As a record-breaking heatwave hits parts of the UK this week, the Chair of Westminster’s Environmental Audit Committee has pushed the government on what it is doing to tackle the “silent killer” of extreme heat.
In a letter published today, the Chair asks the government how it plans to tackle overheating in hospitals, care homes, schools and prisons, as well as its views on measures such as establishing maximum workplace temperatures, prescribing active cooling such as air conditioning, and changing school timetables.
The Chair also asks the government about standards to ensure new housing is resilient to future heat, and the work taking place on the imminent Fourth National Adaptation Programme (NAP4). The Climate Change Committee has been highly critical of the Plan’s predecessor (NAP3), saying it falls “far short of what is needed”.
During a recent evidence session, witnesses told the Committee that current rates of global warming are unprecedented and that heat extremes are often outpacing scientific predictions, leaving the UK likely to face longer and more intense heatwaves.
One witness told MPs that the UK was “built for a climate that no longer exists”.
Chair of the Environmental Audit Committee, Toby Perkins MP, said: “This week parts of the UK are facing temperatures approaching 40 degrees, a level of extreme heat that was once unthinkable yet now is becoming increasingly likely.
“The effects of such extreme heat can be disruptive and devastating. Without action, we will see economic productivity take a hit; more people needing attention in hospital and suffering with poor mental health; more hospitals, care homes and schools overheating and more of our critical transport, water, food and IT systems failing.
qEconomic productivity will be hit, but more importantly we will likely see a significant number of deaths as a direct result of the current heatwave.
“The evidence could not be clearer that extreme heat is an urgent threat to the UK. Yet the government is currently falling “far short of what is needed”, according to its independent climate advisors.
“Taking action carries a significant cost. But the cost of doing nothing is far, far greater.
“I want to know what action the government is taking to tackle extreme overheating, a problem that will only grow worse without intervention, as well as its views on important measures to adapt to what seems to be our new normal.”