Exact date snow and ice to hit Britain as amber cold health alert issued

08 January 2024 , 05:00

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People walk their dog after heavy snowfall (Image: Getty Images)

The NHS is likely to be hit hard with cases of heart attacks, strokes and chest infections this week as temperatures plunge across the country.

Cold weather can increase the risks of such medical episodes, especially in the vulnerable, and so The Met Office and UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has issued an amber cold health alert for several regions for the whole week. The North West of England, West Midlands, East Midlands and South West of England are subject to the alert as the mercury is expected to plummet.

A spokesperson for UKHSA said: "An amber cold health alert (CHA) for the North West of England, West Midlands, East Midlands and South West of England, issued by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and the Met Office, runs until 12pm next Friday. The alert means "cold weather impacts are likely to be felt across the whole health service for an extended period of time".

Snow is forecast during the bitter icy blast beginning on Monday, particularly in rural and hilly areas, including Shropshire and Cheshire. Many communities, though, are still coping with the severe floods which followed Storm Henk.

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Temperatures are set to plunge this week across the UK (Met Office)

Exact date snow and ice to hit Britain as amber cold health alert issued

The bitter icy blast happens as many communities, like this in Cambridgeshire, struggle with flooding (SWNS)

But the health authorities' alert means "cold weather impacts are likely to be felt across the whole health service for an extended period of time". There is also a yellow cold health alert in place for the North East of England, Yorkshire and The Humber, East of England, South East of England and London.

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Dr Agostinho Sousa, head of extreme events and health protection at UKHSA, said: "With the Met Office forecasting drops in temperature across the United Kingdom into next week, it is important to check in on the wellbeing of those most vulnerable to the cold. Temperatures are expected to turn particularly cold overnight, as we would expect at this time of year.

"If you have a pre-existing medical condition or are over the age of 65 it is important to try and heat the rooms where you spend most of your time, such as your living room or bedroom, in the coming days."

The health alert has been put in place as there is concern for vulnerable people, including the elderly (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

The Environment Agency has estimated more than 1,800 properties were flooded due to the deluge brought by Storm Henk last week. Many regions are still mopping up and the EA said the impact of heavy rain is likely to continue, particularly around the rivers Trent, Severn and Thames.

Yesterday, there were 172 flood warnings and 176 flood alerts in England. Some of the hardest-hit areas include large parts of Gloucestershire as well as cathedral cities Worcester and Salisbury. Tewkesbury in north Gloucestershire is especially vulnerable to flooding, as it is located at the meeting point of the rivers Severn and Avon.

John Badham, who has lived in Tewkesbury for 22 years, said: "We were promised by the Environment Agency that we were going to have lots of investment in flood defences paid for by them - but it never materialised. There's a lot of anger in this part of the world about the fact that it never materialised."

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, on a visit to Oxford yesterday, said: "We've invested £5.2 billion in flood defences over the period in question, that's a record sum, far more than we've done, in the future that's contributed to protecting over 300,000 homes.”

Frost and ice are likely across the country, including in the capital (PA)

But Labour has accused the Government of being "asleep at the wheel" over flood warnings and leader Sir Keir Starmer has vowed to make flood defences "fit for purpose”.

A drier week is forecast this week but it will be colder than average with below freezing temperatures overnight. It will become a little warmer, although still in single figures, later in the week before another cold spell could bring snow next weekend.

The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for ice today across London and the south east, with overnight sleet and snow showers followed by freezing temperatures.

Two people, a man aged 40 and a boy of 16, died after a car crashed and was submerged in the Louth Canal near Tetney, Lincolnshire, on Saturday. Police are appealing for anyone with dashcam footage to come forward.