Climate and health: protecting people in the UK from extreme heat

The UK’s weather is becoming more extreme as the climate changes, with hotter summers and warmer, wetter winters.

Episodes of extreme heat are becoming more frequent and intense. Following the record number of heat-related deaths in the summer of 2022, this should now be a major public health concern. Successive governments have failed to implement effective programmes to insulate us against the growing risks, leaving our towns and cities ill equipped as temperatures rise.

Action by government now to limit and adapt to rising temperatures will save lives, reduce NHS costs, avoid building retrofits in future and improve the overall health and wellbeing of society, as well as making our towns and cities greener, more pleasant places to live.