A rare amber cold health warning has been issued, with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) stating that deaths are “likely”. The agency confirmed that warnings will be in place until Tuesday in the West Midlands, and most of the UK.
This unusual extension of the amber alert was put into effect at 12pm on Thursday, January 9, and will last until 9am on Tuesday, January 14. The weather during this period is expected to “cause significant impacts across health and social care services”, potentially leading to increased demand for health services or staffing issues nationwide.
The amber warning applies to all of England. The Health Security Agency took into account factors such as hospitals, care homes, and clinics, as well as the potential for a “rise in deaths”.
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They suggested there could be “a rise in deaths, particularly among those aged 65 and over or with health conditions. We may also see impacts on younger age groups.”
The service also noted a “likely increase in demand for health services,” “temperatures inside places like hospitals, care homes, and clinics dropping below the levels recommended for assessing health risks,” and “challenges keeping indoor temperatures at the recommended 18C”. The UK is experiencing its coldest January in 15 years, with temperatures of -18.7C reported in Altnaharra, Scotland.
In England, temperatures reportedly dropped to -11C in Cumbria and -5C in Heathrow on Friday (January 10).
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) points out that the weather health alerting system is in place to provide an early warning when adverse temperatures could affect public health and wellbeing. This system, including Heat-Health Alerts (HHA) and Cold-Health Alerts (CHA), is designed to notify a range of sectors and government departments about potential health impacts.
Despite expectations for a rise in temperatures next week, the mercury has plunged below freezing throughout the nation over the weekend. Met Office meteorologist Zoe Hutin has given insight into the weather expectations, remarking: “We’re saying it’s getting milder but by no stretch does that mean (temperatures) are going to be above average, it just will feel comparatively much more pleasant than it is at the moment.”
She also noted that “It has been getting progressively colder each night this week, whereas looking at previous years, we’ve had maybe two or three days where things have been particularly cold.”
According to WXCharts, several parts of the country may experience significant snowfall soon.
Places like Leeds, Wakefield, York, Bradford, and Ripon are all forecast to receive 2cm of snow per hour from midday on January 24. Scotland is bracing as well, with Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness, and Stirling all expected to see further snow later in the month.