Four teenagers drown as UK experiences heatwave

Four teenagers have drowned in open water amid heatwave conditions in the UK.

The deaths prompted the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) to warn of the "very real risk" of swimming in open water during the heatwave - as Tuesday saw the hottest ever May day recorded in the UK, breaking the record for a second day in a row.

The body of a teenager was recovered from the water at Rother Valley Country Park in the early hours of Tuesday after he went missing, South Yorkshire Police said - marking the fourth death by drowning over the heatwave period.

A specialist search operation was launched following reports at 6.50pm on Monday that the boy had entered the water, but had not been seen getting out.

In County Dublin, Ireland, another teenager died while swimming in the sea over the weekend, officials confirmed on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, police in Lancashire said on Tuesday that searches were under way after a boy got into difficulty while swimming in a river in the Ribble Valley.

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Police were called at just after 2pm on Tuesday regarding the welfare of a child who had gone into the river at Ribchester.

The boy had gotten into difficulty while swimming with friends, police said.

On Sunday, a body was discovered in the search for a boy who got into trouble in a lake in Lincoln.

Emergency services were called to Swanholme Lakes at 2.30pm on Sunday after reports that 15-year-old Declan Sawyer had entered the water and was missing.

On Monday afternoon, a 13-year-old boy died after getting into difficulty at Leadbeater Dam, near Halifax, West Yorkshire.

A West Yorkshire police spokesperson said the teenager was pulled from the water and taken to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

That same afternoon, a man in his 60s died of cardiac arrest after entering the sea at Tregirls Beach, Padstow, to help two family members who had gotten into difficulty, Devon and Cornwall Police said.

The two family members were brought to safety by members of the public.

On Monday evening, the body of a teenage girl was recovered from the water at Kingsbury Water Park, Warwickshire.

The RNLI said on Tuesday that while temperatures reached record highs for May over the bank holiday weekend, water temperatures remained low, which could lead to cold water shock, a reaction that causes the blood vessels in the skin to close and increases heart rate.

The charity said in a statement: "While the air temperature is warm, the seas are still cold and cold water shock remains a very real risk.

"With many school children enjoying half term, the lifesaving charity is urging everyone to stay safe."

In a post on X, the Met Office said: "Today is now the hottest day in May on record for both England and Wales with Kew Gardens provisionally reaching 35.1°C and Cardiff Bute Park reaching 32.9°C."

The UKHSA this morning renewed its amber heat-health alerts, first issued last week ahead of the scorching weather.

An amber alert covers: East Midlands, West Midlands, East of England, London, South East, and South West.

The North East, North West, and Yorkshire and The Humber are on a yellow alert, which means a greater risk to life for vulnerable people.

A yellow weather warning for thunderstorms also came into force this afternoon.

The Met Office warning covers a huge swathe of England and is in place from 3pm until 10pm.

The high temperatures over the Bank Holiday also saw a grass fire break out near Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh on Monday.

(c) Sky News 2026: Four teenagers drown as UK experiences heatwave