The New Year is being celebrated across the world – including in London, where the fireworks went ahead despite bad weather forcing the cancellations of events across the UK.
But Britain is now waking up to four weather warnings for New Year’s Day, which will see much of the UK battered by strong winds, rain and in some areas, snow.
An amber weather warning has been put in place across parts of North-West England until 9am on New Year’s Day, with warnings of “danger to life” flooding.
A yellow warning for rain covers a larger area, including Wales, until 11am, alongside a yellow wind warning in Wales and the southern half of England with “strong winds” expected until 3pm.
Much of northern Scotland also faces a snow and ice warning until 9am on Thursday, with “rain turning to snow” likely to “lead to some travel disruption”.
There are 178 flood warnings in place across the UK, including 137 in England, 28 in Scotland and 13 in Wales, according to the Environment Agency, Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) and Natural Resources Wales.
Despite many cancelled celebrations due to heavy rain and strong winds last night, London’s fireworks display dazzled as thousands flocked to Big Ben despite the bitter weather.
Key Points
- New Year begins in UK
- In pictures: New Year’s celebrated across world
- London’s New Year’s Eve fireworks event to go ahead amid weather concerns
- Edinburgh Hogmanay celebrations cancelled due to ‘extreme weather'
- Recap: New Year’s Eve events being cancelled due to storms
- Heavy rain closes rail lines across Scotland
Fresh weather warnings for snow and ice across UK
12:25
Alex Croft
The Met Office has issued a fresh batch of weather warnings for snow and ice across the UK throughout the rest of the week.
The snow and ice warning in north Scotland has been expanded to include the Orkneys and Shetlands and extended until 10am on Thursday.
A fresh ice warning has been introduced covering all of northern England, Northern Ireland. northern Wales, and the parts of Scotland not under the snow and ice warning. This will also be in place until 10am tomorrow.
A two-day yellow weather warning for snow has been introduced for all of Wales, southern Scotland, and almost all England barring parts of the southern and eastern coasts. It will be in place from 12pm on Saturday until 9am on Monday.
In pictures: Flooding in Manchester after rain warnings
12:13
Alex Croft
Transpennine Express issues ‘do not travel’ alert
11:28
Alex Croft
⚠️ DO NOT TRAVEL DUE TO FLOODING NORTH OF ENGLAND ⚠️
— TPE Customer Assist (@TPEassist) January 1, 2025
We are urging customers not to travel on Wednesday 1 January on the following routes as persistent heavy rain has caused flooding.
Please see the list of routes below: pic.twitter.com/J1AfFkilpL
Delays and diversions hit hundreds of New Year travellers
11:05
Simon Calder, Travel Correspondent
Airline passengers making long-haul journeys to and from London Heathrow on Virgin Atlantic and British Airways face delays, two of them triggered by diversions.
Virgin Atlantic flight VS8 from Los Angeles to London Heathrow took off as expected shortly before 4pm California time on New Year’s Eve. But while flying over northern Missouri, the Airbus A350 diverted due to a medical emergency on board. It landed 75 minutes later at Chicago O’Hare.
A Virgin Atlantic spokesperson said: “Flight VS8 from Los Angeles to London Heathrow requested a priority diversion into Chicago O’Hare Airport on Tuesday 31 December (local) due to a passenger becoming unwell onboard.
“The safety and wellbeing of our customers and crew is always our number one priority and we’re sorry for the inconvenience caused to customers onboard. The aircraft has continued to London and is due to arrive this afternoon.”
The flight departed from Chicago a few minutes after midnight, local time, and is expected to arrive at Heathrow about four hours late at 1.30pm.
Passengers on a BA flight from Chicago to Heathrow also unexpectedly saw in the New Year at O’Hare airport. Flight BA296 was already late after a diversion to Iceland on the outbound flight. The aircraft left the stand at Chicago at 1am local time, but returned to the terminal before take-off. The Boeing 787 eventually left at 2.25am local time, and is expected to arrive at 3.30pm – four hours late.
British Airways passengers due to fly to Johannesburg at 9.15pm on New Year’s Eve are still at Heathrow after a technical issue grounded their plane. It is now likely to fly out at 12 noon, around 15 hours late.
The corresponding inbound flight from South Africa’s largest city to London is expected to operate about eight hours late on Thursday.
Where snow could hit UK on New Year’s Day as temperatures drop to -1C
10:47
Alex Croft
Britons are bracing for snowfall and a sharp drop in temperatures which will hit below freezing in some areas on New Year’s Day.
Three weather warnings are in place across much of the UK, which is waking up on the first day of 2025 after multiple New Year’s Eve celebrations were cancelled due to rough weather - including Edinburgh’s Hogmanay.
Conditions aren’t set to improve at the start of the new year, with rain, wind and snow warnings covering much of Wales, the southern half of England and northern Scotland.
A snow and ice could cause “travel disruption and difficult driving conditions” across northern Scotland, with a yellow warning in place until 9am on Thursday as temperatures reach sub-zero on Wednesday evening.
Read the full report:
‘Uncertain’ weather for New Year’s Day
10:22
Alex Croft
The UK will experience an uncertain start to the year in weather terms, with a wet and windy start across much of England and Wales and chilly conditions with some occasional sunshine in Northern Ireland and Scotland.
Met Office deputy chief meteorologist Rebekah Hicks said: “A band of persistent and at times heavy rain will linger across Wales and northwest England through Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, before clearing southeast during Wednesday afternoon. This rain will be accompanied by strong and gusty winds.”
On Thursday, the forecaster says it is “likely that the whole of the UK will experience a change to colder conditions, with this persisting into the weekend”.
Rail passengers in northern England told: ‘You cannot travel’
10:02
Alex Croft
TransPennine Express, which runs intercity trains in northern England and southern Scotland is urging customers not to travel on New Year’s Day morning “as persistent heavy rain has caused flooding on several routes – primarily in the north west”.
The company says: “The flooding is causing significant issues in Greater Manchester and Cheshire and is impacting many service across the major trans-Pennine routes.“With the heavy rain set to continue for several hours, further flooding is likely and rail travellers have been advised to delay journeys, at least until the afternoon.”
Passengers are urged “to defer their travel or claim a refund”.
Northern warns: “Flooding between Manchester Airport and Manchester Piccadilly means that all lines are disrupted. Trains running between these stations will be cancelled or revised. Disruption is expected until 12 noon.”
Lines between Liverpool and Manchester are also blocked.
2025 begins with dozens of flight cancellations at Heathrow
09:44
Simon Calder, Travel Correspondent
Thousands of airline passengers face disruption on New Year’s Day after 36 flights to and from London Heathrow were cancelled.
They have been grounded in response to a reduction in the “flow rate” of arrivals at the UK’s busiest airport.
British Airways cancelled 28 European flights linking Heathrow with destinations such as Barcelona, Copenhagen and Nice. Two round-trips to Milan have been grounded.
A spokesperson for BA said: “We operate hundreds of flights every day without disruption, successfully getting tens of thousands of our customers to where they need to be.
“Like other airlines, we’ve had to make some small adjustments to our schedule today because of air traffic control restrictions across London airports due to adverse weather conditions.
“While the vast majority of our customers will be unaffected, we apologise for the inconvenience caused and our teams are working hard to help get their journeys back on track.”
Other cancellations have been made by Swiss from Geneva and Zurich, Lufthansa from Frankfurt and Air France from Paris CDG.
More than 170 flood warnings issued across UK
09:26
Alex Croft
Weather authorities have issued 178 flood warnings across England, Scotland and Wales as the UK is set to be lashed with rain as it enters the New Year.
The Environment Agency has issued 137 flood warnings for England, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) has issued 28 in Scotland, and 13 more have been issued by Natural Resources Wales.
A flood warning is the second most severe of the three-tier warning system shared between the three agencies. It means flooding is expected in the area and advises residents to “act now”.
There are also 160 flood alerts - the least severe warning level - in place. This includes 112 in England, 39 in Wales and 9 in Scotland.
Mapped: Wednesday’s weather warnings
09:01
Alex Croft
Four weather warnings are in force for Wednesday.
They include two rain warnings which will be wrapped up by 11am, a wind warning which will end at 3pm, and a snow and ice warning which lasts until 9am on Thursday.
Here they are, mapped:
Epic fireworks display in Mexico to welcome 2025
08:41
Alex Croft
Met Office displays New Year’s forecast in graphics
08:21
Alex Croft
Here’s your New Year’s forecast to kick off 2025 pic.twitter.com/3Mjt4EPe9s
— Met Office (@metoffice) December 31, 2024
Heavy rain to lash parts of UK to kick off 2025
08:02
Alex Croft
Heavy rain will lash parts of the UK to begin 2025 after New Year’s Eve celebrations across the country were cancelled.
An amber warning for heavy rain has been put in place across parts of North-West England until 9am on New Year’s Day.
The Met Office warning stretches from Settle in the Yorkshire Dales across to Preston and down to parts of the Peak District.
The warning states that heavy rain is “likely to lead to disruption including flooding in some locations” with a chance some places could see more than 10cm of rain.
Winds of up to 60mph are forecast across much of England and Wales all day on Wednesday, with gusts of 75mph likely around coastal areas and hills, according to the Met Office.
Rain turning to snow on New Year’s Day is likely to cause travel disruption, particularly on roads and railways across Grampian, Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Moray, and the Highlands & Eilean Siar, the Met Office said.
In pictures: Spectacular London fireworks display to ring in 2025
07:42
Alex Croft
Thousands of people saw in 2025 on the banks of the River Thames as London defied weather concerns with a spectacular firework display.
The weather forced outdoor celebrations in Edinburgh and other places across the UK to be cancelled, but London’s annual display went ahead in clear skies.
After Big Ben marked the start of the new year, the 11-minute display began with the message “Your New Year Is Unwritten”.
To a diverse soundtrack covering the likes of Vera Lynn, Sir Elton John, Travis, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, One Direction and Charli XCX with voiceovers from people including Dame Imelda Staunton and Sir Ian McKellen, the celebration looked back at 2024 with topics including the weather, the Paris Olympics and Paralympics, Euro 2024.
The celebration doubled as a 25th birthday party for the London Eye, which provided the centre point for the fireworks, with the message to “honour our history and never give up hope for our future”.
The mayor’s office said around 100,000 ticketholders had attended the display, which included more than 12,000 fireworks and 420 lights.
Recap: Revellers cheer in New Year around world despite bad weather forcing cancellations in UK
07:22
Alex Croft
Revellers have cheered in the new year around the world – including millions across the UK, despite bad weather forcing the cancellation of many celebrations.
From Sydney to Mumbai and Nairobi, communities around the world began welcoming 2025 with spectacular light shows, embraces and ice plunges.
But a storm bringing bitter weather put a dampener on festivities in the UK, with a number of celebrations scrapped.
Edinburgh’s Hogmanay events, which include a street party and fireworks, were cancelled due to safety concerns.
Meanwhile, fireworks displays in Blackpool, Newcastle, Ripon in North Yorkshire, and the Isle of Wight were all axed.
However, London’s New Year’s Eve fireworks went ahead as planned as the capital defied weather concerns with a spectacular display that saw thousands gather on the banks of the River Thames.
The show was organised by the mayor of London, Sir Sadiq Khan, who had declared it the “biggest fireworks taking place anywhere across Europe”.
Read the full recap from Tara Cobham:
The Met Office’s numbers for New Year’s Eve
07:00
Tara Cobham
It was a wet end to 2024 for northern parts of the UK ️
— Met Office (@metoffice) January 1, 2025
Here are the numbers... pic.twitter.com/YSB20PTfCQ
Watch: Sydney’s spectacular New Year’s Eve fireworks show rings in 2025
06:00
Tara Cobham
In photos: New York celebrates 2025
05:20
Gustaf Kilander
Revelers welcome 2025 in Times Square
05:14
Gustaf Kilander
Revelers braved the rain in Times Square as New York welcomed 2025.
Frank Sinatra’s New York New York sounded through the square as confetti fell from the skyscrapers.
New Year’s Eve in Times Square is one of the most significant challenges for the New York Police Department, which, along with state and federal agencies, is monitoring the area with more than 70,000 cameras, roadblocks, heavy trucks, and drones.
"I’m not scared at all — this is the safest I’ve ever felt in a long time," Tiffany Lopez, 41, told the New York Post.
"Security was very tight. Made me feel very safe," she added. "It’s an epic experience — something a New Yorker never does. You’re in the middle of Times Square, and it’s raining, and people are so happy."
Tommy Onfolo, from Long Island, told the paper that this was his eighth year celebrating in Times Square. He arrived at 6 a.m. to get a good spot.
"There’s no other place to be than on Times Square on New Year’s — especially when the confetti falls!" he said.
"Not all worried about the rain. I’m a lifeguard and diving board coach in the summer, water doesn’t bother me," he told the Post.
Instead of partying, thousands turn New Year celebration into anti-government protest in Serbia
05:00
Tara Cobham
Instead of the traditional boisterous street partying on New Years Eve, tens of thousands of protesters led by university students gathered overnight in Belgrade and other Serbian cities to demand political reforms and justice in the Balkan country.
The protesters have been actively demonstrating following the tragic collapse of a concrete canopy in the northern town of Novi Sad’s central train station on Nov. 1, which resulted in 15 fatalities.
The mishap has been attributed to corruption and substandard construction practices by the populist Serbian leadership, leading to widespread public outcry and demands for accountability.
Read more here:
Revelers bring in the New Year in New York’s Time Square
04:30
Gustaf Kilander
About a million people packed Times Square Tuesday night to watch the ball drop on New Year’s Eve as well as performances by Rita Ora and Carrie Underwood, among several others.
The weather was mild before the rain began to fall in New York as crowds poured into the square, with one reveler telling CBS News he had arrived at 6 a.m. to get a good view of the ball drop.
“We just came from Japan all the way here just to see this, just to feel the crowd,” another told the network.
The ball drop, which began 114 years ago, features a 12,000-pound ball made of 2,500 chrystals.
Read more:
Comment: There’s only one type of person who’s allowed to hate New Year’s...
04:00
Maja Anushka
Iget it. It’s been a very long year.
Remember the bonkers Willy Wonka experience in Glasgow? Those poor employees, milling about in a warehouse, half-heartedly dressed up as Oompa Loompas with that distant, sad look in their eyes? That all happened in February – this year. Haunting.
Then again, it was only one month into 2024 that the internet collectively trauma-dumped on Elmo so hard that the president had to post about it. So maybe we should have known things were off to a rocky start...
Read more here:
Crowds shelter to watch fireworks in Manchester but weather curtails celebrations elsewhere
03:00
Tara Cobham
Crowds sheltered under umbrellas to watch fireworks and enjoy entertainment in Manchester, but the weather curtailed celebrations elsewhere.
Fireworks displays in Blackpool, Newcastle, Ripon in North Yorkshire and the Isle of Wight were all axed.
London defies weather with spectacular fireworks display to ring in 2025
02:00
Tara Cobham
Thousands of people saw in 2025 on the banks of the River Thames as London defied weather concerns with a spectacular firework display.
The weather forced outdoor celebrations in Edinburgh and other places across the UK to be cancelled, but London’s annual display went ahead in clear skies.
After Big Ben marked the start of the new year, the 11-minute display began with the message “Your New Year Is Unwritten”.
To a diverse soundtrack covering the likes of Vera Lynn, Sir Elton John, Travis, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, One Direction and Charli XCX with voiceovers from people including Dame Imelda Staunton and Sir Ian McKellen, the celebration looked back at 2024 with topics including the weather, the Paris Olympics and Paralympics, Euro 2024.
The celebration doubled as a 25th birthday party for the London Eye, which provided the centre point for the fireworks, with the message to “honour our history and never give up hope for our future”.
The mayor’s office said around 100,000 ticketholders had attended the display, which included more than 12,000 fireworks and 420 lights.
Declaring that London will “always be a city of hope and place for everyone”, the display ended with a message from Paddington Bear that “anyone can fit in” in London before a version of Auld Lang Syne by Boney M.
The show was organised by the Mayor of London, Sir Sadiq Khan, who had declared it the “biggest fireworks taking place anywhere across Europe”.
He said: “It’s fantastic to welcome 2025 with our biggest and best-ever New Year’s Eve celebrations.
“From honouring the heroes of the D-Day landings to Paddington Bear celebrating our capital’s diversity, I’m proud that we sent a message of hope and love to the world, as we build a better London for everyone.”
Full story: Revellers cheer in New Year around world despite bad weather forcing cancellations in UK
01:00
Tara Cobham
Revellers have cheered in the New Year around the world – including millions across the UK, despite bad weather forcing the cancellation of many celebrations.
From Sydney to Mumbai to Nairobi, communities around the world began welcoming 2025 with spectacular light shows, embraces and ice plunges.
Countries in the South Pacific Ocean are the first to ring in the New Year, with midnight in New Zealand striking 18 hours before the ball drop in Times Square in New York.
Read the full story here:
UK braces for strong winds and heavy rain on New Year’s Day
00:37
Tara Cobham
The UK is set to be battered with wind and rain to start 2025.
Met Office weather warnings are in place across parts of England, Wales and Scotland on New Year’s Day.
This includes an amber alert for heavy rain that has been put in place across parts of North-West England until 9am, stretching from Settle in the Yorkshire Dales across to Preston and down to parts of the Peak District. It states that heavy rainfall is “likely to lead to disruption including flooding in some locations” with a chance some places could see more than 10cm of rain.
The forecaster warned of difficult driving conditions, “danger to life” flooding, potential road closures and transport delays. There may also be power cuts.
Meanwhile, winds of up to 60mph are forecast across much of England and Wales all day on Wednesday, with gusts of 75mph likely around coastal areas and hills, according to the Met Office.
This could lead to travel delays, damage to buildings, power cuts, and even danger from flying debris or large waves, the forecaster said.
Some roads and bridges may close, and injuries could occur, particularly in coastal areas.
Rain turning to snow on New Year’s Day is likely to cause travel disruption, particularly on roads and railways across Grampian, Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Moray, and the Highlands & Eilean Siar, the Met Office said.
In pictures: London’s stunning fireworks display dazzles
00:13
Tara Cobham
London’s fireworks display begins
00:04
Tara Cobham
London’s fireworks display has begun.
Huge crowds have gathered at the Embankment under Big Ben.
Revellers will be relieved the display is going ahead after there were fears the bad weather would disrupt or even force the cancellation of the event.
Happy New Year!
00:00
Tara Cobham
The new year has begun!
It is officially 2025 in the UK.
Fireworks can be heard exploding across the country as Big Ben chimes midnight.
Just a couple minutes to go
Tuesday 31 December 2024 23:58
Tara Cobham
The new year is fast approaching, with just a couple of minutes left of 2024...
Berlin has just seen in New Year – London next
Tuesday 31 December 2024 23:50
Tara Cobham
Countdown to London’s fireworks as midnight approaches
Tuesday 31 December 2024 23:34
Tara Cobham
Heavy rain to lash parts of UK to kick off 2025
Tuesday 31 December 2024 23:32
Tara Cobham
Heavy rain will lash parts of the UK to begin 2025 after New Year’s Eve celebrations across the country were cancelled.
Many faced heavy rain, strong winds and even snow in some parts, leading to widespread disruption on Tuesday.
An amber warning for heavy rain has been put in place across parts of North-West England until 9am on New Year’s Day.
The Met Office warning stretches from Settle in the Yorkshire Dales across to Preston and down to parts of the Peak District.
The warning states that heavy rain is “likely to lead to disruption including flooding in some locations” with a chance some places could see more than 10cm of rain.
Winds of up to 60mph are forecast across much of England and Wales all day on Wednesday, with gusts of 75mph likely around coastal areas and hills, according to the Met Office.
Rain turning to snow on New Year’s Day is likely to cause travel disruption, particularly on roads and railways across Grampian, Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Moray, and the Highlands & Eilean Siar, the Met Office said.
Starmer: 2025 a chance to rediscover the great nation that we are
Tuesday 31 December 2024 23:29
Tara Cobham
The UK faces a “year of rebuilding” while also “rediscovering the great nation that we are” in 2025, according to Sir Keir Starmer.
The Prime Minister used his first new year’s message since entering Downing Street to reflect on a “year of change” in 2024, although joked this did not extend to football as the England men’s team experienced “another agonisingly close shave” by losing to Spain in the Euro 2024 final.
He added his Labour administration has begun the “work of change” since winning the general election in July and pointed to an increase in the minimum wage, clean energy projects and NHS investment as examples.
Read the full story here:
Hogmanay tourists having to quickly find alternatives to cancelled fireworks
Tuesday 31 December 2024 23:03
Tara Cobham
With hours to go before the end of 2024, tourists who travelled to Edinburgh in the hope of experiencing the Hogmanay fireworks have described having to quickly find other ways to celebrate the new year.
The street party and fireworks display over Edinburgh Castle were cancelled on Monday afternoon due to a Met Office yellow weather warning, which at the time covered most of Scotland throughout Hogmanay before the warning area was cut back to the Highlands and Moray.
Elisa Dorris, who is originally from Spain but now lives in Dublin, flew to Edinburgh with friends in order to see the fireworks.
The 23-year-old shop assistant described having to ask around for suggestions as to what she and her friends can do to celebrate the new year.
She said: “We are very disappointed … but we will try to have fun here in the Christmas market. We will try our best to have fun this night.
“So we have been asking people about what we can do, and they say that they have pubs in Victoria Street, and the people are going to go out, because it’s a lot of people in the same situation. So we think that we are going to do that, stay in the streets, in the pubs.”
David Liew, a 59-year-old lawyer from Singapore who came to Edinburgh for New Year during a three-week holiday in the UK, said: “We’ll just walk around, take some pictures and hopefully make the best use of our time.”
Mr Liew added that he could understand the decision to call off the fireworks, but said they should be put back on now that the weather had turned out better than expected.
“We are pretty disappointed. We were just informed, I think, this morning, but I think it’s due to the weather. But when I look around now, I think the weather is fine, and I think the celebrations should resume.”
Met Office issues new amber weather warning for heavy rain
Tuesday 31 December 2024 22:45
Tara Cobham
An amber weather warning for heavy rain has been put in place across parts of North West England until 9am on New Year’s Day.
The Met Office alert stretches from Settle in the Yorkshire Dales across to Preston and down to parts of the Peak District.
The warning states that heavy rain is “likely to lead to disruption including flooding in some locations” with a chance some places could see more than 10cm of rain.
An Amber Rain Warning has been issued for parts of NW England until 09:00 New Year's Day ⚠️
— Met Office (@metoffice) December 31, 2024
Stay #WeatherAware pic.twitter.com/Wxp6rtNy0x
