Cold health alert issued as temperatures fall across the UK

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has issued a yellow cold health alert for most of England, as north-westerly winds have brought a drop in temperature for many parts the country.

The alert comes ahead of the Met Office's yellow warnings for snow and rain in parts of England and Wales, which will come into effect on Wednesday.

During Monday night temperatures dipped as low as -7.2C (19F) in the Highlands and Tuesday night could bring similar figures across parts of eastern Scotland.

Although earlier warnings for snow and ice expired on Tuesday morning, the Met Office warned commuters to remain vigilant due to the risk of black ice and slippery conditions.

The UKHSA's yellow cold health alert covers all of England except London and the South East. The alert will be in place from 18:00 on Tuesday until 18:00 on Friday.

The agency warns that the weather is likely to have "minor impacts on health and social care services, including increased use of healthcare services and a greater risk to life of vulnerable people".

A yellow weather warning for snow across most of Wales and parts of western England will come into effect at 16:00 on Wednesday and will be in place until 06:00 on Thursday.

A separate yellow warning for rain will be in place for much of the south of England from 06:00 on Wednesday until Thursday at 08:00.

Tuesday has been a mostly dry with some spells of sunshine. But with temperatures only reaching 3C to 7C and a brisk north-westerly wind, it felt colder - particularly in eastern areas where wind the chill made it feel close to freezing.

Temperatures are set to fall close to freezing for most of the UK on Wednesday morning.

In parts of northern and north-east Scotland, temperatures could fall to -8C. Icy stretches are likely.

Weather conditions will become more unsettled again on Wednesday with a band of rain pushing in from the south and west. This could bring a mix of rain, sleet and hill snow, according to the Met Office. The forecaster said the system is being monitored closely with the potential for further snow warnings.

Later in the week, conditions are expected to turn milder, and although further showers are forecast, drier spells in between are also expected.

Meanwhile, 65 flood warnings and 178 flood alerts have been issued by the Environment Agency across England on Tuesday - concentrated in the south and the Midlands - following a long spell of wet weather.

Two flood alerts were in place in Wales on Tuesday for the lower Severn catchment in Powys, and south Pembrokeshire.

Jonathan Day, flood duty manager at the Environment Agency, said more than 24,000 homes and businesses have been protected but about 330 flooded.

With further heavy rain forecast for southern England and South Wales on Wednesday, and the ground already saturated, more flood warnings or alerts could be issued.

An hour-by-hour forecast is available on the BBC Weather website and app.