SEVERE cold weather has sparked a warning as freezing temperatures are set to strike the UK.
The Met Office has forecast low temperatures for many parts of England until 9am on Thursday.
The North East, Yorkshire and the Humber, the East Midlands, as well as East and South East England are likely to see “severe cold weather conditions”, Public Health England said.
A yellow weather warning for freezing fog is in place until 2am on Wednesday for areas including Norfolk, Essex, Suffolk, Kent and Medway.
Dr Ishani Kar-Purkayastha, consultant in public health at PHE, said people should try to heat their homes to at least 18C, particularly those with reduced mobility, are 65 and over, or have a health condition.
She said: “Keep moving too if you can. Get up and walk around and spread housework throughout the day to help keep yourself warm. Food is also a vital source of energy so have plenty of hot food and drinks.
“Remember to check up on frail or older neighbours and relatives at this time, particularly if they live alone, and remember to follow Covid-19 social distancing guidance when looking out for others.”
Follow our weather live blog for all the latest news and updates…
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FORECAST FOR TONIGHT
Eastern areas will have some clear spells this evening with chills for a time, the UK’s Meteogroup has said.
Cloud and some rain will move from the west into the east through the night, with the heaviest of the rain likely across south-western parts of the UK.
Those in north-east Scotland should brace themselves for a cold and frosty night ahead, forecasters
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FLOOD WARNINGS IN SCOTLAND
There are two flood warnings in place across Scotland today, along with three flood alerts, according to the Scottish Environment Protection Agency.
Flood warnings have been issued for Spey Viaduct to Spey Bay and Boat O’Brig to Spey Viaduct, meaning flooding is likely in these parts.
Flood alerts have been issued across Aberdeenshire and Aberdeen City, Easter Ross and Great Glen and Findhorn Nairn Moray and Speyside, meaning flooding is possible.
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TODAY’S OUTLOOK
It’s set to be a cloudy and murky day for those in the east today with light rain and drizzle to start.
Some brighter and sunnier spells will move eastwards for a time before thicker cloud and rain hits those in the west.
The Met Office map below shows the worst of the thick cloud at 9am this morning.
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HIGHS OF 8C TODAY
Temperatures in the UK will reach highs of only 8C during the day.
A Met Office map 3pm today shows temperatures reaching 8C in Cornwall, west Wales, and the Outer Hebrides.
They will remain around 6C and 7C in much of the rest of the country.
They will also fall as low as 5C in Newcastle-upon-Tyne and 3C in central Scotland.
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SIX FLOOD ALERTS ACROSS ENGLAND
Six floods alerts are currently in place across England.
It comes after persistent rainfall over the weekend and with rains expected in parts, particularly in the east and southwest.
The environment agency said flooding is possible on the River Ouse near Thetford, the River Thames near Purfleet, and on the River Avon near Bradford-on-Avon.
Alerts are also in place around the River Soar near Loughborough, the River Bollin near Knutsford and Macclesfield, and the River Alt near Fornby.
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WEDNESDAY ‘CLOUDY FOR MOST WITH SOME RAIN’
Conditions across the UK are set to be cloudy for most with rain in parts.
This morning’s forecast from the Met Office says today will be “cloudy and murky” with some drizzle and rain that will be “mostly light”.
It adds there will be “some brighter or even sunnier spells moving eastwards for a time but thicker cloud with rain arriving in the west during the day.”
Temperatures will remain “rather cold”.
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NORTH EAST FORECAST FROM THE MET OFFICE
Wednesday:
Cloudy for much of the day, but patchy rain should slowly clear away to the east. Some bright or sunny spells in the west later but still feeling cold. Maximum temperature 6 °C.
Outlook for Thursday to Saturday:
Mostly cloudy on Thursday with a few showers. Cloudy and breezy on Friday with rain clearing slowly east. Some early fog possible on Saturday, then further rain or showers likely.
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NORTH WEST WEATHER FORECAST – MET OFFICE
Wednesday:
Any remnants of rain will clear through the morning, with the day becoming dry and bright. Cloud building from the west later, followed by showers overnight. Light winds throughout. Maximum temperature 6C.
Outlook for Thursday to Saturday:
Rather cloudy with brisk winds and patchy rain Thursday, widespread rain moving in later. Further unsettled weather Friday and Saturday, with possible coastal gales on Friday.
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MET OFFICE LONDON AND SOUTH EAST ENGLAND WEATHER FORECAST
Wednesday:
Any light rain in the east dying out in the morning, otherwise a generally dry day with some sunny spells developing, although cloud thickening again in the west by evening. Maximum temperature 8 °C.
Outlook for Thursday to Saturday:
Some rain likely at first Thursday, then bright spells and perhaps the odd shower. More general rain clearing to scattered showers on Friday, and a few showers again on Saturday.
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MET OFFICE WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR THURSDAY
Outbreaks of rain gradually moving from the west on Thursday.
Often cloudy on Friday and Saturday with further areas of rain and showers throughout. Breezy on coasts at times. Mild.
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CORAL SURVIVAL
Some corals can recover from bleaching even in long heatwaves as long as humans don’t interfere, scientists said Tuesday, raising hopes for the endangered underwater ecosystems essential to much marine life.
Researchers tracked corals of the Kiritimati atoll in the Pacific Ocean through the longest tropical heatwave on record, expecting the reefs to suffer mass bleaching.
But despite sitting in a “hot water bath” for 10 months due to a particularly strong 2015/2016 El Nino, the studied corals survived.
“We were blown away… to find that not only were all the corals not dead! But some of them didn’t even look to be in bad shape or bleached,” said Julia Baum, co-author of the study published in Nature Communications.
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DANGEROUS CRASH
At least eleven vehicles including a lorry were involved in a huge pile-up on the M25 this morning as freezing fog caused chaos across Britain.
With police begging drivers to slow down in the reduced visibility, vehicles slammed into each other on the clockwise carriageway.
Traffic cops had to close the stretch just past junction 16, the interchange with the M40 in Buckinghamshire.
Twelve people – all men – were injured in the accident, with one having to be cut free from the wreckage.
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AVALANCHE WARNINGS
An avalanche killed one skier in Switzerland and Austrian authorities issued avalanche warnings Tuesday for the country’s mountainous east after days of heavy snow pummeled the region.
In hard-hit East Tyrol and other parts in the Austrian Alps, several roads were still closed in Tyrol and some valleys were cut off from the rest of the country.
Electricity provider Tinetz said 4,000 homes lost power after several electrical lines were snapped by snow or fallen trees, public broadcaster ORF reported.
Neighbouring Switzerland and northern Italy saw massive snowfall over the weekend and snow also hit parts of Germany and Spain as well.
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VENICE DOWNPOURS
Venice was under water today as heavy rain and strong winds pushed into the lagoon city, catching the authorities off guard before they could activate the huge flood barriers that were rolled out just two months ago.
The system of 78 flood gates, known as Mose, guard the entrance to the Venetian lagoon and are designed to protect the city from tides of up to 3 metres (10 ft). However, they require 48-hours notice to be activated.
Weather bulletins in past days had forecast rainfall pushing sea levels up to 120 centimetres, below the 130 cm threshold at which the flood barriers are operated.
Luigi Brugnaro, the city’s mayor, said on Twitter that the weather had suddenly worsened and water had reached a 145 cm peak as strong sirocco winds blew in from Croatia and two rivers flooded near the sea around Venice.
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RUSSIAN WILDFIRES
This year’s vast wildfires in far northeastern Russia were linked to broader changes in a warming Arctic, according to a report Tuesday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Wildfires are a natural part of many boreal ecosystems. But the extent of flames during the 2020 fire season was unprecedented in the 2001-2020 satellite record, and is consistent with the predicted effects of climate change, said Alison York, a University of Alaska Fairbanks fire scientist and a contributor to the annual Arctic Report Card.
The recent wildfires were exacerbated by elevated air temperatures and decreased snow cover on the ground in the Arctic region, the report found.
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‘SEVERE COLD’
Public Health England (PHE) has warned of “severe” cold weather across the country in the coming days.
The Met Office has forecast low temperatures for many parts of England until 9am on Thursday, PHE said in a cold weather alert on Tuesday.
The north-east, Yorkshire and the Humber, the East Midlands, as well as east and south-east England are likely to see “severe cold weather conditions”, PHE said.
A yellow weather warning for freezing fog is in place until 2am on Wednesday for areas including Norfolk, Essex, Suffolk, Kent and Medway.
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HOT ARCTIC
The North Pole is heating up twice as fast as the rest of the planet, environmental scientists said today.
The year 2020 did not beat the record set in 2012, but it got close.
The sea ice floating the Arctic ocean melts in summer and freezes again in winter. The problem is each year it is melting a bit more in the warm weather and refreezing a bit less.
Scientists now get reliable data as satellites have been photographing and measuring the Arctic non-stop since 1979.
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TUESDAY-WEDNESDAY FORECAST
Today: Today a few early showers will be clearing eastwards, but otherwise a largely dry day is expected, though with a lot of cloud. Western areas will see cloud and rain pushing in later on in the dat. Winds mainly light for most places, but will tend to freshen across some western areas later on.
Tonight: Eastern areas will have some clear spells in the evening, and it will be chilly for time. However, cloud and occasional rain in western parts will move eastwards through the night, with the heaviest of the rain likely across south-western parts of the UK. Cold in north-east Scotland with a frost.
UK Outlook: A lot of cloud tomorrow, with some patchy rain across parts of the north and north-west. Further south and east, mainly dry but rather misty. On Friday, another area of rain will move in from the west but this will also become rather fragmented as it moves eastwards, heaviest in the south-west.
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HEAVY RAIN IN LIVERPOOL
Vehicles drove through floodwater this afternoon following heavy rain in Liverpool.
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RETURN OF THE FOG
Foggy patches will redevelop and thicken in some parts of southern England this evening, the Met Office has said.
It’s set to be much cloudier up north later today, with showers and longer spells of rain, according to the forecaster.
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FROSTY WALKS
Locals enjoyed a frosty walk with their dogs in Abington Park, Northampton, today.
Temperatures in Northampton were around 4C at 3pm, with the mercury set to drop to 3C in the region this evening.
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FORECAST FOR TONIGHT
Brits can expect some freezing fog in east and southeast England tonight, which should clear after midnight as cloud and showery rain across central and northern areas move eastwards.
Southern England will be drier, and some western areas will see some patchy frost later.
Tomorrow, the cloud and showery rain should disappear from many eastern areas, but it will be slow to clear in eastern Scotland.
It will be wet in Northern Ireland, parts of Wales and southwest England, but hopefully brighter in between the damp weather.
Looking ahead to the weekend, temperatures will be milder on Friday and Saturday, but there will be cloud and rain.
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SUNNIER DAYS AHEAD
The weather will vary across the UK this afternoon, as shown in the graphic below.
The Met Office says clear skies will bring a sunnier day on Wednesday.
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CHILLY START
Swimmers braced the chill today as they enjoyed a dip in the Serpentine Lake in Hyde Park.
It comes amid bets that December could be the coldest on record, as temperatures plunge towards -10C.
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OUTLOOK FOR THIS AFTERNOON
Northern and western areas will get the wettest weather this afternoon with heavy and frequent showers in places.
The weather will stay dryer further south with lingering fog in patches.
The Met Office map below shows the forecast for 2pm today.
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