London’s New Year’s Eve fireworks could be cancelled if ‘dangerous’ high winds hit the capital.
Most of the UK will be covered by at least one of the multiple weather warnings issued by the Met Office this week, as the stormy year of 2024 comes to a close amid another barrage of snow, wind, rain, and freezing conditions. New Year’s celebrations have already been cancelled in Blackpool in the last few hours due to forecasted unsafe conditions, and worries are now mounting among would-be spectators that London’s huge televised fireworks display could be next in line.
Former Ministry of Defence research scientist turned fireworks display firm boss, Stephen Miller, told the Sun that “wind speed and direction” would determine what happens on Tuesday night. Explaining how the event may still go ahead but with changes, he said: “It may be the case of cutting out the biggest fireworks from the display.
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Weather warnings for December 31
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Image:
Met Office)
“Because it’s all controlled by a computer system they can quickly flick a few buttons to remove some of the bigger effects, but they always design displays so there are smaller effects alongside the bigger ones so the general public wouldn’t notice if the bigger ones are missing.” Other potential contingency plans may include changing the location of crowd barriers to avoid people being hit by pieces of downwind cardboard and small debris from the rockets.
A spokesperson for the Mayor of London told the Mirror that officials would continue to monitor forecasts, but said there were no changes to the event planned. They commented: “We continue to monitor the weather forecast closely, but ticketholders and the many millions watching around the world are set for a spectacular night of fireworks from the banks of the Thames to welcome in the new year. All tickets are sold out, with resale tickets only available through Ticketmaster, the only authorised ticket seller for this event. Anyone who does not have a ticket is urged to watch the show on TV or welcome in 2025 in the capital’s fantastic range of hospitality venues.”
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On New Year’s Eve, Met Office forecasters say delays to all types of transport are “likely” as strong winds persist and may reach speeds of up to 70mph in England and Northern Ireland. Winds of up to 60mph are also forecast across a larger area covering much of England and Wales all day on New Year’s Day, with gusts of 75mph likely around coastal areas and hills, according to the Met Office. The warning for wind is in place from 7am until midnight on Wednesday.
Northern England has already started to be battered by blustery conditions, with gusts expected to ramp up to 60mph on Monday, according to the forecaster. A weather warning is in place where strong winds could impact travel plans until 6pm in areas including Durham, Northumberland, Cumbria and North Yorkshire.
Met Office Deputy Chief Meteorologist Rebekah Hicks said the latest round of unsettled weather was due to the position of the jet stream over the North Atlantic. She said: “A band of persistent and at times heavy rain will linger across Wales and northwest England through Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, before clearing southeast during Wednesday afternoon. This rain will be accompanied by strong, gusty winds.
“The forecast uncertainty comes from the positioning of the jet stream – a ribbon of air high up in the atmosphere which is often the driving force behind our weather – and how it interacts with a pulse of warm air emerging from the Azores region on Tuesday. This interaction will have a significant impact on the development of the depression we expect to see on Wednesday but until that happens, some uncertainty in the forecast will remain. What we do expect though, is for heavy and persistent rain to be the main area of concern. Warnings may evolve over the coming days as confidence increases.”