Plant growth and fertility strongly depend on environmental conditions such as temperature. Remarkably, temperature also influences meiotic recombination and thus, the current climate change will affect the genetic make-up of plants. To better understand the effects of temperature on meiosis, we followed male meiocytes in Arabidopsis thaliana by live cell imaging under three temperature regimes: at 21 °C; at heat shock conditions of 30 °C and 34 °C; after an acclimatization phase of one week at 30 °C. This work led to a cytological framework of meiotic progression at elevated temperature. We determined that an increase from 21 °C to 30 °C speeds up meiosis with specific phases being more amenable to heat than others. An acclimatization phase often moderated this effect. A sudden increase to 34 °C promoted a faster progression of early prophase compared to 21 °C. However, the phase in which cross-overs mature was prolonged at 34 °C. Since mutants involved in the recombination pathway largely did not show the extension of this phase at 34 °C, we conclude that the delay is recombination-dependent. Further analysis also revealed the involvement of the ATM kinase in this prolongation, indicating the existence of a pachytene checkpoint in plants, yet in a specialized form.