NHS Trusts reported a 66% surge in admissions for pneumonia, a 45% increase in cases of hyperthermia, and a 33% rise in incidents of excessive cold. People aged over 70 were hit hardest, recording the highest number of hospital admissions of any age group since 2020.
New figures commissioned by clean energy tech company, Aira, reveal a trend in hospital admissions for hypothermia, pneumonia and extreme cold since the energy crisis began around four years ago. The figures from 2022 to 2025 show a sharp spike across all categories, suggesting that soaring energy prices – triggered by the war in Ukraine – have had a significant impact on households in the UK. Now, with a new energy crisis unfolding in the Middle East, the trend could raise fears of higher cold-related hospital admissions and greater pressure on UK hospitals.
The figures show 5,828 adult hospital admissions for cold-related conditions among people who reported they were not homeless, meaning they were living in homes they owned or rented. In England, 4,701 were admitted for cold-related conditions from 2020 to 2025, in addition to 1,127 admissions in Scotland. Aira analysed Freedom of Information responses from NHS Trusts, with 71 providing geographic data for the five-year period and nationwide data provided by NHS Digital and Public Health Scotland.
The crisis exposes how Britain’s electricity pricing system disproportionately charges households who rely on electric heating, with those on electric heaters being far more likely to be in fuel poverty than those using gas (1). New figures emerge as the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) scheme is due to end in March 2026 and industry awaits the publication of the Future Homes Standard.
Matt Isherwood, Aira UK managing director comments: “Far too many households in Britain today are living in dangerously cold homes, made worse by electricity prices that are among the highest in Europe and the developed world. It is fundamentally unfair that clean electricity is taxed more heavily than gas. The situation could deteriorate further for households and public services if energy prices climb due to the Middle East crisis – with wholesale UK gas prices more than doubling since the war began.
To fix this, we need to rebalance the cost of electricity relative to gas, introduce an urgent support scheme for low-income households, and publish the Future Homes Standard. These measures will protect health, cut energy bills, and help the UK meet its electrification and decarbonisation targets – and reduce our dependence on foreign fossil fuels.”
Pippa Heylings, MP for South Cambridgeshire and Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Energy Security and Net Zero said: “Households are still struggling with the cost of living and energy prices remain about a third higher than before Putin's war in Ukraine. This is leaving too many families trapped in fuel poverty – living in Dickensian cold, damp homes.
The Government must take urgent steps to bring down bills and boost living standards by fully funding and immediately removing the biggest green levy from people’s electricity bills, halving energy bills by 2035 by breaking the link between electricity and gas prices; and implementing an emergency Home Upgrade Programme. This will protect families from volatile fossil fuel costs and make homes cheaper to both keep warm in the winter and cool in summer.'
Madeleine Gabriel, director of sustainable future at Nesta, said: “Nobody should be getting ill from living in a cold home because they can’t afford to turn up the thermostat. The government is taking action to help make heating more affordable, including committing £15 billion for home upgrades over five years, but fuel poverty remains the reality for many, including those on the lowest incomes with electric heating. Higher electricity bills disproportionately affect the poorest - to address this, the government will need to go further in cutting electricity costs.'