound is expected to see delays of a similar duration from 7pm between the J15 Almondsbury interchange at Bristol and J23 for Bridgwater.
Rail passengers were also warned to expect disruption this weekend, particularly in and out of London Euston and Victoria stations, and between Carlisle and Glasgow.
Transport for London has warned of part-closures on the Bakerloo, Circle and District lines as well as the Overground’s Lioness, Suffragette and Windrush lines.
Today is expected to see the most leisure travellers on major roads over the weekend, with the RAC’s study suggesting up to 3million journeys could be made.
This is slightly above the 2.9million and 2.8million planned tomorrow and on Monday respectively. Sunday could be the best day to travel with 2.4million trips scheduled.
Drivers are also planning an additional 6million journeys at some point between today and Monday.
This takes the four-day total to 17.1million – up on the 16million total in 2024.
Data from transport analytics specialists Inrix suggests today will see the most congestion, with journeys across the UK predicted to be delayed by 28 per cent more than normal.
But millions of Britons still plan to make the most of the first May bank holiday, even though the four-day Easter weekend was only a fortnight ago.
