Warmest Christmas Eve on record in NI

Image source, Getty Images

Image caption, The unseasonably mild conditions are striking given that the average temperature for Christmas Eve is normally about 7.5C
  • Author, Barra Best
  • Role, BBC News NI weather presenter

Christmas Eve 2024 has become the warmest on record for Northern Ireland.

Temperatures provisionally reached 14.3C at Magilligan on the north coast on Tuesday afternoon.

That surpasses the 13.9C record set in Armagh 82 years ago, in 1942.

The unseasonably mild conditions are striking given that the average temperature for Christmas Eve is normally about 7.5C.

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According to Climate Central, a US-based nonprofit group, climate change has made these temperatures at least five times more likely.

Kristina Dahl is the vice president for science at Climate Central.

"The unusually warm temperatures in the UK and Ireland over the Christmas holiday bear the clear fingerprints of climate change and are the latest indication that winters in the region are warming," she said.

"The UK is already experiencing an additional 11 days per year above freezing due to climate change, and we expect that trend to continue as long as we continue burning fossil fuels like coal, oil, and gas."

The warmest Christmas Day on record for Northern Ireland was in Belfast in 2016, when a temperature of 14.8C was recorded.

Although thermometers are not expected to climb that high this year, temperatures will not be far off that, with highs around 13C expected.