At 3pm today every mobile phone in the UK will ping with a warning as part of a test of a new public alert system by the Government.
The new system mirrors existing schemes in countries such as the US and Japan and alert people in life-threatening situations such as floods, wildfires and other extreme weathers.
The warning will make a loud siren-like sound, even on devices set on silent or aeroplane mode, and also vibrate and read out the alert.
