London’s risk from rising temperatures

Introducing a driving ban on extremely hot days would also have several benefits - less cars on the road would mean less air pollution which is exacerbated by heat and thus increases the risk to health for everyone especially vulnerable people.

More green and blue spaces in all neighbourhoods and along roads and on public squares would reduce the urban heat island effect by a few degrees, can also create more air movement and reduces air pollution. Also improves mental health, and makes a city look much nicer. Win win win. 

Umbrella shaped trees, trellises, pergolas, mini forests etc would all do the trick. Also planting more street trees and pollarding the larger ones less severely.

Using road space to create more green spaces, like in parklets, and digging up some of the heat absorbing concrete in favour of greenery would also reduce car traffic which in itself creates heat and hot surfaces.

And preserving, watering and caring for all existing trees and green spaces in the city.

We have a cottage in Hounslow and during the heatwaves it gets absolutely baking in the bedrooms at night. We had to buy a portable air con unit to keep us cool and we have planted lots of trees in the garden as well as put black out blinds up. It's still too hot!  There has been an awful lot of new build flats in the area and there's talk now of four high rise towers being built right behind us. This is surely going to generate more heat, more light pollution and more air pollution. Councils need to be looking to cool areas down, not increase the intensity of the heat and pollution for residents. Of course we need more buildings but high rise tower blocks and over building in already overpopulated areas is not the answer. 

Even if aircon on buses is difficult to retrofit, how about some reflective foil on the windows - to reduce the heat inside. Travelling on buses is awful - especially when they are crowded, and many tube lines are overcrowded and the ambient temperature is above 28 degrees C.

One of the most important things not mentioned here is air con on public transport - buses and the tube and some trains are unbearably hot - up to 40 degrees 

Hello everybody! I believe for thousands of us the main issue is buses without AC; I realize that would be a costly improvement but will save many people gloing to A&E, and also sometime might only be to instruct the driver correctly to turn the AC on where available; new buses are ok but they are a minority and going forward this should really be  plan for London TfL and various departments as will get hotter and buses will be our main transport - aside tube and bicycles which are not for everybody... :-)

Make it legal for new builds to have air conditioning. We are so focused, in this country, on insulating homes from the cold and wet, which is great. My flat is nice and warm in the winter, sure.  But it is an absolute oven in the summer. In 2022 it was unbearable- the survey asks “what did you do to cope?”. I bought an air conditioning unit; if I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have got any sleep for three weeks. 

Planning regs for floor size and fire escapes mean that most new builds are single aspect- this means there is no through draft. Change this. 
Air conditioning is effectively banned- change this. 
Sash windows are also effectively banned on safety grounds- change this. 
Stop worrying about the extremes of cold, which we have largely solved. The planet, and London, is getting hotter- try to solve the problems we are going to have, not the ones we had in the 20th century. 

And for those saying air conditioning is bad for the environment, just eat less meat and fly less etc- what makes you so defeatist? Temperature increase is already baked in, and air conditioning will become more necessary, not less. 
We have access to this technology now, so it should be used. In the UK we are already at 50% renewables and rising- when we get to net zero, will you still be against air conditioning then? If not then why not use it now, when we are actually one of the countries in the world doing better at getting energy from renewable sources?

Please for the love of god just put aircon on the tube 

One of the key things that would make it better is public transport with proper air conditioning - something that this survey completely missed. 

So many people wanting AC which requires energy which leads to more global warming!  Maybe stop flying, driving eat less meat etc.  

I keep windows and curtains shut during the day …electric light costs less than AC.  I keep a small spray bottle of water and spray face and arms if have to go out and before sleep.  

Good old paper fan is  effective and more environmentally friendly than those battery operated plastic ones.  

 

More mass tree planting and green spaces across London will provide shading and reduce reflective heat. In Camden there are areas that have been depaved and planted up which is a good start. Look at models from cities like Rotterdam. 

The tubes are unbearable at the moment, in these extreme heats. We’re in the 21st century surely air conditioned tubes and plastic seating instead of warm, dirty material seats should be something that should be introduced by now? 

So many great things suggestions already regarding infrastructure and transport. Speaking as someone with young children in a small flat without a garden, it would hugely helpful to have more trees (or awnings or something) for shade in all playgrounds and around splash pads (e.g. next to the benches by the fountains in Granary Square, where parents are boiling in the beating sun while their children splash away, or around the seating area in Ruskin Park paddling pool) and to instal some sort of water play facilities in all larger parks. Quite a few like Peckham Rye or Hilly Fields already have water pumps installed, but there are rarely switched on. 

I actually took my driving test on this day. What I remembered from it was the day in my house was utterly blistering hot. We lived in a Victorian terraced house, shut all the doors, windows and blinds and didnt open them till it was cooler. It was still awful. 

Then at the centre of the day I took the driving exam in a car with air conditioning. That was lovely. 

To cope better with the heat we need to implement a better understanding on a domestic level of how to passively cope with it instead of relying on air conditioning. How installing, awnings, shutters, and blinds - creating distance through shade between your home and the sun, can make a real difference to the temperature inside. 

If there are government subsidies for solar panels, I feel this equipment should also be available as a benefit to improve the passive performance of people’s homes to cope with the rising temperatures 

 

How is Air conditioned in public transport and public spaces not even a consideration in this consultation? Asking us 8 times how concerned we are about extreme weather doesn’t really help shape anything does it? 

The Elizabeth line is a decent example of a good commute option in this heat - we need trains and buses (and platforms?) with aircon retrofitted. It's the single biggest thing that could be done. 

Some kind of grant scheme or tax benefit for an indoor cooling system (thay doesnt completely wreck the environment like traditional aircon), or for reflective roof panelling, available for London homes given the intensity of the heat here.

Urban tree canopy expansions.

Public cooling centres like libraries and community centres. Public misting stations, more water fountains with clean water or bottle filling.

Enforceable standards for max temperatures in the workplace. My friend is an NHS worker and they don't have aircon in her office and the temp is above 35 on heatwave days.

Cool pavement trials - reflective or light coloured surfaces.

Just a few things off top of head.

The tubes and buses are by far the worst part of living in London in the summer, but there also needs to be more regulation on housing to ensure safe living standards in heat regulations. We have minimum temperatures, but maximums? High rises are built without the ability to open windows fully to regulate the air, old buildings built for harsh winters are left unchanged and uncared for, and both are rented out to tenants who cannot install proper AC, left to sweat and suffer through horrendous “heatwaves” - that in reality, are just the new normal of global warming.