Exact temperature everyone must heat their homes to as -16C freeze sets in
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As snow and ice descends on the UK, the nights are becoming increasingly cold, with bitter -16C falls in the mercury predicted in the latter part of this week. An amber cold health alert, which has been in place for a week, has just been extended by the Met Office and the UK Health and Security Agency, who partner up every winter to create these alerts intended to reach the most vulnerable members of society. The amber coding means there are medium impacts expected, pushing it one above yellow (indicative of low impacts) and one below red, where impacts are predicted to be high.
The alert will now cease on Tuesday, January 14 at 9am. It warns of a potential rise in deaths, particularly among those aged 65 and over with health conditions. Impacts on younger age groups may also be seen. An increased demand for health services is predicted, and the temperature in places such as hospitals, care homes and clinics may drop below "recommended" levels.
Indoor temperatures, the UKHSA says, should sit comfortably at 18C. Challenges to keep homes at this level may lead to more risk to vulnerable people, it says. While some people may be reluctant to switch their heating on, energy experts often say it's best, and most cost-effective, to keep thermostats at one consistent level.
The Met Office is forecasting a bleak finale to a week of snow and ice hazards over the next 24 hours, before milder air moves in from the southwest. This week has seen some of the coldest nights of winter, it said, but the worst is set to hit overnight on Thursday. In a statement it explained: "Wednesday night saw England, Wales and Northern Ireland’s coldest night of the winter, with -11.2C, -7.9C and -7.2C respectfully. -12.4C was recorded at Tulloch Bridge in Inverness-shire, not quite as low as the winter low of -13.3C recorded on the early hours of Monday, January 6.
