UK on cold weather health alert as temperatures tumble

Fears that below-freezing temperatures could threaten vulnerable groups
Steven Morris
guardian.co.uk, Monday 29 December 2008 16.15 GMT

Britain prepares for freezing temperatures over the weekend Photograph: David Jones/PA
A "red alert" was triggered by the Met Office and the Department of Health today amid fears that plunging temperatures could threaten older people, families with young children and the long-term ill and the disabled.
Temperatures as low as -13C (9F) have been recorded in the Scottish Highlands, but even in towns and cities across the UK daytime temperatures could plunge to -5C this week.
The freezing weather, and perhaps flurries of snow, is expected to last all week, and possibly into the middle of January, piling pressure on doctors' surgeries, hospitals and social services departments.
A pilot cold weather health warning scheme is being run in north-west England by the Met Office and the Department of Health. The department said its "red alert" this morning meant the unusually cold weather posed a "significant risk to people's health".
The alert will be picked up by doctors' surgeries in the region, giving them time to make preparations to treat patients with illnesses made worse by the cold snap. Local television and radio stations will also broadcast weather warnings.
A spokesman for the scheme said: "There are more than 25,000 excess deaths each winter in this country, many of which are preventable. Actions taken during the period of cold weather can greatly benefit vulnerable groups and help reduce the impact of cold weather on people's health and well-being."
Though the scheme is being tested only in the north-west, the Met Office said people across the UK should make sure vulnerable people were keeping warm this winter.
Police and health professionals are also preparing for the impact freezing conditions could have on New Year's Eve revellers. In London temperatures are likely to tumble to 0C on Wednesday , and in Edinburgh to about -1C.
The AA has advised people travelling over the next few days to pack warm clothing, blankets, food supplies, torch and a first-aid kit. It also suggests drivers check their car battery: flat batteries are the most common cause for AA callouts.
The cold spell is being caused by an area of high pressure over Scandinavia. By the end of the week another high pressure system, off north-west Britain, will take over, bringing snow showers to northern Scotland and east England. In the past few days the coldest conditions have been in Scotland: in Aviemore today it dipped to -10.6C today.
Just how low the temperature goes depends on whether the cloud breaks and freezing fog sets in. Helen Chivers, spokeswoman for the Met Office, said it was "quite possible" the onset of freezing fog could push temperatures in the Midlands down to -5C.
She also predicted a "fair share of sunshine" but said the cold spell was likely to last until mid-January and there was an increased chance of snow."
William Hill has slashed the odds of a record coldest temperature in England being recorded this winter from 33-1 to 20-1. The bookmaker is also offering 100-1 that the Thames will freeze over this winter.