Monday 18 July 2022

‘Heatwave-related deaths to triple by 2030’

The UK has received its first red warning for extreme weather this week with temperatures to hit record levels of 40°C in parts of the country.

Deaths related to heatwaves could triple by 2030 if the government doesn’t take action on the overheating of British homes – climate advisors claim.

Climate Change Committee (CCC) Deputy Chair, Baroness Brown, said: “We've been telling the government for over 10 years that we are nothing like well enough prepared in the UK for the really hot weather we are seeing now.”

This comes after a report by Loughborough University last year found that more than 4.6 million homes in England overheat during the summertime.

The CCC claims that since it brought the issue to the fore a decade ago, more than half a million new homes have been built in England that can overheat.

Research by the IPCC has revealed that heatwaves are to become more likely, as climate change worsens and brings with it higher temperatures.

Baroness Brown adds: “We don't have any policy for the existing building stock or indeed for permitted development where things like office blocks are turned into homes.

“If we don't take more action we'll see probably at least a tripling of heat related deaths in this country.”

She believes that it could take years to alter policy around the overheating of homes but stresses that government action is needed far sooner than to tackle the impending heatwaves set to be experienced twice as much as they were in the last 40 years.