18th December - Today's News: Mild Forecast Dashes Hopes of a White Christmas

Now it's so warm seasonal ice rinks across the country are melting as bookies slash odds on it being Britain's hottest Christmas ever and will this be the warmest Christmas ever for Ireland?- too soon to say whether it will be, but more record high temperatures are expected before the year's end and there's not the slightest hint of a frost for much of the British Isles, let alone snow.  In parts of the US too, warmest Christmas in living memory possible as 'blowtorch' weather pattern likely in the East, Midwest .  And even in Austria, mild temperatures dash white Christmas hopes

Meanwhile November, autumn and year-to-date were all hottest on record for Earth, NOAA says

 and that trend looks like continung with 2016 set to be hottest year on record globally, beating what looks set to be the 2015 record. 

And it's a tropical start to Scotland's latest avalanche season

So, December weather: Why is it so mild?

Australians flock to the water as temperatures hit a sweltering 38 degrees in Melbourne and 42 degrees in Adelaide and in NZ too the heat is on: Temperatures to shoot up to 35C as heatwave breaks December records

Sydney tornado: Man sucked out of window at desalination plant

In NZ, thunderstorms, hail batter Tasman region, devastate orchards

Adak declares local disaster as another storm pounds Aleutians 

Heavy rain causes Jo'burg flooding 

China smog: Beijing issues second ever pollution red alert

Cryosat captures Greenland's shifting shape

Climate change rapidly warmingh world's lakes

And a 'Super-Earth' spotted just 14 light years away: Wolf 1061c is the closest 'habitable' planet outside our solar system and could support alien life