London’s risk from rising temperatures

It's challenging to change my property to make it more resilient in heat as it is in a conservation zone so many changes would not be appropriate. Thought and advice on how to make changes in a way that maintains the heritage would be good.

I'd like to see a lot more use of trees to create shading and ideally planting by refusing parking spaces not on the pavement where space for pedestrians is often already limited.

Public transport is a nightmare. Buses are unmanageable during the heatwaves and this should be one of the biggest priorities for MoL (and the tube where it doesn't have air con). This is not just an issue for passengers but staff too.

My main strategy with the heat is not to go outside and to stay indoors for most of the day. However sometimes this isn't an option and currently it is extremely challenging to navigate the city and do anything when it is hot so there is definitely a need to make the city more liveable in high heat.

I left london, rescheduled my jobs and checked into a hotel near west wittering.

We need access to solar panels so that we can afford to run aircon. 
We also need to have access to green schemes for social housing tenants.

Every scheme available is for homeowners while the people who could best benefit from cheaper electricity are denied it.

As a gardener, I refuse to work in anything above 28 degrees so higher temperatures affect my income, my contribution to the economy and my clients. 

in 2022 the heat was so high it broke panes of glass and bent window frames out of shape in my home. To cope with the heat, we created a shaded area on the flat's balcony, placed reflective sheets on the windows, and followed the advice re windows closed and open in the day. For the dog we used wet towels on its belly, as that's a good way to cool them off, and lots of showers for ourselves. it was exceedingly uncomfortable all the same, and we have since acquired an air conditioning unit, which helps a little. We avoided direct sunlight for the duration of the heatwave. 

I live in a converted victorian house. This was built for a different Britain, and lacks ventilation. While this can be retrofitted it is at significant cost, far higher than can reasonably be met by any householder or landlord, social or no. It is obvious that sponsored retrofitting of climate controlling measures (for heat and cold) and energy efficiency is required.

Outside crops that worked five years ago no longer flourish and new crops begin to thrive. We have noticed in particular that crops used to arid conditions are doing well, but these must also be able to handle intermittent flood. We can attest to grass becoming parched to the extent that it does not recover, and London's trees sacrificing branches to survive heat.  We are seeing more deaths among small birds and fledglings.

Water is essential, and it must be put to work. It makes sense to create more water features across London's parks, ensure water is available in those parks, and invest in drinking water.

However doing so would be prohibitive in cost due to water privatisation. As such  it is a matter of both common sense and national survival that water supply is nationalised as the need for it is far too great to be in the hands of any private entity. From cooling to crops to public safety, water is national security and its management is a matter of national importance. 

I'm keeping my windows closed and curtains and blinds drawn during the day while it's hottest, and open them at night before I go to sleep.

Buying an air conditioning unit was the only way we could stay cool. It's not very efficient, and requires us to put a tube out of the window. London should update its development regulations to allow for more air conditioning units to be installed in new builds. In particular, air to air heat pumps which can cool in the summer and heat in the winter. This also helps with out green energy transition

I think the modern electric buses have AC but it's completely useless because the windows are always opened letting the heat in

Can we remove the ability to open windows in all spaces that have AC?

Planting trees along streets drastically decreases the surface temperature along the streets and provides much needed shading during extreme temperatures.

They're also good for the environment too

Misting stations are of limited effect here... the UK is already a humid country, past a certain point misting only increases the heat index and makes the heat feel worse to living animals.

I urge you to consider funding more open water/wild swimming venues. East London Waterworks for example. As well as planting more trees, look at Singapore & Barcelona, how they have invested in public spaces, infrastructure for pedestrian and cyclists whilst planting trees everywhere, the temperature of the cities have dropped multiple degrees. 

More outdoor swimming spaces! There is only a handful in the whole of London, and they book out well in advance on a warm day! 

We need to be supporting our NHS more during heatwaves. I work in a tertiary hospital, and during these times our wards reach 30 degrees consistently. Despite fans for each patient, this is still extremely uncomfortable, and can frequently affect patients clinically too. We then have staff who have no option but to work in these conditions, and any office space for clinical staff is cramped without fans or aircon.

Let’s get real! Our neglect of global warming is detrimental to health & safefy. It’s inhumane to expect 30 pupils to sit in classrooms above 90 degrees with poor air quality. I have a respiratory health condition and cannot breathe when there’s no breeze.

I notice this survey does not include an option about adding A/C.on public transport. This is essential and should be a priority. Pretty much all other countries have A/C on public transport apart from the UK. We are not developing as a nation.

It's just hot weather and it's called summer. Nothing else.

What about the misting machines they have in other cities like Paris? Definitely more trees lining the streets. Shutters on windows and reflective paint. And more tree lined streets. 

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.