Updated: 2026-07-31
4 frost days — that is the lowest annual total recorded near London, set in 2002. That year, the ground barely froze at the measuring station: just four nights dipped below 0 °C across the entire twelve months. Compare that with 1979, when the same station logged 79 frost days — the highest annual figure in the full series from 1978 to 2025. That is a gap of 75 frost days between the mildest and the most severe year on record.
The nearest Met Office measuring point to London is the High Beach station in Essex, situated at 110 m above sea level, about 20.8 km from the city centre. These figures come from that station's daily minimum temperature records, counting every day when the minimum dropped below 0 °C. The actual frost frequency inside London itself can differ from this — urban heat, the Thames, and lower altitude typically reduce frost nights in the centre — but High Beach is the closest continuous reference we have.
1979 stands out not just for its 79 frost days but for what it meant in practice: a winter that began early and held on. That year's mean minimum temperature was 5.2 °C, tying with 1985 and 1996 as the fourth coldest in the series. The coldest mean minimum of all came in 2006, at 3.7 °C, yet that same year produced 45 frost days — a reminder that a low average minimum does not always mean a high frost count, since the distribution of cold nights matters as much as the overall figure.
Reading down the annual totals, a pattern emerges. From 1979 to 1987, the station recorded 65 or more frost days in six of those nine years — 1979 with 79, 1985 with 72, and 1981, 1986 and 1987 each with 65. The 1990s softened: only 1996, with 67 frost days, approached the earlier cluster. Since 2000, the highest figure is 76 frost days in 2010, a year famous across the UK for its severe December cold snap. After that, annual totals have mostly stayed between 13 and 46, with 2014 the mildest of the recent decades at just 13 frost days.
The warmest mean minimum years in the record cluster in the 2020s: 2024 tops the list with 7.7 °C, followed by 2014 and 2023 at 7.4 °C, and 2022 and 2025 at 7.3 °C. At the other end, 2006 holds the coldest mean minimum at 3.7 °C, with 1986 at 5.0 °C and 1979, 1985 and 1996 at 5.2 °C. These two lists — the extremes of the average yearly minimum — help frame where each frost season sits.
The full annual series below shows how frost days have varied across 48 years of records. The table lists each year alongside its frost day count and its annual mean minimum temperature, so you can see both the frequency of freezing nights and the overall warmth of the year.
The chart shows the complete annual series. The table lists all 48 years; the full series comes from Met Office.
| Year | Frost days | Mean annual min (°C) |
|---|---|---|
| 1978 | 42 | 7.1 |
| 1979 | 79 | 5.2 |
| 1980 | 52 | 5.4 |
| 1981 | 65 | 5.5 |
| 1982 | 53 | 6.0 |
| 1983 | 44 | 6.4 |
| 1984 | 47 | 5.8 |
| 1985 | 72 | 5.2 |
| 1986 | 65 | 5.0 |
| 1987 | 65 | 5.5 |
| 1988 | 50 | 6.2 |
| 1989 | 43 | 6.3 |
| 1990 | 45 | 6.2 |
| 1991 | 42 | 6.3 |
| 1992 | 38 | 6.8 |
| 1993 | 54 | 5.7 |
| 1994 | 36 | 6.5 |
| 1995 | 46 | 6.2 |
| 1996 | 67 | 5.2 |
| 1997 | 34 | 6.7 |
| 1998 | 49 | 5.9 |
| 1999 | 32 | 6.9 |
| 2000 | 37 | 7.1 |
| 2001 | 54 | 5.9 |
| 2002 | 4 | 7.2 |
| 2003 | 51 | 5.4 |
| 2004 | 40 | 6.8 |
| 2005 | 35 | 6.5 |
| 2006 | 45 | 3.7 |
| 2007 | 49 | 5.7 |
| 2008 | 55 | 5.5 |
| 2009 | 39 | 6.3 |
| 2010 | 76 | 5.4 |
| 2011 | 46 | 6.2 |
| 2012 | 41 | 6.1 |
| 2013 | 48 | 5.8 |
| 2014 | 13 | 7.4 |
| 2015 | 30 | 6.9 |
| 2016 | 33 | 6.9 |
| 2017 | 28 | 7.1 |
| 2018 | 27 | 7.1 |
| 2019 | 38 | 6.8 |
| 2020 | 24 | 7.2 |
| 2021 | 35 | 6.7 |
| 2022 | 27 | 7.3 |
| 2023 | 34 | 7.4 |
| 2024 | 15 | 7.7 |
| 2025 | 29 | 7.3 |
If you are scheduling an outdoor event, planting a garden, or just wondering when to expect the last frost, the annual totals give a rough guide but not a precise calendar. A year with 45 frost days might concentrate them all in January and February, or spread them from November to April. The mean minimum temperature tells you about the general warmth of the year, not about specific freezing nights.
What the series does show clearly is the range of possibilities: from 4 frost days in 2002 to 79 in 1979. That 2002 figure is notable not just for being the lowest — it is the only year in the entire 48-year record with fewer than 13 frost days. The 2010 figure of 76 frost days came in a year whose December cold wave is still remembered across the UK, and it remains the closest any recent year has come to the 1979 peak.
For anyone comparing decades, the warming signal in the mean minimum is hard to miss. The five warmest years for average minimum temperature are all from 2022 or later, with 2024 at 7.7 °C leading the list. Yet frost has not disappeared: even in the mildest recent years, the station still records between 15 and 34 frost days per year. The freezing nights have become less frequent, but they have not vanished.
Source: Met Office MIDAS data, High Beach station (Essex), 1978–2025.
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