With temperatures in the UK approaching record levels for June, people are being advised to avoid exercise and unnecessary travel. So how do you work in this heat?We look at how various sectors of the economy are coping with unprecedented temperatures, and how working practices will have to adapt to increasingly frequent heatwaves that are predicted to be longer and more intense owing to the global climate emergency.Care homes
double quotation markNot all care facilities are created equal
The aim for most care homes is to keep their highly vulnerable residents cool, hydrated and safe from heat stress. Older people are at heightened risk of illness or death in extreme heat. About 500,000 people live in residential care homes in the UK.Responsible care homes would have been preparing for a heatwave since early March, said Nadra Ahmed, the chair of the National Care Association. “Their priority is protecting vulnerable residents.”Care homes are expected to deploy fans and air conditioners, paddling pools and supplies of ice lollies and cold fruit. Designated cool rooms may be on offer, as well as increased monitoring of residents. Outdoor trips may be cancelled.Older people are particularly vulnerable to extreme heat. Photograph: fizkes/ShutterstockHow successful those mitigation measures turn out to be may indicate how much has been learned from the shock of the 2022 heatwave, when temperatures in the UK exceeded 40C for the first time.There were nearly 3,000 heat-related deaths in England, the vast majority among people aged over 65. Deaths in nursing homes rose 34%, and 13% in residential homes.A review by the UK Health Security Agency research published two years later, blamed an ageing care estate ill equipped for extreme heat and, in many cases, reliant on inadequate cooling systems (this was less prevalent in private homes: “not all care facilities are created equal,” the report noted bluntly).A Climate Change Committee report published last month concluded the UK care sector was underprepared for severe heat and there was “little evidence that climate action is taking place”. It proposed a target that by 2040, all care homes should be able to maintain indoor temperatures of between 16C and 26C.This does not take into account the dangers of excessive heat for vulnerable people receiving social care living independently at home or in sheltered housing, where monitoring by domiciliary care staff may amount to a single, short daily visit.Retrofitting homes originally designed to keep residents warm in winter to account for regular heatwaves would be challenging, said Ahmed, especially for a sector already struggling with rising demand, tight finances and staff shortages.Schools
