In July 2022 temperatures exceeded 40°C for the first ever time in the UK, revealing how unprepared we are as a nation for extreme heat.
Transport shut down, London almost ran out of power and there were around 3,000 excess deaths linked to periods of extreme heat across that summer.
Now, less than four years later, temperatures are inching towards 40°C again, and the realisation is setting in that extreme heatwaves are becoming our new normal.
Shorts
Policymakers, engineers and public authorities are now in a race against time to adapt our homes and infrastructure to extreme temperatures.
