An amber cold weather alert has been issued ahead of freezing temperatures arriving across Cambridgeshire. The alert, which covers all of England, came into force on Thursday (January 2).
The Met Office and UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) are warning that the entirety of the East of England will experience cold weather from 12pm today to 12pm on Wednesday, January 8. They said that the cold air will spread across the country.
According to UKHSA, forecast weather is likely to cause significant impacts across health and social care services. This includes a rise in deaths, particularly among those aged 65 and over or with health conditions.
There may also be an impact on younger age groups and a likely increase in demand for health services. Temperatures inside places like hospitals, care homes, and clinics might drop below the levels recommended for assessing health risks.
The UKHSA highlighted there will be challenges keeping indoor temperatures at the recommended 18°C, leading to more risk to vulnerable people. In addition, there could be staffing issues due to external factors such as travel delays as well as other sectors starting to observe impacts, such as transport and energy.
The alert comes as a two-day Met Office weather warning for ice and snow is in place across Cambridgeshire. The Met Office warning is in place from Saturday at 12pm (January 4) to 11.59pm on Sunday (January 5).
Snow is not forecast for Cambridgeshire yet but there is still a chance of sleet, which could cause disruption to the area. The Met Office has shared advice on how to stay safe in the snow in case the forecast changes, which can be found here.
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