Older people and those with health problems are being warned to stay indoors as temperatures fall suddenly across Nottinghamshire.
Thursday night saw temperatures dip as low as -6 Celsius in parts of the county, 12 degrees below the average so far for what has been an unseasonably warm December.
The sudden fall prompted health officials to ask people to look out for older friends and relatives, or those with long-term conditions.
Both are more vulnerable to the affects of cold weather – figures show that in Nottinghamshire in 2014/15, there were 810 more deaths in the winter months.
Interim Public Health Director for Nottinghamshire, Barbara Brady, said: “Deaths rise during cold weather and cold homes are a factor in this by increasing the chances of causing or worsening conditions such as heart attacks, stroke and pneumonia.”
The authority also said conditions are bad enough to warrant advising people to stay indoors if they are over 65 or in poor health.
Thick fog and ice covered the county on Friday morning, and although temperatures will rise on Saturday, they are expected to dip to freezing again on Sunday and to as low as -2 Celsius on Monday.
Joyce Bosnjak, Nottinghamshire County Council’s Health and Wellbeing Board Chairman said: “As the temperatures are set to drop over the coming days it is really important to look after your health and stay warm.
“There are simple things that we can all do though to keep our homes warmer, like ensuring our heating is working efficiently, or making sure we have hot meals and drinks.
“It’s also very important that we look out for the vulnerable people in our communities, especially when a cold snap hits, checking that elderly neighbours or friends are warm and have enough food can make a huge difference.”
Nottinghamshire County Council issues official advice on keeping warm in winter, including eating at least one warm meal a day and using room thermometers.
The warning comes at a time when health services are experiencing a traditional annual spike in demand on services.
Nottingham’s Queens Medical Centre and City Hospital have both issued two ‘black alerts’ already this winter because of ‘unprecedented’ pressure on services.
