UK heat and cold health alerts today
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) weather-health alert in force for each of the nine regions of England: Heat-Health Alerts in summer and Cold-Health Alerts in winter, each Green, Yellow, Amber or Red, with the period it covers. England only: Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are not covered by UKHSA's alerts.
These are UKHSA's alerts, not ours. This page shows them as UKHSA publishes them and links to the source; check the UKHSA data dashboard before acting on them. For the weather itself (rain, wind, snow, ice, heat), see Met Office weather warnings by region.
Is there a health alert for cold or heat today?
No Cold-Health Alert is in force in any English region. It is outside the cold-health season (1 November to 31 March); UKHSA issues alerts outside it only if exceptional weather is forecast.
No Heat-Health Alert is in force in any English region. It is outside the heat-health season (1 June to 30 September); UKHSA issues alerts outside it only if exceptional weather is forecast.
Cold-Health Alerts (CHA) by region
Core cold season: 1 November to 31 March — outside the season now; UKHSA issues cold alerts outside it only if exceptional weather is forecast. UKHSA's latest update: 20 Feb 2026, 18:00 GMT (18:00 UTC). Its latest assessment covered 18:00 Tue 17 Feb 2026 to 18:00 Fri 20 Feb 2026 UK time.
| Region of England | Alert level | Period (UK time) |
|---|---|---|
| North East | Green (1 of 4) no alert | — |
| North West | Green (1 of 4) no alert | — |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | Green (1 of 4) no alert | — |
| East Midlands | Green (1 of 4) no alert | — |
| West Midlands | Green (1 of 4) no alert | — |
| East of England | Green (1 of 4) no alert | — |
| London | Green (1 of 4) no alert | — |
| South East | Green (1 of 4) no alert | — |
| South West | Green (1 of 4) no alert | — |
Heat-Health Alerts (HHA) by region
Core heat season: 1 June to 30 September — outside the season now; UKHSA issues heat alerts outside it only if exceptional weather is forecast. UKHSA's latest update: 18 Aug 2026, 09:00 BST (08:00 UTC). Its latest assessment covered 10:00 Sat 15 Aug 2026 to 09:00 Tue 18 Aug 2026 UK time.
| Region of England | Alert level | Period (UK time) |
|---|---|---|
| North East | Green (1 of 4) no alert | — |
| North West | Green (1 of 4) no alert | — |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | Green (1 of 4) no alert | — |
| East Midlands | Green (1 of 4) no alert | — |
| West Midlands | Green (1 of 4) no alert | — |
| East of England | Green (1 of 4) no alert | — |
| London | Green (1 of 4) no alert | — |
| South East | Green (1 of 4) no alert | — |
| South West | Green (1 of 4) no alert | — |
What each alert level means
- Green (1 of 4) (preparedness)
No alert is issued: conditions are likely to have minimal impact on health. Business as usual, with summer or winter planning and preparedness. - Yellow (2 of 4) (response)
Weather that would be unlikely to affect most people, but those who are particularly vulnerable, such as older people with several health conditions, are likely to struggle to cope. Also used when forecast confidence is low but the worst case could be more serious. - Amber (3 of 4) (enhanced response)
Impacts are likely to be felt across the whole health service, with potential for the whole population to be at risk; other sectors may start to see impacts and a coordinated response is required. - Red (4 of 4) (emergency response)
Significant risk to life for even the healthy population.
Definitions: UKHSA, Weather-Health Alerting System user guide (version 2.2, April 2025). The same four levels are used for heat and for cold.
This is not the Cold Weather Payment
UKHSA's cold-health alerts are about the effect of cold weather on health. The Cold Weather Payment is a separate payment from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). GOV.UK says it is paid when the average temperature in an area is recorded as, or forecast to be, 0 °C or below over 7 consecutive days, measured at the weather station linked to each postcode, between 1 November and 31 March. It is paid automatically to people who get certain benefits, and it is not paid in Scotland. A cold-health alert does not trigger it.
This site does not say who is eligible or whether a payment is due. Check the official pages: Cold Weather Payment · postcode checker (DWP) · Northern Ireland checker (nidirect).
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
UKHSA's weather-health alerts cover England only, because public health is devolved. There is no equivalent colour-coded health alert from UKHSA for Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. The Met Office's weather warnings cover the whole UK: see UK weather warnings by region.
Get the alerts yourself
UKHSA emails its alerts to anyone who registers: see Weather-Health Alerting System on GOV.UK. Advice on staying safe: heatwave safety · cold weather safety.
Questions
Is there a cold or heat health alert today?
No Cold-Health Alert is in force in any English region. It is outside the cold-health season (1 November to 31 March); UKHSA issues alerts outside it only if exceptional weather is forecast. No Heat-Health Alert is in force in any English region. It is outside the heat-health season (1 June to 30 September); UKHSA issues alerts outside it only if exceptional weather is forecast. This page reads the UK Health Security Agency's alerts every 30 minutes; UKHSA's own dashboard is the authority.
What do green, yellow, amber and red health alerts mean?
They are UKHSA's levels. Green means no alert: conditions are likely to have minimal impact on health. Yellow means most people are unlikely to be affected but particularly vulnerable people are likely to struggle. Amber means impacts are likely across the whole health service, with potential for the whole population to be at risk. Red means significant risk to life even for healthy people.
When are heat-health and cold-health alerts issued?
UKHSA's core alerting season is 1 June to 30 September for heat and 1 November to 31 March for cold. Outside those dates it issues an alert only if exceptional heat or cold is forecast. Alerts are issued with the Met Office for each English region.
Is a cold-health alert the same as a Cold Weather Payment?
No. A cold-health alert is UKHSA's warning about the effect of cold weather on health. The Cold Weather Payment is a separate DWP payment for people who get certain benefits; GOV.UK says it is triggered when the average temperature at the weather station linked to a postcode is recorded or forecast at 0 °C or below over 7 consecutive days, between 1 November and 31 March. An alert does not trigger a payment. This site does not judge eligibility: GOV.UK has the rules and a postcode checker.
Do UKHSA health alerts cover Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland?
No. Weather-health alerting is devolved, so UKHSA's alerts cover the nine regions of England only. Met Office weather warnings, which are about the weather itself rather than its health impact, cover the whole UK.
UK weather warnings by region · Flood warnings in England · United Kingdom disasters
Weather-health alerts from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: UKHSA data dashboard.