LONDON: The U.K. experienced the second warmest winter on record this year with mean temperature touching 5.47 degrees Celsius, according to the Met Office. January was also the second-warmest January on record with a mean of 6 degrees Celsius.
All the three winter months saw temperatures rising above average for the period, the Met Office added.
The existing record is 5.82 degrees Celsius for December 1988 to February 1989.
The office has been maintaining national records of temperatures since 1914.
The temperature in southern England during the winter period set a new record, reaching 6.53 degrees Celsius, against 6.49 degrees Celsius recorded in 1989-90.
This increased temperature led to 12-month rolling average for central England, site of the world's longest series of temperature measurements, to be pushed to a record 11.23 degrees Celsius. This beats the previous high of 11.07 degrees Celsius from November 1994 to October 1995, according to meteorologist Wayne Elliott. He added that the 12-month rolling average covering other parts of the U.K., also reached a record of 10.02 degrees Celsius, against a previous high of 9.71 degrees from March 1997 to February 1998.
Climatologists say the higher winter temperatures are caused by global warming.
