UK’s first cold-health alert of winter covers West Midlands and North West from 12 to 14 November

The season’s first cold-health alert in England will cover the West Midlands and the North West, the regions that take in Birmingham, Coventry, Wolverhampton, Manchester and Liverpool. Britain’s health security agency, UKHSA, issued the yellow alert on Tuesday, 10 November. It is in force from 9 am on Thursday, 12 November to noon on Saturday, 14 November. The rest of England is not under any alert for now.

A yellow alert is the lowest step in the weather-health system that UKHSA runs with the Met Office. It is meant for spells of cold that most people will cope with but that can hurt the vulnerable: people of 65 or older, anyone living with heart or lung disease, and those sleeping rough. Health and care services use it to prepare for extra demand.

Dr Anya Gopfert, a public health consultant at UKHSA, said more alerts were likely as the season goes on, and asked people to check on older friends, relatives and neighbours.

What the NHS asks households to do

NHS guidance says rooms used every day, such as the living room and bedroom, should be heated to at least 18°C where possible, with bedroom windows shut at night. Older relatives should keep a few days of food and their prescription medicines at home before cold spells, and choose firm-soled footwear on icy pavements.

A free flu jab on the NHS is open to anyone who is 65, or reaches that age by 31 March 2027, and to adults with long-term conditions such as diabetes, asthma, heart or kidney disease. It can be booked through a GP surgery, the NHS App or a walk-in pharmacy until 31 March 2027. The COVID-19 jab for winter is offered to people of 75 or more and people with weakened immunity, with 31 January 2027 as the last date.

For urgent advice, the NHS points people to 111, or 999 in an emergency. Age UK’s helpline, 0800 678 1602, is open from 8 am to 7 pm every day for anyone worried about an older person. The alert ends at noon on Saturday, 14 November, unless UKHSA extends it.