Cold health alert as parts of UK set to freeze on Christmas Day
Forecasters shattered expectations of a white Christmas, so a cold health warning and weather warnings have been issued for areas of the UK on Christmas Day. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) released the yellow warning for south-west England from 18:00 on December 25th to midday on December 27th. Wind covers south-west England, Somerset, and a large swath of Wales, extending from Cardiff and Swansea to Bangor. Early Thursday, a 68mph (109 km/h) Gust reached 68 miles per hour (109 kph Some Christmas and Boxing Day swims in Devon and Cornwall had to cancel activities due to the event's coordinators.
The Met Office has issued warnings for 18 of Wales' 22 council areas in total. According to BBC Weather's Matt Taylor, temperatures in south-west England were between 1C and 4C (34F and 39F) for the majority, but the wind chill kept it
highly unlikelyfeeling below freezing. Winds around coasts and on moors have exceeded 40 mph at times, with 43mph at Plymouth and 49mph on lands. Oli Claydon, the Met Office's spokeswoman, said it was
that the UK would get a white Christmas.We've got a very dry picture across the United Kingdom over the next few days," he said. Although not an official part of the United Kingdom, Jersey's crown dependency suffered snow on Thursday morning. It was only the third time since records began that snow was recorded on the island on Christmas Day and the first time since 1970, according to the Jersey Met Section.
Low temperatures are expected to have minor effects on health and social care services, including
and aincreased use of healthcare services by elderly people
greater risk to life of vulnerable individuals,according to UKHSA. The Met Office forecast that east-to-norly winds would be particularly strong and gusty on Christmas Day. Gusts are forecast to reach their peak at 45-55 miles per hour, with 55-65 mph expected along some exposed coasts and the west of prominent hills.
the company said, adding that "large waves would pose an additional danger to some coasts.Given the more pronounced wind direction, this may result in some disruption to transportation and electricity availability,
In north-east England, the best temperatures on Christmas Day were predicted to be around 7C (45F) and 6C in south or south-east Anglia. On Christmas Day into Boxing Day, the Met Office said frost and freezing temperatures were likely in western rural areas overnight, with -6C possible in rural areas of Scotland and -4C in rural Wales.
The event's organizers of the Coverack swim in Cornwall said the weather forecaster was too risky
for the event to proceed, and postponed the event until New Year's Day. Start Bay Inn, Devon, said it was very sad
to learn that its Boxing Day swim had been cancelled, although RNLI Teignmouth made the same decision, insisting "safety considerations must come first.
