NHS England issues Level 1 cold weather alert for winter preparedness and action

NHS England issued a Level 1 cold weather alert, headed "winter preparedness and action", at 8.03am on Tuesday 1 November 2022¹. The alert covers England and states that temperatures and weather conditions are not expected to exceed cold weather alert threshold criteria in any region from 9am on 1 November 2022 until further notice¹.

The Level 1 status is the lowest of the cold weather alert levels and indicates winter preparedness rather than an active cold spell. The announcement gives no end date, saying only that the position applies "until further notice"¹. NHS England directs readers to the Met Office website for more details about the weather alert, and to its own staying well this winter pages¹. The page carrying the alert was published on 1 November 2022 and last updated on 4 November 2022¹.

The alert page does not set out region-by-region detail, threshold figures or a forecast of when conditions might change; it refers readers to the Met Office for those¹. No further specifics on the criteria themselves have been reported in the alert text.

Why it matters for households

The alert signals the start of the winter cold weather alerting period for England, when NHS England and the Met Office monitor temperatures against set thresholds. At Level 1, no region is forecast to meet those thresholds, so the alert is a preparedness notice rather than a warning of imminent severe cold¹. Households in England are affected for as long as the alert remains in place, which the announcement leaves open¹. The practical effect is that the cold weather alert system is now active for the season, and further alerts at higher levels would follow if conditions were expected to meet the thresholds. NHS England points readers to its staying well this winter guidance and to the Met Office for the weather detail behind the alert¹. The Yellow, Amber and Red Cold-Health Alerts: What They Mean guide explains how the alert levels differ, and Where to Get Official Warnings and News in an Emergency sets out where official warnings are published.

What happens next

The alert remains in force until further notice, with no date given for review or expiry¹. Any change of level, or a regional breakdown of expected conditions, would be published through the same NHS England and Met Office channels¹.