Essex weather: Amber cold health alert issued for region

The alerts have been issued from 12pm on January 2 until 12pm on January 8.

Forecast weather across Essex is expected to have severe impacts across health and social care services

For the East of England the following weather health alerts have been given:

Forecast weather is likely to cause significant impacts across health and social care services, including:

• A rise in deaths, particularly among those aged 65 and over or with health conditions. We may also see impacts on younger age groups
• A likely increase in demand for health services
• Temperatures inside places like hospitals, care homes, and clinics dropping below the levels recommended for assessing health risks
• Challenges keeping indoor temperatures at the recommended 18°C leading to more risk to vulnerable people
• Staffing issues due to external factors (such as travel delays)
• Other sectors starting to observe impacts (such as transport and energy)

The Met Office may issue National Severe Weather Warnings (for example, snow and ice) with short notice, so you can take appropriate action.

Check the Met Office Website to see the National Severe Weather Warnings currently in place.

You can also find information of the latest weather forecast on the Met Office website.