London’s risk from rising temperatures
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1026 Londoners have responded

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The summer of 2022 saw temperatures above 40°C, the highest ever recorded in England. Climate change could bring hotter, drier summers in London, with longer, more intense heatwaves.
City Hall’s Climate Adaptation team wants to hear your experience to help inform London’s first Heat Risk Delivery Plan.
Join the conversation
Thinking back to the heatwave of 2022:
- How did you cope with the heat in London?
- What helped you stay cool at home or while you were out and about?
- What made it better, and what made it worse?
Thinking of this summer:
- What, if anything, are you doing differently to cope with the heat in London?
- What, if anything, does London need to help you cope with the heat?
Please share as much detail as you can. Eleanor and Annette from City Hall’s Climate Adaptation team will be reading your comments and joining in.
About the action plan
The London Heat Risk Delivery Plan will set out the roles and responsibilities our city needs to manage heat risk. The recommendation for this action plan came out of last year’s London Climate Resilience Review.
Between March and September 2025, Londoners and stakeholders are invited to help inform the action plan. Read more on our background page.
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Log into your accountSanj07
Community Member 4 weeks agoPeople who sit with their car engines running to use the air con need to stop doing this !
beckieh
Community Member 4 weeks agoI'm concerned that if more people install air conditioning it will further heat up the local area meaning others suffer. We need practical guidance and easy to use products for shading windows and other smaller actions which can make a big...
Show full commentI'm concerned that if more people install air conditioning it will further heat up the local area meaning others suffer. We need practical guidance and easy to use products for shading windows and other smaller actions which can make a big difference.
Show less of commenttheid
Community Member 4 weeks agoAnd if planning regulations insisted on green build only?
Show full commentAnd if planning regulations insisted on green build only?
Show less of commentDeeply Trouble…
Community Member 3 weeks agoAgree. On one hand GLA want unconditional access to build on Green Belt, another department runs this initiative? Another survey is not needed. There are plenty of existing environmental groups that can advise, there are plenty of...
Show full commentAgree. On one hand GLA want unconditional access to build on Green Belt, another department runs this initiative? Another survey is not needed. There are plenty of existing environmental groups that can advise, there are plenty of solutions but politicians get in the way.
Show less of commentJustinLondon
Community Member 4 weeks agoI'm avoiding the Central Line where possible, it's bad enough during cool summers, yet it seems we're always being asked to do this while the management of London and TfL do nothing except advise us to carry water on our journeys.
clementine02
Community Member 3 weeks agoMy biggest problem is that they constantly play messages on the tube saying to carry water in hot weather, and yet barely any tube stations have anywhere to refill a water bottle? Imagine having access to water fountains or even drink...
Show full commentMy biggest problem is that they constantly play messages on the tube saying to carry water in hot weather, and yet barely any tube stations have anywhere to refill a water bottle? Imagine having access to water fountains or even drink vending machines at the platforms!
Show less of commentbeckieh
Community Member 4 weeks agoI find temperatures above 30 hard to cope with as I have long term health conditions. My home office becomes unusable as it gets too hot and I can't exercise. The Northern Line is dangerously hot so travel is difficult. Understandably...
Show full commentI find temperatures above 30 hard to cope with as I have long term health conditions. My home office becomes unusable as it gets too hot and I can't exercise. The Northern Line is dangerously hot so travel is difficult. Understandably people use the parks more but aren't necessarily educated to look after them - in hot weather there is litter everywhere and people are using places that are meant to be set aside for wildlife as there aren't sufficient areas for swimming etc to help people cope with the heat. On Hampstead Heath they've removed the water fountains and there are very few bins which doesn't help. Summer now makes me quite anxious rather than being an enjoyable experience.
Show less of commentClaireMilhench
Community Member 4 weeks agoI am in the same situation - long term health condition means my body can’t cool itself. Flat has floor to ceiling south facing windows only, so no through breeze possible. I do everything suggested to keep heat out but temperatures climb...
Show full commentI am in the same situation - long term health condition means my body can’t cool itself. Flat has floor to ceiling south facing windows only, so no through breeze possible. I do everything suggested to keep heat out but temperatures climb into mid 30s after a couple of days. Tower Hamlets keeps cutting down mature trees and approving the construction of 50 storey blocks in E14, worsening the heat island effect. My home office is unusable (tiny box room) but I can’t use public transport in extreme heat. Was taken ill on Jubilee line after one stop at the weekend. We need huge cooled community spaces people can go to for sleep in hot weather eg Excel centre, as in Canada when heat domes hit. Excess deaths will keep rising otherwise. I dread the summer.
Show less of commentkensalgreener
Community Member 4 weeks agoOur primary schools are woefully underprepared for extreme weather. Adults get to sit in air conditioned offices, our children get to sit in boiling hot rooms with a single fan and a few windows cracked at best. What’s the point of...
Show full commentOur primary schools are woefully underprepared for extreme weather. Adults get to sit in air conditioned offices, our children get to sit in boiling hot rooms with a single fan and a few windows cracked at best. What’s the point of “relaxing the uniform rules” when it’s the environment that’s not fit for purpose? Lack of air conditioning and HEPA filters are essential to keep kids healthy. The 40 degree heat in 2022 was forecast for at least a week in advance and our school did nothing until the night before when it allowed those that could, to take their kids home at lunchtime. Without suitable climate controls, schools will have to close during extreme heatwaves. Where’s the preparation? Where is the plan to retrofit our Victorian buildings with the necessary upgrades for a warming climate? All I see is people with their heads in the sand.
Show less of commentdexter522126
Community Member 4 weeks agoVery difficult to keep cool in the extreme heat in spite of all measures being taken to keep cool in London area. 1930's chalet type houses retain the heat. Many front gardens have been paved over and trees removed to enable parking where...
Show full commentVery difficult to keep cool in the extreme heat in spite of all measures being taken to keep cool in London area. 1930's chalet type houses retain the heat. Many front gardens have been paved over and trees removed to enable parking where front gardens once were. This needs to be discouraged although understandable why dropped kerbs are requested.
More green space needed . TFL land in this area has been replaced with unattractive blocks of flats. Who wants to live on top of a traiin line. How can residents of these blocks keep cool? Must be so noisy with windows opened. Trees could have been planted to help stop pollution from nearby road and underground.
Show less of commentLynne Cockley
Community Member 4 weeks agoI commute to the City of London twice a week. I deliberately leave extra early in the mornings (I start at 9am but I leave my house at 6.45 am) to avoid the heat, traffic jams, and overcrowding on the trains. The No.5 bus and EL2 bus are...
Show full commentI commute to the City of London twice a week. I deliberately leave extra early in the mornings (I start at 9am but I leave my house at 6.45 am) to avoid the heat, traffic jams, and overcrowding on the trains. The No.5 bus and EL2 bus are an absolute joke - these are the new routemaster buses, but there is only air conditioning on the top deck - the lower deck just have one side of the lower desk with tiny windows at the top and there is no air that comes through these windows, so they are absolutely pointless and there is no air conditioning on the lower deck. It must be about 10 degrees higher on the bus than it is outside. I dread going on either of these buses, but these are the only buses that go on my route home. I guess it was Boris Johnson who recommended these buses at the time, but they really are not fit for purpose. I pity pensioners who have to use these buses to get their shopping.
Show less of commentMightybooshette
Community Member 4 weeks agoIn my area over the last five years so much green space has been built on, many of these developments are unfinished or unsold but have the effect of reducing natural resources that help us cope with the heat. In private rented, furnished...
Show full commentIn my area over the last five years so much green space has been built on, many of these developments are unfinished or unsold but have the effect of reducing natural resources that help us cope with the heat. In private rented, furnished accommodation there is little we can do to our property that is effective to help cope with the heat so shady green space is invaluable
Show less of commenttflsurveyor
Community Member 4 weeks agoMayor should fund air conditioning to every London household
CThreap
Community Member 3 weeks agoDon’t be ridiculous. Who would pay for this massive expense?
Electric20
Community Member 3 weeks agoThis is not a good use of public funding. Air conditioning is expensive to run, it uses a lot of energy and is extremely damaging to the environment. We should be seeking ‘passive’ solutions to overheating, such as shading our homes with...
Show full commentThis is not a good use of public funding. Air conditioning is expensive to run, it uses a lot of energy and is extremely damaging to the environment. We should be seeking ‘passive’ solutions to overheating, such as shading our homes with planting, using simple outer screens on windows - similar to those used in car windscreens. I find this very effective.
Show less of commentamencarini
Community Member 4 weeks agoI’m in a new build flat, with door-to-ceiling windows that act as a greenhouse in a sunny day, and we’re not allowed to install outside units that would allow us to have air conditioning. This is absolutely ridiculous.
London can’t cope with...
Show full commentI’m in a new build flat, with door-to-ceiling windows that act as a greenhouse in a sunny day, and we’re not allowed to install outside units that would allow us to have air conditioning. This is absolutely ridiculous.
London can’t cope with climate change if preserving the aesthetic of a 10 year old building is more important than the comfort of its occupants.
Show less of commentFurball
Community Member 4 weeks agoI find the quality of air conditioning very good on buses, when passengers do not open the windows! Why do they do this? I come from a hot country where no one would dream of allowing the cool air to escape through open windows. The public...
Show full commentI find the quality of air conditioning very good on buses, when passengers do not open the windows! Why do they do this? I come from a hot country where no one would dream of allowing the cool air to escape through open windows. The public need educating, perhaps via info stickers on bus windows. Get rid of the Covid ones. Other passengers look amazed & confused when I close the windows. So frustrating!
Also it should be against the law for shops to run air conditioning (or heating) with the front doors wide open.
Show less of commentIn places where we do have public air conditioning, why do we waste it?
Jette
Community Member 4 weeks agoStay indoors between 11-4 if possible
Drink plenty of fluids
Keep a wet towel or two in your fridge and wear it around your neck
We need more green spaces, and more trees, and people carrying for them.
Show full commentStay indoors between 11-4 if possible
Drink plenty of fluids
Keep a wet towel or two in your fridge and wear it around your neck
We need more green spaces, and more trees, and people carrying for them.
Show less of commentTD
Community Member 4 weeks agowe would love to add external shutters, but living in a conservation area means that most of the sensible measures we would take to mitigate against changing weather - shutters, solar panels, white roof, improved drainage - are blocked by...
Show full commentwe would love to add external shutters, but living in a conservation area means that most of the sensible measures we would take to mitigate against changing weather - shutters, solar panels, white roof, improved drainage - are blocked by the local council planning department
Show less of commentTim_G
Community Member 4 weeks agoI have improved my home environment by adding external shading to one side of the house. The other side is visible from a conservation area and condemned to overheat until the local council realises that the world changes and so do views...
Show full commentI have improved my home environment by adding external shading to one side of the house. The other side is visible from a conservation area and condemned to overheat until the local council realises that the world changes and so do views from windows.
Show less of commentajkajkajk
Community Member 4 weeks agoWe need a city-wide (nation-wide?) programme to incentivize the planting/retaining of trees and green spaces in front gardens, and disincentives to concrete and pave, especially with non-porous hardstanding. I've lived in my current street...
Show full commentWe need a city-wide (nation-wide?) programme to incentivize the planting/retaining of trees and green spaces in front gardens, and disincentives to concrete and pave, especially with non-porous hardstanding. I've lived in my current street for 15 years and the trend continues apace for plants and trees to be replaced by concrete and paving. This makes the street hotter, reduces shade, worsens air quality and prevents water soaking into the ground, as well as generally making the place look and feel less attractive.
Show less of commentKBNBOK
Community Member 3 weeks agoAll good points that you make, there. In addition to what you wrote, having plants and trees in gardens assists in a small but meaningful way to reduce ambient noise pollution.
Show full commentAll good points that you make, there. In addition to what you wrote, having plants and trees in gardens assists in a small but meaningful way to reduce ambient noise pollution.
Show less of commentkfabregue
Community Member 4 weeks agoWe need permission from councils to have external shutters on windows, like all mediterranean countries have.
Kavringen
Community Member 4 weeks agoI have Multiple Sclerosis and I suffer greatly in this heat. There is no respite and nowhere I can go to cool down unless I start to feel really, really bad and that would be me having to go to A&E which I am trying to avoid. I truly can't...
Show full commentI have Multiple Sclerosis and I suffer greatly in this heat. There is no respite and nowhere I can go to cool down unless I start to feel really, really bad and that would be me having to go to A&E which I am trying to avoid. I truly can't understand why news and weather presenters keep saying in very gleeful voices how it is going to be hotter here than in the Bahamas or similar. As far as I am concerned this is a catastrophy and a very scary time for me. I live in a small council flat with no garden, no balcony and pretty bad windows = I don't even have windowsills. I'm trapped at home until the weather cools down. I also live on avery polluted street - Red Route road - and it is pretty much unbearable at the moment. My husband has respiratory issues and the heat and pollution is very bad for himm too. Wish something would be done soonest, starting with getting rid of the outdated and useless Red Routes!
Show less of commentCThreap
Community Member 3 weeks agoMS is made so much worse by the heat. I really feel for you.
Liam
Community Member 4 weeks agoIt is hot in London please help us.
Show full commentIt is hot in London please help us.
Show less of commentgruffalo54
Community Member 4 weeks agoThe thing that didn't come up enough as an option in the questionnaire (just once) was around the importance of natural shade and mature trees especially - trees take time to grow and we could do with so many more around during hot weather...
Show full commentThe thing that didn't come up enough as an option in the questionnaire (just once) was around the importance of natural shade and mature trees especially - trees take time to grow and we could do with so many more around during hot weather, especially lining our streets where we walk to keep cooler. Its crazy we have so many private vehicles parked, taking up space, when we could shift people to car-sharing instead (if done effectively would not result in people not being able to drive) and free up kerbside space for more trees - but we need to do this quickly for it to be effective as summers get hotter.
Show less of commenthestonlad
Community Member 4 weeks agoI agree on the importance of mature trees and was surprised that the maintenance and encouragement of young, newly-planted trees did not feature in the survey. I have some concerns that local authorities persist in planting large saplings...
Show full commentI agree on the importance of mature trees and was surprised that the maintenance and encouragement of young, newly-planted trees did not feature in the survey. I have some concerns that local authorities persist in planting large saplings at inappropriate times of the year and then do not have the resources to look after them during dry periods.
Show less of commentGazelle
Community Member 4 weeks agoI agree about street trees being effective in shading and keeping things cooler. Cycling round London over the last few days I have felt directly the cooling effect in shaded areas.
Show full commentI agree about street trees being effective in shading and keeping things cooler. Cycling round London over the last few days I have felt directly the cooling effect in shaded areas.
Show less of commentelizabethb
Community Member 4 weeks agoThe mayor and councils have pollarded and cut down so many trees it’s useless to say authorities would help.They introduce electric buses which the passengers swelter in cos both the engine and batteries are within the bus.Bring back the...
Show full commentThe mayor and councils have pollarded and cut down so many trees it’s useless to say authorities would help.They introduce electric buses which the passengers swelter in cos both the engine and batteries are within the bus.Bring back the old diesel route masters and leave the doors open.
The mayor and councils have built over any green spaces with concrete. They do not create any new vast green spaces.They have built so many stupid cycle lanes that all public transport is slowed down.
The mayor is a disgrace and he actually got knighted.
Show less of comment