The average mean temperature across December, January and February was 3.1C - the lowest since the winter beginning in 1995, which averaged 2.5C. February started very cold as the heaviest snowfall for 18 years swept in, but temperatures ended up average. Peter Stott, of the Met Office, said despite this year's chill, the trend to milder, wetter winters would continue. He said snow and frost would become less of a feature in the future. "The famously cold winter of 1962-63 is now expected to occur about once every 1,000 years or more, compared with approximately every 100 or 200 years before 1850," he said. The Met Office added that global warming had prevented this winter from being even colder. In December across the whole of the UK, the average temperature was 3.1C - 1.1 degrees below the long-term average for this time of year. The following month it was 2.8C - 0.6 degrees below average, and in February the average temperature was 0.2 degrees above average at 3.6C.
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Small engines, big batteries: The quiet revolution of car designMore and more cars on the road are electric, and some unusual shapes and sizes glide past silently. But what does it all mean for design?
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14 ways to keep your dogs cool in the heat, by A-list dog trainer Ben RandallDogs can't regulate their body temperatures as well as humans can, so at this time of year they need your help keeping cool, whether you're on the road, out and about or leaving them with someone else while you go away.
