UK climate warnings as some Brits battered by bitterly chilly -18C situations

The UK Health Security Agency has issued nine ‘amber’ health alerts as the Met Office predicts freezing temperatures again tonight with Brits battered by -18C conditions

Nine amber health alerts have been issued across the country as millions of Brits brace for another night of freezing temperatures. Last night, the UK saw the coldest January temperatures in 15 years, according to the Met Office. The chilliest spot was Altnaharra in Scotland, where temperatures plummeted to -18.7C, while Richmond in London saw lows of -5C in Richmond.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has extended its rare amber alerts for all of England until Tuesday 14. They have warned of potential rise in deaths, particularly among those aged 65 and over, or those with health conditions.

Met Office meteorologist Zoe Hutin said: “So another chilly night to come on Saturday, but then as we go into Sunday and into Monday, then we can start to expect temperatures to recover somewhat.

“I won’t rule out the risk of seeing something around or just below freezing again on Sunday night into Monday, but it won’t be quite so dramatic as the temperatures that we’re going to experience as we go overnight tonight.”

The UKHSA explains that the weather health alert system is designed to provide early warnings to the health and social care sectors, emergency responders and government departments. The system includes Heat-Health Alerts (HHA) and Cold-Health Alerts (CHA), reports Mirror.

While temperatures are expected to rise next week, weather forecasts warn that some eastern areas of the country could experience freezing temperatures tonight.

Hutin added: “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. 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.”

Cold Health Alerts have been issued in the:

• North East
• North West
• Yorkshire and The Humber
• East Midlands
• West Midlands
• East of England
• London
• South East
• South West

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