The yellow cold health alert is in effect from 12pm on Monday 17 November 2025 until 8am on Saturday 22 November 2025 across London.

Exposure to adverse cold weather can affect children and young people in a number of ways. Among other health problems, it can increase the risks of:

• respiratory infections
• skin conditions, such as eczema
• mental health problems

Children aged 5 years and under are particularly vulnerable to the effects of adverse cold weather.

There are several actions which schools should be undertaking to protect staff and pupils. These can be found at the following webpage. 

Further guidance can be found here.

If school staff have any questions about the actions they should be taking to protect staff and students, please email Public.Health@walthamforest.gov.uk.

Guidance on how to take action on "Winter Readiness" can be found here.