A level 3 alert highlighting the risk of cold and wintry weather is in force across England. Make sure you are ready to cope with the cold .



To keep warm and well during periods of cold weather:

• Keep curtains drawn and doors closed to block out draughts.
• Have regular hot drinks and at least one hot meal a day if possible. Eating regularly helps keep energy levels up during winter.
• Wear several light layers of warm clothes (rather than one chunky layer).
• Keep as active as possible.
• Wrap up warm if you need to go outside on cold days.

Keep your main living room at around 18-21°C (64-70°F), and the rest of the house at least 16°C (61°F). If you can’t heat all the rooms you use, heat the living room during the day and the bedroom just before you go to sleep.


The Department of Health's Cold Weather Plan gives more information on how cold weather affects health and gives advice on what to do in cold weather emergencies.

Icy conditions
Icy pavements and roads can be very slippery. Take extra care if you go out and wear boots or shoes with good grip on the soles. The Met Office advises putting grit or cat litter on paths and driveways to lessen the risk of slipping. It adds that you should wait until the roads have been gritted if you're travelling by car. The Highways Agency offers useful advice on travelling in snow and freezing conditions.

Bear in mind that black ice on pavements or roads might not be clearly visible, and that compacted snow may turn to ice and become slippery.

Weather warnings
The Met Office provide the weather forecasts for broadcasts on radio and TV, so listen in to these bulletins regularly to keep up to date with the weather. Severe weather warnings are also issued on the Met Office website www.metoffice.gov.uk, or you can ring the customer centre on 0870 900 0100.

Look out for others
Check up on friends, relatives and neighbours who may be more vulnerable to cold weather. Cold weather is especially dangerous for older people or people with serious illnesses, so check up on them if you can. Read how to spot and treat hypothermia. (Courtesy NHS Choices website)

People with heart or respiratory (breathing) problems may have worse symptoms during a cold spell and for several days after temperatures return to normal.

You can find more information and advice on staying healthy in periods of cold weather in Winter health on the NHS Choices website.

Wait 'till the roads are gritted?? That would be about April then !
TELL THE USELESS COUNCIL !

• The Winter Fuel Allowance is currently £250 for pensioner households under the age of 80, and £400 for the over 80s. However, the Coalition government has decided to cut the allowance in 2011 (Oct/Nov) by £50 and £100 respectively.
• When the Winter Fuel Allowance was first introduced it covered a third of the average energy bill. Today, it covers just a fifth.
• Almost one in three older people live in homes with inadequate heating or insulation making their homes more difficult to heat and/or keep warm. This is around 3.5m people.
• There were 25,400 excess winter deaths of older people last year – made up of 10,600 males and 14,800 females. The bulk of these cold related deaths affected those aged 75 and over – totalling 20,600 (81% of the total). The overall figure represents a death rate of 9 pensioners an hour during the 4 month period in question.
• Since 1997, 300,000 more pensioners have died during the winter months than at other times of the year.
• Fuel poverty is described as spending 10% or more of your total income on energy bills.
• Around 3m pensioner households are currently classified as living in fuel poverty (spending more than 10% of their income on fuel), with 1 in 4 people aged over 70.
• Every time there is a 1% increase in energy bills, a further 40,000 older people fall into fuel poverty.
• Average annual energy bills now exceed £1,200. This absorbs 15% of the income of a single pensioner dependent on the pension credit minimum guarantee (£132.50 a week) and the Winter Fuel Allowance.
• Discounts on energy bills can be given to those paying by direct debit, but up to 1m older people are without any kind of bank/building society account that would allow them to do that.
• Pre-payment meters and social tariffs can often be more expensive ways of paying energy bills, than customers believe.
• The NPC is calling for the winter fuel allowance to be raised to £500 and paid now to all pensioner households (regardless of age), an end to pre-payment meters and regulated social tariffs to give proper discounts to older customers.

Well laid out case, but please remember a lot of younger people struggle as well.

Originally Posted by local

Well laid out case, but please remember a lot of younger people struggle as well.

That is a very good point. But most younger people won't die due to the cold.

Sad to see homeless young people on the streets, UK should follow example set by many European cities e.g. by allowing them access to main railway stations - heated - 24 hrs a day.
Spare these people a thought.

Originally Posted by jet

That is a very good point. But most younger people won't die due to the cold.