Many areas of the UK had 50% more hours of sunshine than usual last month - giving the country its third sunniest January on record, according to the Met Office. An average of 63.1 hours of sunshine were recorded across the UK last month, making it the third sunniest January after 1959 (69.7 hours) and 2001 (66.5 hours).
The statistic was achieved despite overall temperature and rainfall remaining close to long-term levels. A cold snap in the middle of the month was offset by milder weather at the start of the year.
The mean UK temperature for January was 4.4C, just 0.4C above the long-term average. Rainfall was also close to normal for the time of year, with 125.7mm falling, 3% more than average.
