A VILLAGE in Somerset recorded the highest temperature in the nation, as the Met Office recorded the highest daily minimum temperature for Christmas Day since 2016.

Temperatures rose to a tropical 13.6 degrees Celsius near RNAS Merryfield, located in Ilton near Ilminster.

It was the highest temperature recorded in the UK on December 25, alongside Exeter Airport, which also reached 13.6C.

The average maximum temperature for December is 7C.

The warmest December 25 on record was 15.6C in 1920, while the highest Christmas Eve temperatures of 15.5C were set in Aberdeen and Banff in Scotland in 1931.

The Met Office announced the minimum temperature record on X on Monday morning, posting: “It has been a very mild 24 hours across parts of the UK.

“Provisionally this Christmas we have recorded the highest daily minimum temperature for Christmas Day on record, with both Exeter Airport and East Malling not falling below 12.4C.”

Forecaster Dan Stroud said: “We’re drawing our weather from the mid-Atlantic, which is typically a very warm direction for us.”

The new record further shattered hopes of a white Christmas for most of the UK, with milder temperatures continuing after the country saw its warmest Christmas Eve for more than 20 years.