By admin 
Festive films and TV programs often show beautiful snowfall on Christmas Day, but this is often the reality in Britain.
Our weather is often unpredictable, but when snow does fall it is usually early in the new year, especially in recent years.
When was the last time this happened in Britain and London? And what are the chances this year?
Here’s what you need to know.
When was the last official white Christmas in Britain?
The British Met Office defines a white Christmas if at least one snowflake is spotted at one or more of the eleven reporting stations on Christmas Day.
Traditionally, the organization used one location to define a white Christmas: the Met Office building in London.
However, as interest in White Christmas grew, the number of reporting locations expanded to include locations across the UK such as Buckingham Palace, Aldergrove Airport in Belfast, Pittodrie Stadium in Aberdeen, Edinburgh Castle, Manchester’s Coronation Street and the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.
Previously, nine percent of weather stations recorded snow falling in 2022, but none recorded snow falling.
People in the snow in Gateshead, northeast England, in December 2023
PA
Both 2021 and 2020 were technically white Christmases, with six percent of weather stations recording snow. However, less than one percent of stations reported snow on the ground in 2021, and only four percent in 2020.
No snow fell at any stations in Britain in 2018 and 2019.
The last widespread white Christmas in Britain was in 2010. The Met Office said this was extremely unusual because not only was there snow on the ground at 83 percent of stations (the highest ever recorded), but there was also snow or wet snow fell on 19 percent.
We also had a white Christmas in 2009, when 13 percent of stations recorded snow or sleet, and 57 percent reported snow on the ground.
When was the last time it snowed in London on Christmas Day?
A white Christmas in London, where temperatures are generally higher than in the countryside, is even rarer.
The capital has officially experienced six white Christmases since 1960: 1964, 1968, 1970, 1976, 1996 and 1999.
This means it has been 25 years since London last had a white Christmas.
What are the chances that London will have a white Christmas in 2024?
Bookmakers annually compile lists of the places where there is the greatest chance that a white Christmas will take place.
The online gambling guide (OLBG) claims that Newcastle and Edinburgh are the most likely places to see snowfall this year – with a 36.4 per cent chance.
These are followed by Belfast (22.2 percent), Dublin (16.7 percent) and Cardiff (14.3 percent). London is ninth on this list, with only 10 percent odds.
Although you might want to take that with a grain of salt for now. As MyLondon reports, the Met Office had said it is impossible to accurately predict a white Christmas a month before the big day.
“Despite what some headlines suggest, it is not possible to pinpoint an exact date for when snow will hit the UK weeks in advance, but we do have some long-term results that can help us understand the odds,” says Mark Sidaway , deputy. chief meteorologist, told the publication.
“Various future projections are performed multiple times through weather forecast models. Often these will be quite similar over short distances, but by the time you get weeks ahead these can have a significant range of possible weather conditions in the future. Our job as meteorologists is to look at all these projections and understand what they tell us about the likelihood of conditions.”
He added: “Certainty will increase as we get closer to the time, and the best indication of impactful snow in the forecast would be when a national severe weather warning is issued from the Met Office.”