Met Office reports third sunniest January on record for UK

England has its brightest start to the year since 1919

London's Tower Bridge, spanning the Thames, at sunrise. AFP

England enjoyed its sunniest January on record, with the UK basking in the brightest January in more than 20 years.

The Met Office said England had an average 80.7 hours of sunshine in January, the most since 1919.

The UK had an average of 62.7 hours of sunshine in the month, making it the sunniest January since 2001 and the third sunniest overall.

Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland also had above-average sunshine hours in the month, but not enough to break any records.

Wales had an average of 55.1 hours of sunshine (17 per cent above average), Scotland 38.1 hours (8 per cent above average) and Northern Ireland 43.4 hours (2 per cent above average).

January started with the warmest New Year’s Day on record for the UK, with 16.3°C recorded at St James’s Park in London.

Scotland and Wales also broke their New Year’s Day record high temperatures, as 15.9°C was reported at Achnagart in Scotland and 15.6°C at Hawarden in Wales.

The mild weather continued for much of the month, but with some cool night-time temperatures in the south.

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  Waves crash against Roker Lighthouse in Sunderland, northern England during Storm Arwen. The storm's 160kph gusts battered parts of the UK at the weekend. Photo: PA

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  A fallen tree in Crook, Cumbria, which was brought down by Storm Arwen. Photo: PA

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  Fallen garden trees in Wallasey Village, Wirral, England. Photo: PA

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  Storm Arwen brought down this tree in Willaston, Cheshire. Photo: PA

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  Falling masonry damaged this car in Sunderland, northern England. Photo: PA

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  A fallen tree blocks a road in the centre of Norton village, County Durham after Storm Arwen's gusts of almost 160kph battered some areas of the UK. Photo: PA

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  A homeowner, who lost the roof of his house in strong winds, takes a picture of his property in Blackhall, County Durham. Photo: PA

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  A lorry blown over by high winds blocks a road near Hartlepool, County Durham. Photo: PA

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  Motorists drive through a heavy snow shower as it passes over Saltburn by the Sea in North Yorkshire. Photo: Getty

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  A woman walks her dogs in a heavy snow shower over Saltburn by the Sea, North Yorkshire as Storm Arwen sweeps across parts of the UK. Photo: Getty

It was an especially mild January for Scotland, with a mean temperature of 4.7°C making it the country’s sixth warmest January on record and 1.8°C above the long-term average.

The UK in January also had less than half of the average rainfall for the month. An average of 61.3 millimetres of rain fell, which is below normal 121.5mm.

Scotland was the only country to report more than 50 per cent of its average rainfall, but its figure of 110.2mm was still only 62 per cent.

“January has been a dry and sunny month," said Dr Mark McCarthy of the National Climate Information Centre.

“It has been notably mild for Scotland but a fair share of frosty mornings across much of England.

“High pressure has had a big influence over the UK’s weather this month, with a persistent area of high pressure in the south dominating the picture from mid-month and resulting in a relatively dry month.

“The exception to this for the UK was the late influence of Storms Malik and Corrie in the last weekend of January, bringing rain and disruptive winds to many in the north.”