Over 2,700 people have died as a result of excess heat this summer, according to figures from Imperial College – at the peak of the June heatwave, that worked out to around 440 deaths a day. The deaths have hit hardest those already closest to the edge: older people in flats that turn into ovens, people with heart and lung conditions, disabled people, outdoor workers, and the homeless. Yet the crisis is affecting society at large: research carried out for Greenpeace last week showed almost a quarter of people had someone in the household who felt physically unwell, six in ten workers said their workplace was too hot to bear, nearly one in ten called it unsafe, and almost a quarter had to throw away food that spoiled in the heat. More than half say their homes need serious upgrades just to cope with the next heatwave, but most couldn’t afford that themselves.
This week, the third heatwave of the year intensifies. Yellow heat health alerts have been issued for most of the country from tomorrow morning until 9pm on Friday. Temperatures are expected to rise again, with many southern and western parts reaching 30°C; Wednesday is expected to be the hottest day, with peaks in Hereford, Worcester, Monmouth, Bristol, Stratford Upon Avon, Gloucester and Reading. 2026 has already become the first year to record temperatures of 35°C on six separate days. UV levels are expected to be high or very high across many parts of the UK throughout the week, according to the Met Office.
“Britain's heatwaves have killed 2,700 this summer, with experts warning the country is unprepared for a hotter future.”
From overheating homes and buckling railways to schools, hospitals and reservoirs struggling to cope, questions are growing over whether Britain’s infrastructure was ever designed for the climate it’s now facing. The response from Westminster, critics say, hasn’t come close to matching the seriousness of what’s happening. Greenpeace is calling on the government to publish an Extreme Heat Strategy: protections for workers who currently have no legal right to stop in dangerous heat, upgrades for schools, and funding to heat-proof hospitals, care homes and public housing. When asked, almost half backed a levy to fund this placed on the highest-emitting companies. Yet the most noise in politics right now, depressingly, comes from those advocating for more drilling in the North Sea – with some indication that soon-to-be Prime Minister Andy Burnham may be open to the idea.
The Met Office has projected that by 2056, days of 45°C could be our new normal – a figure that would have sounded like science fiction a decade ago. On a recent episode of Channel 4’s The Fourcast, Krishnan Guru-Murthy asked why the UK remains so unprepared for extreme heat, joined by Professor Rebecca Willis from the University of Manchester, environmental lawyer and Uplift Executive Director Tessa Khan, and architect Smith Mordak. The question, as they debated, is whether the country is running out of time to adapt.
