When is the 2025 emergency alert test in the UK?
27 June 2025, 13:01
The UK will undergo another emergency alert test in 2025 - but when is it happening and what should you expect?
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It have been confirmed that the UK Government will be testing the emergency alert system in 2025, two years after the first test two years ago.
At the moment, there is no confirmed date or time for the alert test, however, it is believed the public will be given plenty of warning ahead of the alert.
The system, which was founded as a way of warning the public of natural disasters, weather warnings, bomb or war threats, has been used four times since it was first launched - two for weather related warnings and two for bomb related warnings.
Ahead of the 2025 emergency alert test, here's everything you need to know.
When is the 2025 emergency alert test in the UK?
At the moment, there is no confirmed time or date for the 2025 emergency alert test, however, it is expected to come at some point this year.
Last time the alert was tested, back in 2023, the Government gave the public a warning, sharing the time and date the alert test would take place. It is believed people will be told when to expect the alert ahead of the test.
What is the UK emergency alert test?
The UK's emergency alert test was founded in 2023 as a way of alerting the public across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland of an emergency - this could be severe weather alerts or even war threats.
Since it was put in place, the emergency alert system has been used in the UK a total of four times - in February 2024, it was used twice for two separate bomb threats, in April 2024 it was used to warn people of flooding in Cumbria and in December 2024 as a warning to those hit by Storm Darragh.
What happens when the UK emergency alert test goes off?
During the UK emergency alert test, your phone will make a loud noise and vibrate (even if it is on silent). The sound from the phone will be a different noise to that of a phone call or text.
This alert test will be accompanied with a message. In 2023, it read: "This is a test of Emergency Alerts, a new UK Government service that will warn you if there’s a life-threatening emergency nearby.
"In a real emergency, follow the instructions in the alert to keep yourself and others safe. Visit gov.uk/alerts for more information."
If the alert is not a test, the message will be different and instead warn of the threat.
