When does winter start? – BBC Weather

Winters in the UK are becoming warmer and wetter due to human-caused climate change. Long-term data shows that average temperatures are increasing and extreme cold weather is decreasing.

As global temperatures continue to rise, winters in the UK are now around 1 degree warmer than they were a century ago. The decade 2015-2024 was 1.24 degrees warmer than the 1961-1990 average. Indeed, six of the ten warmest winters on record in the UK have occurred since 2000.

Globally, 2023 was the hottest year on record, with most days in December breaking temperature records.

Air and ground frosts have fallen by around 25% since the 1980s, and snowy days are becoming fewer in the UK.

It means a warming world we’re more likely to see winter precipitation fall as rain rather than snow, external.

However, even in a warming climate, the UK can still experience extreme cold. In 2018, the infamous Beast from the East brought severe winter conditions to many parts of Europe, causing severe disruption and its impact lasting into the meteorological spring.