Anticyclonic gloom behind dreary spell of UK weather

If things have felt especially gloomy last week, it has not been just down to global politics.

- Hannah Devlin

The grey mist that descended was down to an outlier weather event under way since the start of November that has seen some regions of England record just a few minutes of sunshine this month.

A continual period of "anticyclonic gloom" is the reason for the dreary, overcast conditions of fog, drizzle and low cloud in much of the UK, according to the Met Office.

"There's not been anything hazardous that we have to warn for, so it's not anything people need to worry about, but constant grey skies and no sunshine probably doesn't do any good for people's mental health," said Jonathan Vautrey, a meteorologist at the Met Office.