It's Christmas Eve and Santa is busy delivering presents all over the globe.

Here’s all you need to know about NORAD and how they track St. Nicholas as he delivers his last presents of the decade.

The North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD) usually tracks aerospace and maritime warnings across North America and Canada, however for the past 60 years, NORAD has tracked Santa’s annual festive journey.

Each year, Santa is set to travel an estimated 510,000,000km at around 1,800 miles per second in order to visit everyone on his nice list, but with the advanced technology at NORAD, children all over the world can track the jolly old fellow in the hours leading up to the big day.

You can now track Santa’s GPS location online or via the NORAD app on Christmas Eve as he travels across the globe visiting every continent, starting in the South Pacific and concluding in the US and South America.

When will Santa be passing over the UK (and Basingstoke and Andover)? 

Santa set off 8am GMT.  The man in red travels an estimated 510,000,000 km - approximately 1,800 miles per second - on Christmas Eve.

So far he has covered New Zealand, Russia and the Southern Hempishere. He is expected to arrive in the UK later this evening, though no exact time is forecast. 

The online tracker will tell you more than just where Santa has been, it will also show you where his next stop is and how many presents he has delivered so far, passing many iconic landmarks on his way.

The history behind this tradition began back in 1955 after a Colorado advertisement misprinted a telephone for children to call Santa, which went through to the Commander-in-Chief, Harry Shoup’s, operations ‘hotline’.

Andover Advertiser: The tradition was continued in memory or Harry Shoup who died on March 4, 2009.The tradition was continued in memory or Harry Shoup who died on March 4, 2009.

Following the influx of calls, Mr. Shoup had his officers check the radar for Santa’s location and gave the children who called regular updates on his location and continued to carry on the much loved tradition to this day.

Since then, NORAD volunteers have given their time to answer the emails and phone calls they receive every year from all over the world asking for the whereabouts of Father Christmas, as well as providing regular updates via their website.  

According to their website: “The moment [that] our radar tells us that Santa has lifted off, we begin to use the same satellites that we use in providing air warning of possible missile launches aimed at North America [to track his movements throughout the night].”

The website currently has a countdown on the website which is set to go live at 8am on Christmas Eve ready for the millions of consumers to visit the page, now including games and activities for children to complete during the festive period.

You can track Father Christmas through the NORAD website or via the app.