London’s risk from rising temperatures

London Underground all year round is terrible. Especially the Victoria and Northern line. I wish all tubes had ac like the Elizabeth line. As a regular tube user, the temperatures even in the winter are extremely uncomfortable. And someone needs to sort out what is causing all that heat at Tottenham Court Road station! 

That day in 2022 took a toll me on me physically and mentally. I felt so fatigued and powerless, I spent the day sleeping in the living room because it’s the coolest room in the house. London homes, or any UK home, aren’t unfortunately built for summer. British winters are harsh, but so are summers, but unfortunately we can’t have both. Americans got lucky with their AC; with most being able to heat and cool their homes, but the electricity bill must be high. 

Green infrastructure and nature based solutions along with landscape architecture and policy focused on circular economy and climate adaptation should become more rigid 

The current housing infrastructure and most of the wider transportation infrastructure in London has not been built up for heatwaves. Carpets and lack of air conditioning make the situation worse. Air fans and getting away from London was the only way to escape the heat

After completing the survey I would have liked to see more questions about public transport! One of the things that make the heat unbearable in london is how hot the buses and tubes get. 

I have three suggestions. 

Firstly, all windows should be double glazed. I recently saw on Hackneys planning portal that an application to put in double glazing on a house was rejected because it was in a conservation area! Councils should not be allowed to ban double glazing like this, anyone should be able to put it in without a planning application.

Next, we should encourage the use of external roller shutters. These are used in all homes in Europe, we should learn from them. External blinds keep homes far more insulated than internal ones.

Lastly external bi-directional heat pumps (aka air conditioners) should be encouraged, and allowed to be installed without planning permission. These can be used to heat houses with green energy in the winter and cool homes in summer. 

 

Yet another survey designed and manipulated to get only the results they want to hear. If this is supposed to be a forum to allow people to have a say but not allowing anyone to vote for the use of air conditioning is hardly democracy in action. I completely understand the environmental impacts but in many cases it is the only option that actually works. The National Grid in the summer months is overwhelming powered by majority renewables and zero carbon sources so grow up and allow us to vote like adults rather than arrogantly dictating the options.

All of the pre-populated responses were just fluff around the edges, which was disappointing to see. I was hoping this was going to get feedback to support the obvious and only real solution: relaxing planning rules on air conditioning and expanding it as much as possible to workplaces, public buildings, etc. and having it as standard in all new builds.

I draw blinds in the day and open windows at night. I’d like to install shutters. I leave out water for wildlife and add water to cat food. I don’t go out at the hottest times. I seek shade. I water new trees that my council has planted. I save water from when my shower is warming up and use it to water plants in the evening. I keep hydrated. I rail against Trump and oil / plastic companies who put ridiculously high profits before everything else. Congestion zones should be bigger. New builds should have solar and pv windows. Car parks should have solar. Tax the fuck out of SUVs that take up too much space and sporty engines.

Thanks for caring about the public opinion.

Among the many things, we should look into a better system of ventilation on public transport for both summer and winter - on a single day this week I went from artic temperatures on only one carriage of a Southern train to tropical climate on a bus in South West London, where all its tiny little windows were open while the air con was full blast spitting out hot air. I could say the same, on reverse, for a journey I make on a cold winter day.

I have recently purchased a new build. The developer was incentivised by the government to add a heat pump system for climate reasons.

If you know anything about heat pumps, you’d know they can be reverse cycle. They add and subtract heat.

In the UK, you can only be subsidised for one that adds heat. Even though functionally and in terms of energy they’re identical.

Our homes are still designed to trap heat, yet our ability to rid ourselves of it is impossible. 

I’ve spent £15,000 adding reverse cycle air conditioning to my home (yes, it’s less than a year old & the system I added can add heat too).

This is ridiculous. Legislation around this is ridiculous. And frankly, people will start dying or leaving because of how insane this is. 

Please update the building standards so that heat extraction is equally important and controllable as heat collection. 
 

The world is hotter now. Snow doesn’t fall as often in London.

We must adapt. FYI I’m Australian and think this is bonkers.

Our house 60s-built house has huge windows that face the sun from dawn to dusk. It is unbearable upstairs, particularly as we are in our late 70s. But the Scheme of Management where we live won't allow changes that affect the look of the property to mitigate the effect of the heat, e.g. external shutters. We have triple glazing, solar window film, blackout blinds and blackout curtains but still upstairs is unbearable. Of course we follow common sense and keep everything closed until the sun has gone down, and only then do we open the windows. I am very concerned for our well-being.

Lack of drinking water refill stations particularly in the underground and around London make traveling feel really dangerous, trains get so hot I have had to get off due to the heat on numerous occasions for health reasons access to water at each station would make a massive difference

Thank you

Last year I installed just one air-air heat pump which serves my bedroom and my study. It cost less than £5,000. It is fantastic! I will be saving up for another as I feel sorry for any guests in the spare room! Given that our health can be affected adversely when the temperature is above 25 degrees this was a brilliant investment. I always have green electricity so in the winter I can use it for heating and in the summer for cooling. 

Increased green infrastructure is key. SuDS, tree planting, depaving pointless concrete areas, green roofs and walls, etc. Trees offer invaluable refuge and cool the air against the brutal heat in cities. Also, as a regular year-round lido user I'd love to see investment in more quality 50m pools. They are great for mental and physical well-being and offer a rare way to cope in the intense heat.  

We need to stop making such a big deal of the heat. Air Con on tubes would be great though. 

The climate crisis is real, and needs to be fixed at source with the Net Zero transition. We don't need City Hall funding community events, or running advertising campaigns about carrying water. Our bodies tell us when we are hot. 

I would rather the money is spent on more police so that when the weather is hot, and we go to the park, or head to a blue space, that we feel safe doing so. Not at risk of having our phones stolen or our women at risk of sexual abuse. 

If you want people to use public spaces better to cope with the heat, make them safe spaces - not in a woke way - in a literal way. More police presence etc.