Map showing surface air temperatures in the UK and Europe on 24 December 2023. Some temperatures in the UK were the hottest since 1997, with 15.3°C (59.5°F) recorded near Heathrow Airport. Graphic: BBC
Map showing surface air temperatures in the UK and Europe on 24 December 2023. Some temperatures in the UK were the hottest since 1997, with 15.3°C (59.5°F) recorded near Heathrow Airport. Graphic: BBC

By Sam Hancock
24 December 2023

(BBC News) – Sunday has been declared the warmest Christmas Eve in the UK since 1997.

Temperatures hit 15.3C in Heathrow, west London, and Cippenham in Slough, the Met Office said.

There had been speculation it could be the warmest 24 December ever but that record remains consigned to 1931 – when 15.5C was recorded in Aberdeen and Banff in Scotland.

But the unseasonably mild weather lays the groundwork for what could be the hottest Christmas Day since 2016.

“The temperatures will peak today,” Met Office forecaster Dan Stroud told the PA news agency. “There is a slight downward trend in temperatures for Christmas Day, but we’re still expecting them to be comfortably above average.”

He added: “We’re looking at 13 and 14C tomorrow, we’re probably looking at the warmest Christmas Day since 2016, when we hit 15.1C.”

The warmest 25 December on record was 15.6C in 1920 – the temperature was recorded in Devon. The record for the warmest Christmas Day in Scotland is 15.1C, which was reached in Dyce in 2011 as well as in Urquhart, Ross and Cromarty, in 2016. [more]

Christmas Eve: Hottest since 1997 after 15.3C recorded near Heathrow