An amber cold health alert has been issued for south Essex as temperatures plummet across the country.

The UK Health Security Agency have issued the warning from 10am on Monday until 6pm on Saturday, while the Met Office has also predicted temperatures to fall below zero for the county in this period.

The health agency has warned the colder weather is likely to cause significant impacts across the health and social care services.

This includes a rise in deaths (particularly among those aged 65 and over), increased demands, temperatures dropping inside hospitals, care homes, and clinics, and travel delays affecting staff numbers.

The alert is also in effect across London, the South East, and the South West.

An amber alert means “cold weather impacts are likely to be felt across the whole health service for an extended period of time”.

The UKHSA have identified the potential impact the alert could have on services, including:

  • a rise in deaths, particularly among those aged 65 and over or with health conditions. There are also see impacts on younger age groups
  • 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
  • challenges keeping indoor temperatures at the recommended 18C leading to more risk to vulnerable people
  • staffing issues due to external factors (such as travel delays)
  • other sectors starting to observe impacts (such as transport and energy)

You can see all the weather health alerts here: https://ukhsa-dashboard.data.gov.uk/weather-health-alerts