London’s risk from rising temperatures

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Discussion | Coping with hot weather in London

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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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Comments (307)

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Great to see so many comments about living with extreme heat in London. Thanks for taking the time to add your comments. This is much appreciated to inform what more London needs to do to manage extreme heat in today's changing climate.

Avatar for - Koala

Adaptation AND mitigation. Accessible external shading products for the masses (current products are too expensive and burdensome to install - London is a city of renters, remember!) and a huge tree planting initiative. The difference in...

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Adaptation AND mitigation. Accessible external shading products for the masses (current products are too expensive and burdensome to install - London is a city of renters, remember!) and a huge tree planting initiative. The difference in temperature in green spaces vs hard pavement zones is staggering.

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Avatar for - Tiger

Drinking more water - Keeping hold of a spray fan, getting up earlier.

Creation of shade spots - esp in areas you want more footflow - walking market - near retailers and drinking water taps

Avatar for - Saola

I cope ok with the heat as my home is very cool and i keep curtains and windows shut in Summer.  It is winner and cold Damm weather that i find hard to cope with

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I cope ok with the heat as my home is very cool and i keep curtains and windows shut in Summer.  It is winner and cold Damm weather that i find hard to cope with

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Avatar for - Adelie penguin

Firstly I think a lot could be done to reduce street surface temperatures from more trees or fabric canopys to just reducing traffic as cars just exacerbate the heat. 

I think having misting stations around the city where people can cool...

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Firstly I think a lot could be done to reduce street surface temperatures from more trees or fabric canopys to just reducing traffic as cars just exacerbate the heat. 

I think having misting stations around the city where people can cool down is great as well as having maps that let me know where airconditioned venues are in their area so they can stay cool. The city of Geneva has done this really well and they even offer free cinema tickets to elderly/vulnerable people in heatwaves so they can stay somewhere cool.

It was super frustrating that when it was 40C in London a few years back I just really wanted to go swimming but couldn't access anywhere as it was all fully booked. It was made all the more annoying when the Lee River is so close by but too full of raw sewage for people to be able to swim in. So long term we really need to clean up our waterways so people can actually access spaces to keep cool.

Finally as a private renter I have no control over my living space and making it better for dealing with extreme heat. I used to live in a top floor flat in a converted house where if it got hot in summer I just had to be out all day as it was too stifling indoors. I then moved somewhere with high ceilings so its much better in extreme heat but in winter it is an absolute fridge. So really landlords need to be forced to make their properties suitable for these different conditions. I would love to see landlords have to meet a minimum energy rating for all private rental properties (because a D rating in winter is awful). This would force them to adequately insulate properties so they are better for both extreme heat and extreme cold. I also think having external shutters installed would be fantastic so you can keep your house cooler (as closing your curtains is nowhere near as effective as the heated window glass makes the room warm). I also would want all properties to have double glazing as an absolute minimum.

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Avatar for - Sea turtle

I think one of the biggest problems in rented homes is lack of insulation and single-glazed windows. During the heatwaves, my top floor flat was regularly hotter than outdoors before the afternoon, despite keeping curtains drawn and opening...

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I think one of the biggest problems in rented homes is lack of insulation and single-glazed windows. During the heatwaves, my top floor flat was regularly hotter than outdoors before the afternoon, despite keeping curtains drawn and opening all windows at night. It's a structural problem that old houses aren't getting modernised. Plus, there aren't enough public spaces with air-conditioning to cool off during the day.

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Avatar for - Sea turtle

  • AC on public transport
  • More water fountains in public parks
  • Planting trees on streets without them

Avatar for - Sea turtle

To cope with the heat, I stayed at my flat during the day and avoid commuting to work as the temperatures on the tube would be very high. The best room to stay at 40C is the bathroom as it has no windows therefore the heat is more bearable...

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To cope with the heat, I stayed at my flat during the day and avoid commuting to work as the temperatures on the tube would be very high. The best room to stay at 40C is the bathroom as it has no windows therefore the heat is more bearable. Drinking lots of fluids & take lots of cold showers. Going for a walk after sun is down was helpfull due to light wind. The flat during evening hours was unbearable. We also bought fans to help us sleep. 

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Avatar for - Adelie penguin

The survey seemed to miss the key part of the issue - what major infrastructure should be prioritised to deal with extreme heat as it becomes a more common feature of London life. Yes there’s lots of littler things individuals can do, and...

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The survey seemed to miss the key part of the issue - what major infrastructure should be prioritised to deal with extreme heat as it becomes a more common feature of London life. Yes there’s lots of littler things individuals can do, and government could do to support / incentivise / encourage. But the big issues are around temperature on public transport and temperature in public & private buildings. As others have said, no need to reinvent the wheel - other countries have managed high temperatures for a long time. The plan needs to have some major infrastructure and planning actions by government as the foundation, with the wider societal plan sat above it. 

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Avatar for - Sea turtle

Solar panel shaded areas would be a great two-way solution 

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Solar panel shaded areas would be a great two-way solution 

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Avatar for - Monarch butterfly

AC on the tube!! 

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AC on the tube!! 

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Avatar for - Sea turtle

More public places should start installing AC, especially in trains and buses. 

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More public places should start installing AC, especially in trains and buses. 

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Avatar for - Vaquita

I would add shadows on the streets with trees or with cotton cloth or even with crocheted clothes as used in other countries.

Also it is very important to refresh floors and buildings.

Spread the word in how to manage keeping lower...

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I would add shadows on the streets with trees or with cotton cloth or even with crocheted clothes as used in other countries.

Also it is very important to refresh floors and buildings.

Spread the word in how to manage keeping lower temperatures at homes without air conditioning (as using shadows or creating air flow)

The population should be trained in how to  hydrate and eat during hot weather and also how to prevent risks with elders and babies.

Change shifts to all workers with physical exercise or working outside of buildings with air conditioning, so they can do their work without risking their health.

 

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Avatar for - Koala

There are may countries inthe World with high  temperatures, no need to reinven  the wheel.  first we need AC on all public transport. Then we need more trees/shades and pedestrian only areas. Build  buildings  with proper outside windows...

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There are may countries inthe World with high  temperatures, no need to reinven  the wheel.  first we need AC on all public transport. Then we need more trees/shades and pedestrian only areas. Build  buildings  with proper outside windows blinds  like the ones in Spain and other European countries. Public swimming pools  in mayor parks.

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Avatar for - Sumatran elephant

More trees everywhere! No big squares without trees (granary square).

Spaces by the river covered with trees. Basically outdoor spaces with shade where people can stay FOR FREE. More ponds and lakes

Avatar for -

we need a bold vision for reducing heat. One thing I observe in Spain is the planting of tree canopies in the centre of wide roads. These create shade below and pockets of green and relative cool. Valencia has embraced cycle and scooter...

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we need a bold vision for reducing heat. One thing I observe in Spain is the planting of tree canopies in the centre of wide roads. These create shade below and pockets of green and relative cool. Valencia has embraced cycle and scooter paths - even in narrow streets - by restricting parking to one side of the road and increasing use of one way streets to reduce log jams. We need bold action in London. Its not enough to ‘tell’ people to change their transport means we must make it easiest to take alt methods.

 

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Avatar for - Adelie penguin

For goodness sake just make it easier to install air conditioning. Enable people to get two way air source heat pumps. The only thing that can deal with the extreme heat is AIR CONDITIONING. It is not any worse for the environment than...

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For goodness sake just make it easier to install air conditioning. Enable people to get two way air source heat pumps. The only thing that can deal with the extreme heat is AIR CONDITIONING. It is not any worse for the environment than heating, in fact I think it's better. And certainly if you use a two way heat pump.

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Avatar for - Koala

Wrong. The best way to cause extreme heat is to add more air conditioning. Walk, ride bikes, plant trees, tax the wealthy, make more swimming pools and make them affordable. Stop driving your cars around for no reason.

Avatar for - American pika

Air conditioning is nothing to do with extreme heat. Good air conditioners are multiple times (5-6x) more efficient than gas central heating which is considered essential for health in the winter and no one bats an eye at its use.

Avatar for - Saola

Air conditioning is a double edged sword - sadly using it increases global heating as it causes more CO2 emissions - nature based solutions are the ideal ones IMO.  More green spaces, more trees to provide shade - a tree lined street is up...

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Air conditioning is a double edged sword - sadly using it increases global heating as it causes more CO2 emissions - nature based solutions are the ideal ones IMO.  More green spaces, more trees to provide shade - a tree lined street is up to 6 degrees cooler than one without trees! It’s radical what nature can do! More swimming pools, ponds and lakes in our parks. 🙏

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Avatar for - Colombian spotted frog

We need to do a lot more to cool down public transport - buses and underground tube lines are absolutely impossible, have felt faint so so many times when it’s hot

Avatar for - Colombian spotted frog

Support for external shutters would make a big difference. And PLANT LOTS MORE TREES, they are proven to make a huge difference <3

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Support for external shutters would make a big difference. And PLANT LOTS MORE TREES, they are proven to make a huge difference <3

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Some combination of heat pumps with air conditioning or tarditional air conditioning in new builds, I live in a new build and its unbearable even on days that aren't record breaking heat waves and there is not a single thing built into this...

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Some combination of heat pumps with air conditioning or tarditional air conditioning in new builds, I live in a new build and its unbearable even on days that aren't record breaking heat waves and there is not a single thing built into this flat to mitigate heat or move air through it beyond opening windows or sitting in the dark which doesn't help

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Timeline

STAGE: Evidence gathering

Launch of the London Climate Resilience Review

Happened

London’s changing climate

Happened
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Londoners have responded 927 times

Find out more
STAGE: Programme launched

London Climate Resilience Review is published with a recommendation to create the London Heat Risk Delivery Plan

Happened
STAGE: You said, we did

Report on impacts of climate change published

Happened
Read our update
STAGE: Evidence gathering

London Heat Risk Delivery Plan programme launches

Happened
STAGE: Evidence gathering

March-September 2025: Stakeholder engagement to help inform the London Heat Risk Delivery Plan (including here on Talk London)

Happened

Shaping London's Heat Plan

Happening now
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Londoners have responded 1231 times

Start the survey
STAGE: Programme design

September 2025 - March 2026: Drafting of the London Heat Risk Delivery Plan

Happened
STAGE: Programme launched

Spring 2026: Publication of the London Heat Risk Delivery Plan

Happened