Winter makes an unwelcome return this weekend, with biting cold and the threat of widespread snow showers. But at least the snowfalls will refresh the Scottish ski slopes, in what has been an extraordinary season. In fact, skiing conditions across much of Europe are nothing short of spectacular, with recent bumper fresh snowfalls in the Alps followed by more snow this weekend.

So, with the cold weather refusing to go away, how bad was this winter?

Central China was paralysed by one of its worst winters in living memory, with severe snowstorms that lasted for weeks. Snow fell on Baghdad and other parts of the Middle East, and much of North America suffered the heaviest snows for 40 years. In fact, in January there was record snow cover over the northern hemisphere. Much of this was blamed on La Niña, a bout of cooling in tropical waters of the Pacific, affecting a sizeable part of the globe.

But despite so much bitter weather, over the whole winter the northern hemisphere was actually warmer than normal, and snow cover began melting unusually early in many regions. Indeed, Scandinavia barely registered any winter, and Sweden, Finland, Latvia and Arctic Norway had their mildest winter since records began. And in the UK, it was overall a mild winter, with a remarkably mild January and the sunniest February on record.