Public health bosses in the UK are expecting a rise in deaths from cold weather, amid severe weather warnings for snow and ice over the next five days.
The UK’s Health Security Agency (UKHSA) issued an amber alert for social care in England, saying vulnerable people were at risk as the country braced for heavy snow and ice going into the weekend.
Five days’ worth of yellow Met Office warnings are in place, beginning with snow and ice warnings stretching from the Shetland Islands to Derby and Nottingham, including north Wales and Northern Ireland.
A yellow weather warning has also been issued for ice across western Wales, from 6pm on Thursday to 10am on Friday, the Met Office said.
By Saturday, these warnings are replaced by a blanket warning for heavy snow across England, Wales and southern parts of Scotland, which will remain in place until Monday morning.
About 5cm of snow is expected widely across the Midlands, Wales and northern England, with as much as 20-30cm over high ground in Wales and the Pennines, according to forecasters.
A rise in deaths, in particular among those aged 65 and over or with health conditions, was likely, the UKHSA said.
Some people will have challenges keeping indoor temperatures at the recommended 18C, leading to increased risk to vulnerable people.
Charities said that some elderly people who were not given the winter fuel allowance by the government would find it difficult. Age UK’s director, Caroline Abrahams, said the charity had already been contacted by some who were “worrying about what to do when this moment arrived”. She said: “We urge older people to do everything they can to stay warm, even if that means risking spending more on their heating than they feel they can afford.”
The Met Office has also warned there is a small chance of power cuts, stranded vehicles, cancelled train and air travel, and some rural communities being cut off because of treacherous roads.
The icy forecast comes amid flooding that has led to homes being damaged and cars trapped in fast-rising water.
A major incident was declared in Greater Manchester on New Year’s Day, as hundreds of people were evacuated, including from a hotel housing asylum seekers and a Stockport block of flats, where residents had become trapped.
The incident was stood down on Thursday afternoon, with almost 1,000 people rescued and efforts from emergency services turning to recovery. Firefighters, police officers and mountain rescue had been involved in the rescue efforts, with about half of the people rescued by boat.
Major train lines were also flooded and the banks of a canal in Cheshire collapsed owing to a rise in flood water.
A total of seven flood warnings were in place in England on Thursday morning, particularly in West and North Yorkshire. A further 40 flood alerts, where flooding is possible, stretched from the Tyne and Wear coast to Seaford, on the East Sussex coast, and from Shropshire in the west to the Suffolk coast.
A flood warning in Ness-side, near Inverness, Scotland, also remained in place after a few days of heavy rain and wind that led to the cancellation of Hogmanay events, including the Edinburgh street party.
Road and rail travel in many parts of Scotland was disrupted on Thursday, with no services on two railway lines in the Highlands after heavy rain led to landslips and flooding.
There were also warnings of difficult driving conditions throughout the country, with some roads already closed due to snow.
For those intending to travel despite the wintry weather, the Met Office and National Rail issued reminders to plan ahead. Difficult driving conditions should be expected, particularly in areas under a yellow weather warning. Allowing extra time was advised, with delays, diversions or hampered conditions likely for road users.
Passengers on public transport were advised to check any timetables and services before setting out in case of delays or cancellations.
National Rail said the poor weather would have an impact on trains running across Great Britain, with Northern, TransPennine Express, Transport for Wales and ScotRail services all affected.
Two new flood alerts were issued just before 6am on Thursday, with water levels peaking for the Lower River Wharfe system in Yorkshire and the Lower River Ure waterway in North Yorkshire. Both river systems and surrounding tributaries were at risk of flooding.
Areas most at risk within the Lower River Ure system include low-lying land such as agricultural land and roads in the areas around Masham, Boroughbridge, Aldborough and Bishop Monkton. For Lower River Wharfe, areas at risk of flooding spanned from Otley to upstream of Ulleskelf, including Tadcaster.
No further significant rainfall was expected in the area on Thursday and water levels were expected to begin falling in the afternoon and evening. People were advised to avoid using low-lying footpaths or any bridges near watercourses, and not to attempt to walk, drive or cycle through flood waters.
In Bristol, a severe weather emergency protocol has been activated by the city council and the homelessness charity St Mungo’s, and will run until 8 January. There will be increased outreach shifts and more accommodation made available, with the aim of ensuring nobody has to sleep on the streets during such extreme weather conditions.
London councils have also activated an emergency accommodation protocol for people sleeping rough in freezing conditions, which will involve extra beds being made available. The emergency measures have been active for three nights in the capital so far this winter.
Tom Morgan, a Met Office meteorologist, said: “At the moment we’ve issued a very large snow warning for Saturday until Monday but it doesn’t mean that everywhere within that warning could see snow, it’s just a heads-up there could be some impacts.”
Separately, the Met Office has said that 2024 was the UK’s fourth-warmest year on record, with the forecaster’s senior scientist Mike Kendon saying this was another “clear illustration that our climate is changing, right now”.
Additional reporting from PA
