Updated: 2026-07-31
The nearest Met Office measurement point to London is the station at High Beach (county of Essex), located at 110 m altitude, about 20.8 km from the city centre. These are its historical records. London's actual local climate may differ from this station due to altitude differences, proximity to the River Thames, or the urban heat island effect—the data here is the best available reference, not an exact measurement for London itself.
On 15 April 2022, the minimum temperature recorded at High Beach station was 7.5°C. That is the official minimum temperature on that date.
This single reading tells you a lot: mid-April at this location is not a time of deep frost. A minimum of 7.5°C means the air temperature stayed well above freezing even at the coldest part of the night, which is typical for a station sitting at 110 m in the mild southeast of England. You would have needed no frost protection for tender plants that night.
For anyone planning a garden or an outdoor event in London, the question is rarely "will it freeze tonight?" but rather "when is the risk of frost finally over?" At High Beach, the coldest nights of the year cluster in January and December. The monthly average minimum temperatures tell the story clearly: January averages 1.3°C, December 2.3°C, and February 1.4°C. These are the months when a ground frost is routine and an air frost (at or below 0°C) happens regularly.
The late-spring freeze, the one that catches out early plantings, is a different matter. By April the average minimum climbs to 4.4°C, and by May it reaches 7.2°C. The 15 April 2022 reading of 7.5°C sits almost exactly on the April mean, confirming that by mid-spring the overnight chill has largely lost its bite at this station. The last killer frosts, those that dip below zero, are typically over by late April, though the station's records do not mark a single "last frost date"—that varies year to year with the weather patterns.
This table shows the long-term average minimum temperature for each month at High Beach station across the full period of record. It is the most direct way to see which part of the year carries frost risk and which is safe:
| Month | Average Minimum Temperature (°C) |
|---|---|
| January | 1.3 |
| February | 1.4 |
| March | 2.9 |
| April | 4.4 |
| May | 7.2 |
| June | 10.2 |
| July | 12.4 |
| August | 12.2 |
| September | 10.1 |
| October | 7.5 |
| November | 4.1 |
| December | 2.3 |
Look at the shape of that table: the minimum stays below 3°C from December through March, hovers around 4°C in April, then jumps to 7.2°C in May. The July peak of 12.4°C is the warmest night-time average of the year, and it drops back to 12.2°C in August before the autumn slide begins. The station's full record runs from 1 August 1978 to 31 December 2025, giving nearly five decades of nights to draw these averages from.
For a specific date, the 15 April example is your benchmark. A reading of 7.5°C on that date means the air was nowhere near freezing. But the monthly averages hide the extremes—some Aprils have seen frosts, others have not. If you need to know whether a particular night in March or early April froze, the coldest five to eight weeks of the year are December through February, where averages of 1.3°C to 2.3°C mean frost is a regular occurrence.
For London gardeners and event planners, the numbers from High Beach suggest this: the risk of a damaging frost is real from December through February, easing in March, and largely gone by mid-April. The 15 April reading of 7.5°C fits that picture perfectly—a mild night well into the safe zone. If you must pick a "safe date" for planting tender annuals outdoors, mid-May is a conservative choice; the May average minimum of 7.2°C leaves plenty of margin above freezing.
One caution: this station sits at 110 m altitude in Essex, slightly cooler than the dense urban core of London on calm, clear nights. The city's buildings and traffic trap heat, so frosts in central London are often milder or later than at High Beach. Still, this is the closest Met Office record to the city, and its data is the most reliable guide available for the wider London area, giving you a solid baseline for planning your planting season.
Source: Met Office MIDAS data, High Beach station, Essex. Period of record: 1978–2025.
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