Overview
- The Met Office confirmed multiple May temperature records have been broken across Britain, with readings around 35°C reported at Kew Gardens and Heathrow.
- The AA reported visible melting of road surfaces in parts of East Anglia, citing the A143 in Stanton as an example and issuing an alert to drivers.
- AA president Edmund King said extreme heat can stress tyre rubber and cause punctures, tyre wall failures and dangerous blowouts, and he urged motorists to replace damaged tyres.
- Breakdown services have seen large increases in demand, with the AA attending 34,124 callouts over the bank holiday weekend (about 15% more than last year) and the RAC reporting more than 9,500 requests and a roughly 29% rise on a typical Tuesday.
- The Met Office says climate change has made such May extremes more likely, and the heatwave is piling pressure on health, emergency and road-repair services with further damage and costs possible as temperatures stay high.