The lowest ever temperature was recorded in Northern Ireland this week, dropping to -18C at Castlederg, County Tyrone on 20th December 2010. The previous record for the country was -17.5 °C on 1 January 1979 in Magherally (County Down).
See also: Record lowest temperatures in the UK
Cranes forage in the frosty fog of Somerset in the second Big Freeze of 2010. They have been freed in a secret location as part of the Great Crane Project, which aims to have these remarkable birds breeding in the UK again. Photo from the Guardian’s Week in Wildlife gallery.
Nature and wildlife of Britain