London’s risk from rising temperatures

The underground and bus is horrendous during heatwaves. Something must be done to improve AC on public transport!

The Seine in Paris is now open for swimming in the summer in Paris which is amazing for cooling off. They also advertise public swimming pool and i believe some of them are free to access in the summer. Improved access to swimming spots is essential I think.

I've also noticed tree-lined streets are noticeably cooler than streets with no trees. Perhaps planting more trees might be an option.

The tube gets horrendously hot. The  Northern line and Victoria line in particular are at extremely high temperatures. I don’t think it’s safe - they need to prioritise air conditioning on these tube lines ASAP before next summer. 

Loving in Feltham and dependent on public transport it's not always easy to cope with high temperatures when doing daily activities. Buses need to have better AC units and bus stops should have at least shade or misting units. More than once I felt sick during bus journeys because of how hot it was and how full the bus was. I also witnessed people falling ill and fainting. 

The worst is walking out to buy groceries, there's very little natural shade to protect. More trees or at least misting stations would help.

Staying at home isn't easy either. My flat is on the top floor, so I get the rising heat from underneath and the full strength of the exposure to the sun. I found myself spending more time outside the house, jumping from shop to shop chasing the ac. Landlords should be pushed to make adaptations for extreme heat, be that installing black out blinds, window covers, anything.

I travel to Japan a lot and heat is also a problem in Tokyo. Houses are better equipped, with better materials to sustain heat and AC is much more common. 

For work commutes and walking outside, the heat is an economy. There are vending machines to purchase cold drinks, convenience stores sell cooling aids such as cooling wipes and sprays, ice cups, regular bottled drinks but frozen, UV blocking parasols. Maybe we could incentivise our local shops to sell some of these during heat waves. And vending machines could unlock to provide free water during days of extreme heat.

I have started to see misting stations near public attractions and parks as well. Green areas are well kept and have facilities such as toilets and vending machines or a little shop, so people use them more often to hide in the shade throughout the day. 

Trains, buses and the metro system are equipped with AC. 

Air conditioning in public buildings, trees in urban areas, awareness campaigns around how to keep your home and pets safe, encouragement of flexible working around hot and busy periods 

Having access to water is essential when it is a heatwave. Public water fountains/stations are obviously great for this. I see these sometimes in or just outside train stations around London. It would be great if every train station could have a water fountain - that way everyone would know thirsty = find a station. 

In some other European cities they have misting stations in public areas. These spray a fine mist on you to help cool you down and are incredibly effective. I saw these in Tirana, Albania in Summer 2024. I think these would be greatly effective if implemented in high traffic areas around London. Or perhaps they would be useful at high traffic events, such as outdoor festivals that take place in the summertime.

I also think having third-spaces cooled with AC are helpful. I have found myself standing in supermarkets by the fridges to cool down, so having designated spaces with AC (such as the library, perhaps) would be ideal.

What I hear from my peers is that sleeping is the hardest part of dealing with a heatwave. Perhaps we need to adopt a culture similar to other European cities where we have external blinds which are closed to keep the heat out. Maybe a good way to implement this is to have new builds built with this feature? Or some kind of heat considered design?

Please, please get creative in sorting out the air conditioning on the tubes and buses. They are currently unsafe how hot they get. 

Close all windows and blinds after the cool morning air has dissipated and only open again when outside air becomes cool again. Warm shower before bed. Cotton loose clothing. Drink plenty of water. Use water spray to face when travelling. 

I run a community allotment. We have rests in shade in. I soak my sunhat which has a flap to cover my neck. We changed to only morning sessions 4 years ago, so finish before afternoon heat. 

I kept my windows open 24/7. The problem with that is that there was a lot os mosquitos and flies entering my home. I didn't have a fan nor A/C, there was nothing I could do besides that, and keeping a bucket with water near my bed, to help humidify my bedroom.

The biggest problem is with buses and the undeground. The public transportation is not designed for hot weather. The daily commute to work was simply miserable.

This year I bought a fan. But the models sold in the UK are not good, if you compare to the ones sold in warm countries. I also keep the lights at home off, when I need to keep the windows open for a long time. That helps to not attract as many mosquitos as before.

London has to improve the climate comfort in public transportation. We have the most expensive system in the world, it is a shame that it is doesn't even have A/C.

Shutters, tall trees, cheap public pools:

Don't think short-term!
London buildings could keep the heat out if they had proper shutters on the outside, and people would be told to keep them down during the hot hours. This makes a world of a difference (I now from growing up in Germany, and this is also used in other European countries like Italy) and doesn't require constant electricity like ACs or fans. We should have started adopting this a while ago.

On the go / in the tube etc
When it gets hot in London generally, I always carry not just a water bottle, but also a handheld fan and water mist spray. When you're dealing with heat, even just a temporary relief or the illusion of control can help. 
Anything from 28 degrees is too much for my body, so I like being prepared. Fe

Personal coping methods - at home
The heatwave of 2022 was unbearable, working from home in the top of an old building. 
A small fan pointed at my face gave some relief, as well as a wet small towel on my back or shoulders. Without that towel i would not have been able to sleep either.

We did not have a large stand-up fan back then for the bedroom, so this year we will likely be using that a lot. 
Just imagine how many people will have bought fans and will be using all that extra electricity now! 

Personal coping methods - Outside
1. Going anywhere with tall trees that give shade (you keep streets cool this way, and parks). Going anywhere with water to stick your feet in ( I even considered the V&A's madjeski garden or public fountains like at central st martins).
2. Free public water fountains are SO important.
3. Bathing: Germany has lots of cheap outdoor lidos surrounded by greenery that everyone flocks to as soon as it gets hot - people spend hours there and cool down in the pool intermittently.  The places usually are quite simple, so the prices are not high, and there's usually somewhere to get both ice cream as well as savoury snacks.
Here in london we seem to have a lot fewer lidos and it takes a while

Reduce the space in our city devoted to cars which sit around parked 90% of the time. We need cleaner public transport (i.e. electric buses or trams) and better cycle provision - take away road space from cars and add shade using increased tree planting. Combustion engines also produce additional heat so ban anything except EVs from London roads.

We’ve got to find a way to remove heat from the tube system (preferably to use that heat elsewhere - especially in winter). 
Also to impose maximum office working temperature to encourage employers to create a comfortable working environment. 
Assistance with provision of room fans for those who can’t afford.

Grants available for the installation of external blinds.  

This survey is blunt, patronising and ignores key issues. It puts the onus on non-expert residents to identify the most effective cooling methods (from an extremely short list), rather than key government expert consultants. 

Disappointed not to see a focus on air conditioning on the tube and in tube stations in the lists of potential answers here. To me, this is the obvious issue when it comes to heat in London, along with every public outdoor swimming space either being very expensive to access, or booking up very quickly. 

Can I just also add as someone with a Sociology BSc that this survey seems very unprofessional and at times as if the author is not sure what they are measuring and which research questions they are trying to answer. Quite random and not balanced in the response options at all, as well. Not sure if any useful insights can be gained from this exercise tbh. 

Our public transport is not equipped to cope with even marginally warmer weather. Most busses are fitted with only a few, very small windows and I have never experienced a route master on which the A/C works. Commuting in Westminster is a miserable experience generally, due to the bizarre ongoing works to Lambeth Bridge and surrounding areas, but it is extra hellish in summer months as TfL has failed to make small but impactful changes. 

Heat indoors in many places is awful during heatwaves. Buildings warm up and then retain that heat for days, so even if the night is cooler, you are still sweltering in your bed. Councils should permit and encourage the installation of proper outside (outdoor) shutters, like in southern countries, to insulate the windows against sun radiation. In most buildings this is currently not permitted due to conservation rules etc. Similarly relax rules around installing air conditioning. A lot of people  ow work from home, and it is hard to be working in heat. 

Also more shaded areas in public spaces, squares, gardens - benches with covers etc. Pergolas with some greenery are the best. Overall bodies of water and thickly planted trees are proven to be be best for cooling the area. 

We've had some local buses upgraded in our area to air-conditioned ones - would be great to see more of these in the future. Not much can be done about the tube from what I understand.