Chances of white Christmas in UK grow smaller as climate crisis takes toll

Parts of UK have in recent times gone decades with snow at Christmas – and in the past it was more a hardship than a dream

Bing Crosby may have been dreaming of a white Christmas, but it seems such nostalgia might end up becoming a thing of the past in the UK. Not only do records reveal that some parts of the UK have at times gone decades without a yuletide flurry, but experts say the chances of a white Christmas are becoming ever smaller as a result of the climate crisis.

According to the Met Office, a Christmas in the UK is white if even one snowflake is observed falling somewhere in the 24 hours of 25 December. Last year was, technically, a white Christmas in the UK, though none of the Met Office observation stations reported snow lying on the ground.