As weary Britons embark on their dry January detox, Met Office statistics show that south eastern England experienced one of its most arid Decembers ever in 2016.

The past month recorded the fourth lowest rainfall total in the south east since records began in 1910. Only 18mm of rainfall was recorded, the lowest in the UK and less than a quarter of the amount expected for December.

Statistics are currently only available up to the 28th, but it is clear that December was a dry month for all parts of the UK. England as a whole recorded 37 per cent of the 1981-2010 average rainfall for the period.

Dr Mark McCarthy, manager of the Met Office’s National Climate Information Centre, said: "When looking at the figures for December 2016 it has been mild and dry, which climatologically is a relatively rare combination because typically mild Decembers are wet, and cold Decembers are dry.

"For example if we look back at December last year, which was the warmest December on record, the month also recorded the highest rainfall figures of any calendar month in records going back to 1910.”

The mean temperature for December in south-east and central England was 6.4°C, the second highest in the country behind Wales and the south west and 1.4°C higher than the 1981-2010 average. In the UK as a whole temperatures averaged out at 5.9°C for the month, 2.1°C higher than usual.

Last year ranks as the 13th warmest year in the UK since 1910. Average temperatures in south-east and central England were recorded at 10.9°C, 0.5°C higher than the norm, making it the warmest region in the UK. The UK average stands at 9.3°C for the year, also 0.5°C  above normal. The warmest year in the UK since 1910 was 2014 with an average temperature of 9.9 °C.

Globally 2016 is projected to be one of the warmest two years on record – with 2015 – in a series stretching back to 1850. The final year-end figures will be calculated in 2017 when climate scientists will know whether 2016 will have beaten 2015.