FREEZING temperatures and icy conditions caused by this week’s heavy snow bomb have prompted public health chiefs to warn the elderly and vulnerable to keep homes warm and ensure they have the flu jab.
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| The elderly have been urged to stay warm during the cold snap |
Winter is biting after an unseasonably warm December - with large parts of the UK facing blasts of heavy snow, ice and frost.
The warning comes in a bid to avoid another spike in deaths as winter fatalities jumped by an incredible 151 per cent last year. There were an estimated 43,900 excess deaths in England and Wales between December 2014 and March 2015 with less-than-effective flu jab and cold weather were said to be major factors.
The mercury is set to drop as low as -15C tomorrow with the Met Office issuing yellow warnings for ice for Northern Ireland, Scotland and parts of north Wales and north-west England as temperatures plunge, as an newsnewsblog.blogspot.com story revealed a snowbomb is set to hit this week.
Many experienced a widespread frost this morning, with temperatures reaching as low as -5C in parts of Scotland overnight, according to MeteoGroup.
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| The temperature is set to plunge this week |
Thanks to this sharp drop in temperatures, officials have urged families to help protect their relatives from the cold snap.
Public Health England's Dr Angie Bone said: "Over the past few weeks we've had some very disruptive weather, but temperatures have been quite mild - now the weather will be colder over much of the country, which will be a significant change.
"It's so important to remember that cold does kill, even in places where the temperatures aren't at their lowest. Most of our advice at PHE on keeping warm in cold weather may seem like common sense but people should think about how the cold weather can affect them."
She added people - particularly the elderly and those with illnesses - should heat their homes to at least 18C, drink hot drinks and if eligible, get the flu vaccination.
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| Families are also urged to keep an eye on vulnerable close ones |
Charity Independent Age is offering free advice to elderly people and their families to beat the chill.
Lucy Harmer, director of services at Independent Age, said: "Winter can be a testing time for many elderly people if they don't have enough social, financial or emotional support in place. We would urge older people, their families and carers to take extra care during the cold snap.
"The Government, councils and individuals all need to take more responsibility for ensuring older people are getting the support they need in winter."
The cold front is set to remain into the weekend, with Scotland and northern England bearing the brunt of the wintry weather.
Netweather charts show lows of -15C in the north on Wednesday night with thermometers dropping to freezing and below elsewhere.
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| Icy roads like this could be a common sight this week |
Leon Brown, forecaster for The Weather Channel UK, said: “Wednesday morning will start bright and icy with temperatures near 0C over central and southern areas and as low as -6C (21F) in Scotland.
“Showery rain, sleet and hill snow will spread from the west through Wednesday and Wednesday night.
“On Friday a there will be a widespread early frost and it will be icy with temperatures dipping to -7C (19F) northern England, -9C (16F) central Scotland and around -1C (30F) central England.”
John Lee, a forecaster at MeteoGroup, added: "Over the next few days temperatures are unlikely to get much higher than 5C or 6C pretty much anywhere and we are likely to see more widespread frost."
The bitterly cold snap is in sharp contrast to December, which was both the wettest and warmest December on record with temperatures averaging an unseasonably mild 7.9C (46.2F).
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