Scientists have warned that Europe is warming faster than the global average due to human-driven climate change, making heat waves more frequent and intense.

Western Europe remained in the grip of an intense heatwave even as France and the United Kingdom registered their hottest May temperatures on record on Tuesday, with soaring temperatures triggering health alerts, weather warnings and heat-related deaths across parts of the continent.

The unusually hot weather has been driven by a heat dome carrying warm air from northern Africa across western Europe, pushing temperatures to levels more commonly seen at the peak of summer, according to DW.

Scientists have warned that Europe is warming faster than the global average due to human-driven climate change, making heat waves more frequent and intense.

UK’s unprecedented May heat
The United Kingdom also saw unprecedented May heat, with the Met Office saying temperatures climbed to 34.8C (94.64F) at Kew Gardens in southwest London on Monday — two degrees higher than the previous May record.

“This heat would be exceptional in the UK even in mid-summer, let alone May,” it said on X.

Temperatures in London usually average around 17C or 18C at this time of year.

The Met Office also said the UK had provisionally recorded its highest minimum temperature for May overnight into Tuesday, describing it as a “tropical night.”

Last week, climate advisers warned that the country was “built for a climate that no longer exists,” urging the government to adapt infrastructure such as schools and hospitals to withstand increasingly extreme weather conditions.

In Germany, temperatures crossed 30 degrees Celsius for the first time this year on Saturday, with forecasters expecting even warmer conditions in parts of the country through Wednesday.

Heatwave and deaths in France
In France, weather agency Meteo-France said “Monday was the hottest day recorded for the month of May since measurements began” across the country.

The agency said the heat spell was expected to continue until at least the end of the week and issued an orange heatwave alert — the second-highest warning level — for northwestern France on Tuesday morning.

Paris had already recorded its first temperature above 30C of the year on Saturday, reaching 31.9C.