BRITS frolicked in the warm seas as temperatures soared today making it the hottest New Year’s Day on record.
The baking sunshine saw highs of 16C before midday – smashing the previous record of 15.6C which was recorded in 1916.
Roasting temperatures hit highs of 16.2C in St James’ Park, London, according to the Met Office.
Yesterday was the mildest New Year’s Eve on record with 15.8C being reached at Merryfield in Somerset, and Nantwich, Cheshire.
It beat the previous record of 14.8C, which was reached in Colwyn Bay in 2011, and it was warm throughout the country.
A spokesman said: “This makes New Year’s Eve 2021 provisionally the warmest on record.
“Despite this value occurring overnight, we use the 0900-0900 time period for historical records.”
Ice rinks across the country were forced to close for a second day in a row after the sweltering temperatures melted the ice.
Somerset House was forced to close on December 30th, as well as New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.
Hampton Court Palace in South West London, Queen’s House in Greenwich and Coventry Cathedral were also all forced to close again.
But the famous Natural History Museum rink managed to stay open throughout the warm weather.
Some parts of the country were hit with flash flooding after the River Delph, Norfolk, burst its banks amid rising river levels.
There are currently 19 flood alerts still in place around the country, but most will enjoy sunniest spells before being battered by 75mph winds.
Severe gales caused travel chaos as a yellow wind warning was put in place for parts of Scotland as the powerful gusts raged on for hours.
Met Office forecaster Craig Snell said the average temperature in December and the beginning of January is usually around 7C or 8C, with the warmer weather due to a south-westerly wind making its way across the country.
The higher temperatures are usually localised, but “plenty of places” have seen highs of 15C over December.
However, he added that January could see a drop in temperatures because of an Arctic chill sweeping through from next week.
