The UK Health Security Agency has issued a yellow Cold‑Health Alert for all regions of England except the South East and London. The alert is in force from 18:00 on 17 February to 18:00 on 20 February following Met Office forecasts of persistently low temperatures. UKHSA signposts guidance for professionals and the public on staying safe in cold weather via gov.uk.
A yellow Cold‑Health Alert signals likely impacts for vulnerable groups and a need for system readiness across health and social care. It is designed to prompt proactive communication with at‑risk residents and to maintain enhanced situational awareness in NHS and local authority services while the cold conditions persist.
This latest action follows a series of earlier alerts. On Wednesday 11 February, UKHSA issued a yellow alert for the North West, North East, Yorkshire and Humber, West Midlands and East Midlands. That notice applied from 06:00 on Friday 13 February until 08:00 on Monday 16 February, with other regions unaffected at that time.
On Thursday 23 January, a yellow alert was issued for the North West and North East only, effective from 18:00 on Monday 26 January to 18:00 on Friday 30 January. Other English regions were not within scope of that notice.
Through early January the alert level had been amber nationally and was extended several times. UKHSA and the Met Office confirmed on Tuesday 6 January that the amber alert would continue until 12:00 on Sunday 11 January, and on Thursday 8 January extended it by a further 24 hours to 12:00 on Monday 12 January. A separate extension on Friday 2 January kept the amber level in place until 10:00 on Friday 9 January.
On Wednesday 31 December, the amber alert was expanded from the North West and North East to all regions of England, running from 20:00 on 31 December until 10:00 on Tuesday 6 January. Before that expansion, other regions had been under a yellow alert.
The sequence began on Sunday 28 December when UKHSA issued an amber alert for the North West and North East from 20:00 on 28 December to midday on Monday 5 January, with all other regions placed under a yellow alert for the same period.
Under the Weather‑Health Alerting system operated by UKHSA and the Met Office, an amber cold‑health alert indicates that cold weather impacts are likely across the health and social care sector, with the potential for risk to the wider population and for other sectors to observe impacts requiring a coordinated response. UKHSA notes that such cold periods are associated with increased use of services among people aged 65 and over, those with underlying respiratory and cardiovascular conditions, and people sleeping rough.
For system leaders, the operational distinction matters. A yellow alert supports heightened readiness: reinforcing public messaging, sustaining community outreach, and monitoring demand, particularly across primary care, urgent care and adult social care. Amber signals broader and more sustained impacts, with potential pressure on emergency departments, domiciliary care scheduling and hospital discharge pathways, and may require activation of local escalation measures. These expectations align with UKHSA guidance for professionals on cold weather preparedness.
Throughout this period, UKHSA health protection leads have urged residents to check in on older people and those with serious health conditions, ensuring they can keep warm and access routine medications and support. The agency has repeatedly highlighted that prolonged exposure to cold increases risks of heart attacks, strokes and respiratory infections, underscoring the public‑health rationale for the alerts.
Cold‑Health Alerts focus on health impacts in England to support NHS and social care planning. In parallel, the Met Office may issue National Severe Weather Warnings for hazards such as snow and ice at short notice; these are UK‑wide hazard products and can run alongside or independently of Cold‑Health Alerts. UKHSA explains the distinction between the two services on its official blog.
Further official information for practitioners and the public is available on gov.uk at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/cold-weather. National Severe Weather Warnings are listed at https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/, and UKHSA provides additional context on the Weather‑Health Alerting approach at https://ukhsa.blog.gov.uk/. Organisations are advised to use these sources to align local actions with national guidance while the alert remains active.