London’s risk from rising temperatures

I'd love to install external roller shutters on my windows like they have in Europe, but I doubt my terrible social landlord, Eastend Homes, would ever facilitate that. They've got scaffolding up around our building for their disasterous vertical extension project, and they haven't even thought to use the opportunity of having that scaffolding up to replace our end-of-life double glazing. They're not going to be doing something so sensible as helping us better proof our homes against heat.

We have hot hot bedrooms under a baking flat roof. We had to fork out for air con and so glad we did. But it wasn't cheap and it's not available to people because of that. But people need it. You wouldn't live in a freezing house and people shouldn't have to live in boiling ones. 

Further to my last post, people seem to rely on others doing things for them. Learn to help yourself - there are many organisations which will help. You can make a canopy for your own balcony, you can install blinds on your windows, you can get a couple of fans fairly cheaply second hand. I have helped neighbours and they have helped me. Do something. 

I came to London when I was 23 and have experienced every type of weather throughout the seasons. As a child up North, I have experienced amazing heatwaves and freezing winters, likewise in London. I have managed to survive each one. The weather in this country is totally unpredictable and there is nothing much we can do about it, which will make much difference. People need to look after them selves - wrap up warm in the Winter and wear as little as possible in Summer - wear hats, sunblock and carry water. Many shops, offices and buildings have air con, so do many cars and public transport. If people took more care of themselves, we would have fewer problems. Other nations survive far more extreme climates!!

It's ridiculous that the majority of flats in London do not have a balcony. I rent privately in an old Council estate and I am obliged to use the drying machine every other day. I use buses a lot and many stops do not have a cover to repair from sun or rain. If London is becoming like a Southern Italian city, it needs the same infrastructures, and fast.

Frankly London needs to learn from major big cities already been exposed to heat waves 

1-insulated building : walls, double glazing windows 

2-install awnings on balconies 

3-heat pump reversible with A/C

4- plant trees and create water fountains on square 

Build swimming pool like Vienna Copenhagen including in docks like canary wharf Royal dock etc

5 use river Thames banks like in Paris to create cool promenade and get rid of stupid RIBs for noise and carbon pollution 

6-limit car traffic when temperatures is sky high like in Paris Barcelona etc. 

7-get proper A/C  on buses and again like on the continent Nice Marseille etc 

8- solar panels on supermarkets car park providing electricity and shade for cars 

1 forbid Ciuncils from removing street plants which they call weeds. Every plant, even small ones, make the streets cooler  and ban glyphosate 

2 plant as many trees as possible, and , importantly keep them watered until established. 
3 install bus shelters the same as in Canary Wharf which use solar heat but remain cooler. 
4 reduce motorised traffic by every means possible. And prioritise pedestrians over motorists. 
5 invest in public fountains 

6 plant drought tolerant plants in public troughs and beds 

7 ban portable BBQs 

8 give grants to shopkeepers to install shade canopies across the streets. 
9 increase the number of public drinking fountains 

10 incentivise flat dwellers to install and maintain window boxes and green walls. In Austria they have a small reduction in Council tax and the streets are lovely.  And cooler. 
11 forbid hard standing in front gardens. 

The only thing that will work is massive tree planting in our streets, every street, as in Singapore and immediately introducing living walls of moss.  The microclimate trees create is the only solution in cities.  it needs to start now, and seriously.  The mayor should divert funds to this NOW as a matter of urgency.

In addition, curbing hours for outside hospitality so that residents can open windows and enjoy cool at night.

Really i want to feel like we are addressing the cause of the excess heat - climate change. Not many people are still stupid enough to deny it.

I know we aren't a government, but we are a city of 10 million people and I'd love to see us install more solar panels in the city, since they are so cheap.

(Also this comment box is really buggy on my phone).  

Social housing needs to be brought up to standard: free from damp & mould, warm in winter and cool in summer. Camden Council, my current landlord has been slated by the Housing Ombudsman for failing the basics. A major effort is needed to move beyond painting over the cracks metaphorically speaking and secure a proper approach to improving Social Housing to the level needed to meet 21st century living conditions, including climate change. I deeply resent wasteful spending of public money on expensive cosmetic neighbourhood "improvements" when the scrimp and save approach to even basic, essential repairs blights the lives of so many Londoners.  

Building regs need to be updated. I bought anew build recently, and is impossible to cool down. There are openable windows only on one side of the house even though it has walls on both sides. It seems there was no thought on how to keep it cool. It is very good at being warm though. Ability to cool a house needs to be an explicit part of the design in all cases. 

In our house we are lucky to share a back garden (7 flats). We have planted  taller shrubs and small trees, and reduced pruning. This creates shade for us and for wildlife.

I think the UK is a little bureacratic feifdom that lacks intellect and common sense since Tiny Blair came to power.. the UK has gone down and down and we are now so corporatised that nothing works, everything that needs fixing and doing for anything inc climate costs a fortune and it's all too little too late and pathetic tbh

I don't wish to be pessimistic but London developers have been allowed to ride roughshod all over the capital. In my area (Lewisham) there are new student/rental/blocks of flats popping up in every spare corner and I haven't seen a single solar panel, heat-pump, green wall, or new tree maintained post "green-wash" planting. The dust level has increased and in this borough, we are the not-so-proud owners of the first recorded air-pollution related death.  

After doing the survey connected to this discussion I found myself laughing at the suggested ways to reduce heat in our households. With most of us being renters, the possibility of adding outside or inside shutters is little to none. Painting the windows white would leave us in permanent gloom due to only having windows on one aspect and the joy of having a through-breeze by opening windows on the opposite side is a pipe-dream. 

I agree with bg that not relying on ac would be ideal but if you build houses or flats that just house people with no regard to how they keep heat in or out, you really need to worry more about how the energy is produced, to run ac units that are vital on days like today (33+ degrees). Nobody is listening to Climate Change predictions so we have to do our best to mitigate the consequences. Get the developers to build housing that is fit for use rather than these balcony-less nightmares where people have to use bacofoil seletaped to the inside of their windows. 

I hope that the Heat Risk plan properly acknowledges the role air con will need to play as Britain transitions to being a 'hot' country in summer. Yes, passive ventilation etc should be the first architectural response but people are beginning to vote with their feet and install portable units. 

As has been commented on recently, London is particularly resistant to approving air conditioning as part of developments. The role of AC in the urban heat island effect and the contribution of electricity use to climate change are reasonable logic behind this, but it is also clear at this point that temperatures are changing and we need to begin adapting. 

It would be far better to encourage air-source heat pumps which can provide a low carbon heating solution in winter. As part of these installations, installers could encouraged to provide solar panels alongside air con installation, which would have the happy effect of generating the most electricity on the days air con is most needed.  We have built a large number of blocks in the past decades (I am writing from one now) which are unbearably hot during heatwaves and it would be preferable to install a low-carbon AC solution to knocking down the building and starting again.

At the street level a lot more shade is needed. The recent proliferation of 'planters', 'parklets' etc has not fully achieved this as shade is often lacking and the structures feel temporary and unkempt.  More grass, shade and water is needed in urban spaces. More shaded bus stops, and AC as standard on public transport, will be essential. But do not adopt La Sombrita, please!

A few thoughts.

First, we need to ensure that all new developments have adequate green space and shaded pedestrian ways. Effective neighbourhood greenery reduces the heat island effect and improves air quality and mental health. The Olympic Park is a good example of what NOT to do—there are huge walkways through that 'park' that have no shade at all and are intolerable when the temperatures rise. Tree planting should be increased along residential streets, but this needs to be done properly, with ample space given to the roots to ensure the pavements remain accessible. An option is to carve out some parking bays for trees, so that roads retain the full pavement. 

Beyond building heat resilience into future constructions, we should work on ways to retrofit cooling measures on existing housing stock: reflective panels or coatings. Whatever works.

A huge burden for London during elevated temperatures is the transport network. We have an increasing number ofair-conditioned lines, which is good, but the current tube network is unsafe when external temperatures exceed 25 degrees or so. Additionally, while buses seem to have air conditioning, it's almost impossible to verify whether it is fit for purpose as everyone opens the windows when it gets hot. People in hot countries do not open the windows on air-conditioned buses, so either our buses need to be improved so that they offer the cooling they promise, or the public needs to be strongly educated on the correct approach to travel in hot temperatures (probably both).

In addition to several excellent suggestions below; I'd advocate for banning exterior advertising screens. Such as those found on bus shelters, in underground stations, etc...

They cost energy to run. They generate light and heat pollution. You just need to stand near one in the summer to feel the heat coming off it and hear the fans inside screaming to cool the device down, which only kicks out more heat.

Other than that, more trees; businesses running A/C must have their doors shut; supermarkets with chiller shelving should have doors on their chillers instead of being open faced; solar panel roofing over large unshaded areas like car parks; maybe a maximum legal working temperature!

We need to have a plan of action in order to help us cope with the heatwave in London. I went on a bus the other day and the humidity inside the buses was on average 50%-60% relative humidity. Could you make sure that the buses have adequate air conditioning on and that when the buses are crowded the air conditioning is able to cope? We also need indoor spaces that are well ventilated and have adequate air conditioning so that people can sit inside without feeling the need to buy an expensive drink. Also some people are unable to do their activities because their health conditions are aggravated by the heat. 

We desperately need more blue, green, and cool spaces, tree planting and shade initiatives. More SUDS, less concrete and a reduction in air pollution. I have lived in my South facing, central London housing association flat for 25 years; I don't think I can manage another summer. I use reflective bubble wrap on the outsides of my windows front and back and I still cannot stop the temperature rising to dangerous levels. The temperature at the end of one day in a heatwave is the starting temperature for the next day; it is impossible to reduce it and I cannot afford air conditioning. I expect the temp throughout my flat to be 29 degrees by tonight, it will take around 48 hrs to return to ~24 degrees. Mercifully it is the last day of the current heatwave otherwise I would be in a lot of trouble as I have chronic health conditions and I haven't slept for days. My housing association is doing nothing for residents vulnerable to extreme heat and neither is local government. People will die.