TEHRAN- With sub-zero temperatures hitting the UK, "warm banks" are popping up across the country where people who can't afford their energy bills are taking refuge from the cold.

This is not a poor country in Africa but the world's fifth-largest economy, which critics say is frankly an indictment of the government.

Nevertheless, it shows how the energy crisis from the Ukraine war is having a surreal impact on people across the entire European continent.

Citizens have a tough choice to make between heating their homes this winter or putting food on the table.

The emergence of the so-called warm banks are spaces that are usually found in warm buildings where people can go to stay warm during the day without sending their home energy bills skyrocketing. 

They are quickly popping up as a result of the energy crisis the country is experiencing following sanctions imposed on Russian energy exports.

People in the UK are resorting to these warm banks because they are struggling to heat their homes amid a rising cost of living crisis and record inflation levels.

According to the Warm Welcome Campaign, there are more than 3,630 of these places.

And the number is rising by the day.

This is something that has never been witnessed before in modern British history.

Soup charities exist everywhere to help the homeless.

But warm banks to help regular families escape the freezing cold because they cannot afford to pay their gas bills is a new phenomenon.

The centers are being run by local authorities and charities that have opened them up to the public across the country.

The organization is not alone in setting up a website that mainly consists of a map for people to find the closest warm bank to their home. 

Activists firmly believe that these websites "shouldn't have to exist."

At these centers, where heat can be found, people can stay warm or even conduct their work instead of working from home.

The newly formed Warm Welcome Campaign says, "The cost-of-living crisis is already affecting millions across the UK, with many reporting they will be unable to switch on the heating on in the coming months. We believe everyone should have a warm and welcoming space to go to this winter, which is why our network of community organizations, churches, libraries, businesses, and other faith groups across the UK have opened their doors to provide exactly that."

The organization has reported 16.4 million people in the UK will be living in fuel poverty this winter.

11,400 deaths are caused by cold homes with one in ten excess winter deaths that are attributable to fuel poverty.

Government abandons vulnerable to fend for themselves. 

Children 

As government tax cuts disproportionately benefit the rich, children are disproportionately affected by the cost-of-living crisis.

Children living in cold homes are more likely to experience mental health problems, slower physical growth and cognitive development, and higher risks of respiratory problems, long-term ill- health, and disability.

Children living in cold homes are twice as likely to suffer from chest and breathing problems as children living in warm homes.

£27,000 is the cost to the British National Health Service every day for children experiencing ill health due to cold homes.

Disabled 

Over a million disabled households in the UK are said to be in “serious financial difficulty” amid the cost-of-living crisis.

Two out of three disabled households have already avoided turning on their heating this year.

Households with a disabled person present are more than twice as likely to be struggling.

Elderly 

Cold homes have been found to contribute to a 30% increase in immortality in winter among people aged 75 years or older.

Respiratory, cardiovascular, and circulatory disease and poorer mental health have all been found to be directly linked to cold homes, especially in older people.

Low-income households

The government's energy price freeze still leaves low-income families facing a large gap between the overall rise in the cost of living and the support package for families from Downing Street.

75% of households in disadvantaged neighborhoods will be in fuel poverty this winter, with some neighborhoods reaching close to every household in the area.

Ethnic minorities 

Are among other vulnerable groups facing serious financial difficulty and disproportionately affected by the cost-of-living crisis.

Black and minority ethnic households will experience a 1.6 times higher average increase in the cost of living than their white counterparts.

Minority ethnic families are twice as likely to face food insecurity this winter.

While 1 in 5 minority ethnic households are currently food insecure, in comparison, only 1 in 10 white households face food insecurity.

Daniele Gardside is 35 years old and a single mother of two. Speaking to British media she says that in recent months, while looking for work, she has taken refuge at a “warm bank” in the city of Coventry, about a three-hour drive from the capital London.

Like millions of others across the country, studies show that more than half of their monthly income is used to pay for gas and electricity bills.

“Sometimes I am afraid to turn on the lights,” she says, “you don’t know how much it will cost you. I am sick because of the cold." 

The beginning of December has seen a flurry of snow and ice in the United Kingdom's freezing temperature in a large part of the country.

“It is a very difficult period, especially now that Christmas is coming, I had to explain to the kids that we won’t be able to spend much this year,” Daniele says, adding that this stress is affecting the family's mental health.

One City Council, for example, is distributing hot soup to visitors to the public building every Thursday.

“Anyone can come and have homemade soup and bagels. they can stay as long as you want to keep warm. It also helps them feel less isolated or alone," says Jeanette Snook, vice chair of the initiative’s organizing committee.

One IT developer has created his own website listing warm banks across the country.

Jason Baldry, 35, is maintaining the website on a voluntary basis along with a few friends and says he spends most of his evenings adding new warm banks to the map.

He says, "I think there's a danger that we go a few winters and energy prices stay as they are, and it's like this is normal. This cannot be normal. This cannot be what we accept."

UK inflation peaked at 11.1% in October, the highest in 40 years, driven by a sharp rise in energy and food prices.

The country is heavily dependent on importers of oil, gas, and coal, representing about a third of its total needs.

This has made it highly exposed to rising world energy prices. London also imports a lot of food products that have seen prices jump sharply as well.