The West Midlands has been struck by a rare amber cold health alert. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) issued the warning as temperatures are expected to remain freezing throughout the day today (January 11).
The West Midlands is among nine regions in England that have received an amber warning, which will stay in effect until 9am on Tuesday, January 14. Cold health alerts are given out during periods of cold weather and the entire country of England has been issued with amber alerts.
There are three levels of cold health alerts – yellow, amber, and red. Amber alerts are given when the effects of cold weather are anticipated to be felt across the entire health service, including health and social care services.
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The UKHSA has issued six individual warnings as part of the amber cold health alert. Elderly and vulnerable individuals are particularly at risk, while staffing issues could also affect the health service.
The UK government website stated: “Amber alerts are issued in situations in which the expected impacts are likely to be felt across the whole health service, where there is potential for the whole population to be at risk, and where other sectors apart from health may also start to observe impacts, indicating that a coordinated response is required”, reports Birmingham Live.
Birmingham is bracing for a chilly day with temperatures expected to hover around -0C until 1pm, before slightly rising to 1C later tonight and into Sunday morning (January 12). However, the Met Office warns that it could feel more like -1C or -2C in some areas.
Meanwhile, separate weather maps from WX Charts indicate that the temperature could drop to -2C in the Midlands region today.