Short answer
Yes, but only if cold water would truly harm you, by making you ill or worse, and you have no way to heat water or to warm yourself afterwards. Simple discomfort is not enough. With hot water at home, tayammum for cold is almost never allowed. The four schools accept this excuse when the harm is real.
A junub who fears death, illness or a worsening of illness from using cold water, and cannot heat water or find a warm place, may make tayammum. Abu Hanifa allowed it even in a town when the person truly cannot heat water. Discomfort alone does not permit tayammum, and the person does ghusl once the danger passes.
The four schools agree on this.
Explanation
Amr ibn al-As woke up in janabah on a freezing night during a military expedition. Fearing he would die if he washed, he made tayammum and led his companions in Fajr. When they told the Prophet ﷺ, he asked Amr whether he had led the prayer while junub. Amr explained his fear and recited the ayah "do not kill yourselves". The Prophet ﷺ laughed and said nothing against it, which scholars take as his approval.
When it applies, in the Hanafi school:
- You are in janabah or need ghusl for another reason.
- You have good reason to fear real harm, such as illness, from cold water: from experience, clear signs, or a doctor.
- You cannot heat water, and you have no warm room, heater or clothes to warm up after washing.
When it does not apply:
- You have a boiler or kettle at home. Heat the water, even if it takes time.
- The water is only unpleasant, not dangerous.
- You could wash quickly and then warm up under a blanket or by a heater.
For wudu (ablution), cold rarely justifies tayammum, because only a few limbs are washed. A person who is ill and has been told to avoid water is a different case, and so is a wound on one limb: see wudu with a cast or bandage.
Once the danger passes, do ghusl for the next prayer. Prayers you prayed with tayammum are valid and are not repeated in the Hanafi school. Some schools have more detail on repeating the prayer, so a follower of another school should ask a scholar of that school. For the method, see how to make tayammum.
The evidence
Quran, Surah An-Nisaa 4:29
يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ لَا تَأْكُلُوٓا۟ أَمْوَٰلَكُم بَيْنَكُم بِٱلْبَٰطِلِ إِلَّآ أَن تَكُونَ تِجَٰرَةً عَن تَرَاضٍۢ مِّنكُمْ ۚ وَلَا تَقْتُلُوٓا۟ أَنفُسَكُمْ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ كَانَ بِكُمْ رَحِيمًۭا ﴿٢٩﴾
O you who have believed, do not consume one another's wealth unjustly but only [in lawful] business by mutual consent. And do not kill yourselves [or one another]. Indeed, Allah is to you ever Merciful.
The ayah Amr ibn al-As relied on when he made tayammum to avoid deadly cold.
Sunan Abi Dawud 334
Grading to be checked... يا عمرو صليت باصحابك وانت جنب ...
"Amr, did you lead your companions in prayer while you were junub?"
The Prophet's ﷺ question, followed by his approval of tayammum because of deadly cold.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Hidaya, Kitab al-Taharat, chapter on tayammum. A junub who fears that cold water will kill or sicken him may make tayammum.
- al-Durr al-Mukhtar with Radd al-Muhtar, Kitab al-Taharah, chapter on tayammum. The condition that heating water and warming up are not possible.
Checked by our team. For a more accurate answer to your own situation, consult a scholar. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.