UK weather: London doesn't know how to deal with a light dusting of snow

People elsewhere in the UK have had far worse weather in recent weeks

Light snow outside the Houses of Parliament, London, on 3 February (PA)

The excitement over London’s sprinkling of snow has left northerners, Scots and anyone who has been living with up to a foot of snow for weeks deeply unimpressed.

Mild panic about predicted transport chaos in the capital rapidly faded into a vague sense of disappointment as everyone realised they would still be able to get into work.

Thousands of people took to social media to post pictures and videos of the dusting, which was barely enough to cover the grass in most places.

The Shard can be seen behind a snowy Tower of London on Tuesday. Picture: Simon Cardy (Simon Cardy)

As the #Londonsnow hashtag continued to trend on Twitter today, non-Londoners pointed out that they had far more snow for far longer.

“London stop complaining about your bloody snow,” wrote one Scot, tweeting a picture of several inches of snow.

“We've got all this in the past 40 mins and we are still alive!” she added.

An outdoor clothing stockist lamented that Sheffield had snow “before it was mainstream” and a Yorkshire councillor said London’s snowfall was “nothing” compared to what Calderdale gets.

While life in London continued untroubled today, northern England, Scotland and Northern Ireland have seen airports closed, roads shut, cars abandoned and children told not to go to school.

For comparison, here are some pictures of the snow in London and the rest of the UK.

Cars in the snow

Brixton, London (PA)

Shaw, Greater Manchester

Walking in the snow

St James' Park, London (PA)

Dundrod, County Antrim (Charles McQuillan/Getty Images)

Jogging in the snow

A man jogs through light snow in St James' Park, London, on 3 February (PA)

Marsden, West Yorkshire (AFP/Getty Images)

Roads in the snow

Bromley, London. Picture: Hermione Wright (Hermione Wright)

The Highlands, Scotland (AP)

A 'covering of snow'

Snow in St James' Park, London, on 3 February (PA)

Oakenshaw, County Durham (PA)

Cold weather alerts have been issued across England for the rest of this week as the "Beast from the East" blows in from Siberia.