Forecasters have officially declared a “white Christmas” with snow falling across parts of Scotland – after the record for the highest daily minimum temperature for Christmas Day was broken further south.
Snow, sleet and rain moved across parts of Scotland, with Tulloch Bridge and Aviemore recording snowflakes, the Met Office said.
The forecaster said this made Christmas Day 2023 an “official white Christmas”, which is defined by at least one snowflake falling on 25 December.
In England temperatures measured at Exeter airport and East Malling, Kent, did not fall below 12.4C, beating the previous high of 11.5C measured at Waddon, in the borough of Croydon, in 1983.
In terms of maximum temperatures, the mercury hit 13.6C at Exeter airport and Merryfield in Somerset, making Monday the warmest Christmas Day since 2016, when meteorologists recorded 13.3C.
Met Office research has found that record temperatures have been made more likely because of human-induced climate breakdown.
The Met Office said on Monday: “It has been a very mild 24 hours across parts of the UK. Provisionally this Christmas we have recorded the highest daily minimum temperature for Christmas Day on record, with both Exeter airport and East Malling not falling below 12.4C.”
The forecaster Dan Stroud added: “We’re drawing our weather from the mid-Atlantic, which is typically a very warm direction for us.”
Monday was forecast to be “damp” for much of England and Wales, while northern areas, Scotland and Northern Ireland expected to have a mix of sunny spells and showers.
Those who go swimming outdoors to kick off Christmas Day experienced milder conditions than normal. At the Serpentine Swimming Club, in London, people wore Santa hats as they took part in the annual Peter Pan Cup race. The air temperature in the capital was 12C.
Meanwhile, in Tynemouth, North Tyneside, smaller groups took to the North Sea for a bracing swim. The sea was calm and about 6C, slightly cooler than the air temperature on the north-east coast on Christmas Day.
On Sunday the UK experienced its warmest Christmas Eve for more than 20 years, with temperatures at Heathrow hitting 15.3C on Sunday, well above average for the time of year and forming the warmest 24 December since 1997.
The warmest UK temperature on Christmas Day was recorded in 1920 at Killerton, Devon – 15.6C was reached.
The average maximum temperature for December is 7C. However, it has been known to reach as low as -18C on Christmas Day, with Gainford, in Durham, holding the record for the coldest Christmas Day: -18.3C in 1878, according to the Met Office.
