Portugal has recorded its highest May temperatures on record, with mercury levels exceeding 40°C in several southern regions. The British Met Office has issued an urgent climate resilience warning, stating that such extreme early-season heat events are becoming more frequent and intense due to anthropogenic climate change. This event breaks the previous May record of 38.
8°C set in 2010. The heatwave, caused by a stationary high-pressure system drawing hot air from North Africa, highlights a worrying trend: the European summer heat season now starts earlier and lasts longer, increasing the risk of wildfires, crop failure, and heat-related mortality. The Met Office's 'Climate Resilience Warning' is a new protocol designed to alert governments to the need for adaptive planning, including upgrading heat-health plans, reinforcing infrastructure like railways and power grids, and ensuring vulnerable communities have access to cooling centres.
As a scientist, I must stress: this is not an anomaly. It is a data point in a series of accelerating climate signals. The physical reality is clear.
Without rapid decarbonisation and adaptation, such events will become the new baseline. Our response must match the scale of the threat. Portugal's heatwave is a flashing red light for Europe.
We must act now.
