St. James’s Park is a long-established Met Office station dating back to around 1883 and is frequently among Britain’s warmest locations. In July 2024, the station recorded a high of 89 degrees Fahrenheit (31.7 Celsius) during a heat wave that prompted widespread health alerts across England.

Welsh Water has urged customers to consider their water usage, with rainfall currently 30% lower than levels in 2022 when parts of Wales last faced a hosepipe ban. BBC Wales meteorologist Derek Brockway said the new record for 1 May in Wales had seen temperatures 10 degrees above average,

Record breaking heat arrived in London on Thursday (May 1), with record breaking temperatures reaching 28 degrees celsius.