The alert from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) runs from 6am on Friday until 8am on Monday, covering the South West, the Midlands, the North East, the North West and Yorkshire and The Humber.
The agency - which generally only issues warnings for England - said the cold weather was likely to pose "a greater risk to life of vulnerable people" and increased use of healthcare services.
Check the weather forecast in your area
The alert came as the Met Office issued a yellow warning for snow that could bring disruption to parts of Wales and central England on Wednesday and Thursday.
A yellow warning for rain is in place for southern England on Wednesday and Thursday, with forecasters warning of risks of flooding and travel disruption.
Sky's science correspondent Thomas Moore also reported that the UK is at risk of more flooding for months to come, as so much rain has fallen since the start of 2026.
Figures from the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (UKCEH) hold that rivers in the south and southwest of England reached exceptionally high levels in January, with some breaking records.
In some areas where rainfall has been heaviest, the soil is so saturated that water is rising through the ground, which can lead to sudden floods.
The Environment Agency (EA) has also warned of a significant risk of so-called groundwater flooding that could persist for months.
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The jobless rate ticked up to 5.2% in December, the highest since the three months up to January 2021, data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed.
The figure had stood at 4.1% when Labour took office in 2024, promising economic growth.
More out-of-work people are now actively looking for a job, while the number of unemployed people per job vacancy is at a new post-pandemic high, the ONS said. Though there's been little change in the number of job openings over the last few months.
Redundancies are also increasing, according to the ONS data.
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Not everyone has the same unemployment rate; those aged 18 to 24 saw their unemployment increase to 14% from 13.7%.
The ONS, however, has continued to advise caution when interpreting changes in the monthly unemployment rate and job vacancy numbers over concerns about the reliability of the figures.
Why is unemployment increasing?
The new figures comes as more than a third of employers say they are cutting hiring due to new workers' rights, according to a survey from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).
The Employment Rights Act, which became law in December, guarantees workers entitlements including parental leave and sick pay from the first day of a job.
It has also become more expensive to employ staff due to the rise in employers' national insurance contributions in April.
Higher minimum wages for younger workers contributed to the growth in unemployment among that cohort Catherine Mann, a senior Bank of England economist and interest rate setter, said at the weekend.
Gulf in private and public sector wage growth
There has also been a slowing down in the rate of pay increases and the gap between the private and public sector wage rises has remained.
Average annual earnings rose 7.2% for the public sector and 3.4% for the private sector. This higher public sector figure is due to some pay rises being issued earlier in 2025 than in 2024.
Overall, pay rose 4.2% in the three months to December, a fall from the 4.4%, seen a month earlier.
What it means for interest rates
Slower wage growth may be welcome news for the interest-rate setters at the Bank of England as high wage rises can cause overall prices to rise and make it harder to bring down inflation.
Interest rates have been kept relatively high, at 3.75%, as the Bank attempts to have inflation fall to 2%.
Traders now think there's a 81% chance of a rate cut in March.
A further cut is now seen as likely in September which would bring the borrowing cost to 3.25%.
The blaze broke out at a five-storey building in Manlleu, near Barcelona, in the northeast of the country on Monday night.
The fire started in the storage room of the property, emergency services said.
The cause of the blaze is not yet known - and authorities said victims, who have not been identified, were unable to escape an attic storage room.
Catalan police said the five dead were all young people and that they did not live in the building.
Catalonia's regional leader, Salvador Illa, said he was "deeply saddened by the death of five people".
Authorities said ambulances and psychological support teams were made available after the incident.
Among the injured, four were later released from hospitals while one other didn't require hospital treatment.
Three families have been relocated to a nearby hotel with the rest returning to the building, The General Directorate of Civil Protection in Catalonia wrote on social media.
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The organisation also announced that an alert related to the fire had now ended.
Catalan police have opened an investigation into the cause of the fire.
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Real name Sam Battle, the self-proclaimed "massive Eurovision fan" is a performer and composer who launched his YouTube channel in 2016.
He is known by fans for building and playing unique electronic instruments - such as an organ made from Furbies and Game Boys, flame-throwing keyboards and a Star Wars droid orchestra.
"I hope Eurovision is ready to get synthesised!" Battle said as his entry was revealed. "I find it completely bonkers to be jumping on this wonderful and wild journey.
"I have always been a massive Eurovision fan, and I love the magical joy it brings to millions of people every year, so getting to join that legacy and fly the flag for the UK is an absolute honour that I am taking very seriously."
This year's ceremony is due to take place in Vienna, Austria, in May and details of the UK song will be revealed in the coming weeks, the BBC - which broadcasts Eurovision in the UK - said.
"I've been working a long-time creating, writing, and producing my own visions from scratch, and documenting my process," Battle added.
"I will be bringing every ounce of my creativity to my performances, and I can't wait for everyone to hear and see what we've created."
Kalpna Patel-Knight, head of entertainment at the BBC, said Look Mum No Computer embodies "everything the UK wants to celebrate on the Eurovision stage - creativity, ambition, and a distinctly British wit".
Which broadcasters have pulled out?
The BBC's announcement comes amid controversy surrounding this year's ceremony. Last year, Iceland, the Netherlands, Spain, Ireland and Slovenia all announced their withdrawal from Eurovision 2026 over Israel's participation in the competition.
It came after a vote on whether members were happy with tougher new rules introduced in November - following claims of Israeli government "interference" in last year's contest. The majority agreed the changes were enough and Israel's place was confirmed.
Israeli national broadcaster KAN described attempts to remove them as a "cultural boycott".
In response to the decision to allow Israel to compete, the country's president Isaac Herzog wrote on X: "Israel deserves to be represented on every stage around the world, a cause to which I am fully and actively committed."
This year's ceremony marks Eurovision's 70th anniversary and organisers had planned the first ever official song contest live tour, featuring acts from the past seven decades of the event, to follow the show.
However, it was announced last week that this had been cancelled due to "unforeseen challenges".
Contest director Martin Green said it had been a "difficult decision" but assured the tour would be relaunched "when we can ensure the world-class experience that our fans expect".
Washington has sent a second aircraft carrier to the Middle East and is preparing for a possible military campaign if the negotiations in Geneva, Switzerland, are inconclusive, officials have told Reuters news agency.
Iran itself began a military drill on Monday in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital international waterway and oil export route from Gulf Arab states, which have been appealing for diplomacy to end the dispute.
Speaking on Air Force One, the US president suggested the Iranians may be motivated to reach an agreement.
"I'll be involved in those talks, indirectly, and they'll be very important," he said.
"I don't think they want the consequences of not making a deal.
"We could have had a deal instead of sending the B-2s in to knock out their nuclear potential.
"And we had to send the B-2s," he added, referring to last year's US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites.
Previous negotiations were held in Oman earlier this month.
Mr Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner will be in Switzerland on Tuesday for the second round of talks which are being mediated by Oman.
Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi, who is leading the negotiations for Tehran, said on X: "I am in Geneva with real ideas to achieve a fair and equitable deal.
"What is not on the table: submission before threats."
The Trump administration is seeking a deal to limit Iran's nuclear programme and ensure it does not develop nuclear weapons.
Iran says it is not pursuing weapons and has so far resisted demands that it halt uranium enrichment or hand over its supply of uranium.
On Monday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told a news conference in Budapest that it was hard to do a deal with Iran, but the US was willing to try.
Mr Trump told reporters the world's largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R Ford, was being sent to the region.
The USS Abraham Lincoln and accompanying guided-missile destroyers were deployed last month.
Iran has warned the US that any attack will be treated as "an all-out war against us".
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In the last few days, Mr Trump has said that regime change in Iran "would be the best thing that could happen".
It is thought tens of thousands of people may have been killed during protests against the Iranian regime in recent months.
On Saturday, about 200,000 people demonstrated against the Iranian regime on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.