Met Office issue amber warning as ‘population at risk’ of cold weather | UK News

Maybe crank up the heating or put on a beanie if you can this week.

Two cold weather warnings have been issued by public health officials for the week ahead, turning England into a patchwork of yellow and amber.

An amber cold-weather alert for the north-west of England, the West Midlands, East Midlands and south-west of England is in place from now until 12pm Friday.

A yellow cold health alert remains for the north-east of England, Yorkshire and The Humber, East of England, south-east of England and London.

On top of the two cold weather alerts, the Met Office has separately placed a yellow weather warning for ice tomorrow for some parts of the South East.

In other words, this week is going to be colder than normal, with the national weather service believing snow could fall on Tuesday as temperatures dip below zero for some parts of the north, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

If the weather gets especially chilly, the Met Office and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) will jointly issue what they call a ‘cold-health alert’ (CHA).

Much like a usual Met Office weather alert, CHA warnings are given the colours yellow, amber and red.

In this case, an amber CHA means ‘cold weather impacts are likely to be felt across the whole health service for an extended period of time, with potential for the whole population to be at risk’.

The system is mainly in place to help health and social care workers in England, with the UKHSA warning that there will ‘probably’ be an ‘observed increase in mortality across the population’.

Officials are mainly worried about those 65 or older and anyone living with certain underlying health conditions, with many struggling to keep their homes warm.

But these warnings still apply to the rest of the population, including younger people amid a gruelling cost of living crisis.

Health services in rural places are expected to be more overwhelmed this week.

Staff are being told to keep an eye on temperatures in care settings – think retirement communities or hospital wards – as the mercury may fall ‘below the recommended threshold for clinical risk assessment’.

That is, if they can get to work, with travel disruption also expected this week due to the frosty weather.

Overall, temperatures inside shouldn’t fall below 18°C if possible.

Dr Agostinho Sousa, head of extreme events and health protection at UKHSA, said: ‘With the Met Office forecasting drops in temperature across the UK into next week, it is important to check in on the wellbeing of those most vulnerable to the cold.’

Jason Kelly, the Met Office’s chief forecaster, said yesterday: ‘The transition to lower temperatures will be noticeable over the weekend. It will become rather cold next week with lower-than-average temperatures across much of the UK, accentuated by brisk easterly winds in the south. 

‘As the prevailing weather conditions will be characterised by high pressure, a good deal of settled weather is likely.

‘Clearer skies and a marked reduction in precipitation are expected, although any showers that do occur are likely to be wintry in nature.

‘A combination of overnight freezing temperatures, saturated ground and calm winds mean increasing risks of frost, fog and icy conditions.’

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