Overview
- Festive swimmers took traditional Christmas Eve dips across Britain despite a turn to colder weather.
- The long-running Helen's Bay 'Santa Splash' in County Down drew about 500 swimmers and raised funds for Dementia Northern Ireland and Air Ambulance Northern Ireland.
- Northern Ireland minister Andrew Muir and Ards and North Down Mayor Gillian McCollum were among participants at the Helen's Bay event.
- The Met Office issued a yellow wind warning for south west England and much of Wales from 4am to midnight on Christmas Day, with gusts of 45–55mph widely and 55–65mph on exposed coasts, plus large-wave hazards and possible transport or power disruption.
- The UK Health Security Agency issued a yellow cold-health alert for south west England from 6pm on Christmas Day to noon on December 27, with forecasters expecting sub-zero nights, including lows near -5C in northern Scotland and -4C in rural Wales.