London is braced for 45mph gusts of wind on New Year’s Eve, leaving organisers of the city centre fireworks reportedly sweating over the event’s safety.
City Hall is closely monitoring the Met Office forecast featuring a yellow wind alert for the capital from 9am on Wednesday (New Year’s Day) until 6am on Thursday.
The event is a sellout, with only a few tickets left on the Ticketmaster resale — the BBC has reported.
London revellers will be crossing their fingers that the weather is better in the south.
Fireworks explode over Edinburgh Castle in the early hours of January 1, 2024 — but won’t be in 2025 due to adverse weather
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Will London’s New Year’s Eve fireworks be cancelled?
As of 4.30pm on December 30, there was no indication that the event would be cancelled, despite the Met Office’s weather warnings
Fireworks expert Stephen Miller told the Sun that the wind carries a significant risk, particularly to the higher flying and most spectacular pyrotechnics.
He said a smaller display than planned could be held, adding that calling it off would have “political ramifications”.
“They’re the most spectacular but they’re the most dangerous because there’s a bigger bang and projection of fragmentation,” he said.
“If there is a risk you cut out the bigger fireworks. The wind speed and direction are the most important things.
“You need to make sure you’ve got a free area downwind so any debris that comes off the fireworks isn’t populated by people.
“The wind direction is the most important of the two — as long as it’s consistent, they will have put barriers in place to make sure no one is in the downwind hazard area.”
