New Year’s celebrated across world but UK events cancelled due to bad weather: live

People in some parts of the UK may have a chance of seeing the Northern Lights on New Year’s Eve, the Met Office said.

People in the east of Scotland, north-east England and Northern Ireland could be treated to sightings of the natural phenomenon, also known as aurora borealis, as they celebrate the new year.

A spokesman said areas of Scotland should have the “best chances” at seeing the Northern Lights.

Met Office spokesman Grahame Madge told the PA news agency: “Although the solar conditions are set fair to see the northern lights, unfortunately the meteorological conditions are not that helpful.

“Scotland should provide the best chances but with unsettled conditions dominating it will be hard to get a guaranteed view.

“Perhaps the best areas may be those along the eastern coast of Scotland.”

The forecaster said cloud coverage could “hamper any sightings” but added there could be spells of clear skies from about 6pm to 9pm on Tuesday.

Some areas may only see the lights temporarily after the weather service issued an amber warning for rain in the Highlands and Moray until 5pm and a yellow warning for rain and snow for parts of northern and western Scotland.

People watch waves crashing in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, as snow, rain and wind warnings are in force and are expected to cause travel issues on New Year’s Eve.

ScotRail has told travellers that the Far North route between Wick and Thurso will be “closed for at least the remainder of today” due to “multiple flooding issues along the line”.

No trains will run on 1 January, in common with other ScotRail services, which means the Wick-Thurso line will be out of action until 2 January at the earliest.

“As bus companies have stated that road conditions are too hazardous here, we’re unable to supply bus replacements along this route,” ScotRail said.

“We apologise for the inconvenience caused by this, but safety must come first.

”Tickets dated for travel today, will be valid for use on either Thursday 2 or Friday 3 January 2025.“

Network Rail have said lines along the Dalguise viaduct “have now risen past the safe limit for trains to run”.

The wet and windy weather has led to traditional New Year’s Day swims to be called off across Wales.

The mayor of Newport in Pembrokeshire took to social media to announce the town’s event would be cancelled, adding: “As the tide will be out we would have to swim from the beach and the wind and gusts have made it too dangerous.”

The iconic Forth Road Bridge was open to cars only on Tuesday morning, while the snow gates are closed on the A939 between Tomintoul and Cock Bridge.

CalMac Ferries said several services on the west coast of Scotland had been cancelled with others subject to disruption.

Further south, the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company said all Tuesday’s sailings between Heysham and Douglas have been cancelled.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) issued an alert for “severe” flooding just after 6am, telling residents in the Aviemore and Dalfaber areas to “act now”, however this was downgraded by 7.45am with no “severe” flood warnings in place.

Highland Council had previously advised guests staying at Aviemore Holiday Park to seek alternative accommodation due to the “imminent” risk of flooding, while Sepa had said evacuations were expected.

Sepa said river levels began to rise on Tuesday morning, rather than overnight as expected.

It said: “Overnight, water levels on the River Spey did not rise as expected. It did begin to rise early on Tuesday morning and that will continue into the day. Less rain fell overnight than was forecast, but is continuing to affect the area.”

Heavy winds are battering the coast of Blackpool proving just why a planned fireworks display was cancelled.

An update on the Visit Blackpool website said the rest of the New Year’s Eve Family Party would still go ahead in the Lancashire seaside resort, with a projection show on the tower to mark the start of the new year.