The United Kingdom has witnessed an extraordinary meteorological event, with the warmest Bonfire Night on record shattering an 87-year-old temperature benchmark.
A Remarkable Break from Tradition
Instead of the customary chill associated with November evenings, the nation experienced what meteorologists are calling a "remarkable" series of warm temperatures. The most striking measurement came from Teddington in London, where overnight temperatures on Wednesday, 5 November, only dropped to 14.4°C. This provisional reading officially breaks the previous record for the night of 5-6 November, which was set all the way back in 1938 at Gordon Castle in Scotland, where a high of 13.9°C was recorded.
A Wider Pattern of Unseasonable Warmth
This record-breaking Bonfire Night is not an isolated incident. This November has seen a staggering 33 new high daily minimum temperature records fall across the UK. Dozens of weather stations have reported notable autumn warmth, consistently exceeding 13°C. The Met Office explained this warm spell is a result of mild air being drawn up from the south. A spokesperson added, "Combined with cloudy nights which helped trap warmth in, it led to these mild overnight temperatures."
The forecaster was also clear on the broader context, stating, "Of course climate change is elevating the background temperature, making events like this more likely." However, they noted that there is no direct attribution to climate change from a specific attribution study for this particular event.
Regional Records and the Week Ahead
This "exceptional run of overnight warmth" follows an October that was already warmer than average. The mean temperature for that month was provisionally 0.7°C above the 1991–2020 average, with Scotland and Northern Ireland experiencing slightly warmer conditions.
Regionally, the record-breaking warmth was widespread. Stations in the South West and Wales broke records in areas such as Cornwall, Devon, Dyfed, and Clwyd. In the North and Midlands, new records were set in Yorkshire, Staffordshire, Cumbria, and Humberside.
Looking forward, the Met Office forecasts a return to more typical conditions. "Temperatures will return closer to average so nights will feel much cooler going forward," they confirmed. The week ahead is expected to bring unsettled weather, with spells of rain moving in from the west, marking a distinct end to this unseasonably warm period.
