London’s risk from rising temperatures

In Summer 2025, almost 3,500 of you shared your experience with heat in our Talk London survey.

Your lived experience helped to inform Heat Ready London. This is the Mayor’s ambitious plan to:

• Build on and improve London's ability to cope with rising temperatures
• Ensure that London is able to adapt to rising temperatures in the short, medium, and long term.

In our Talk London discussion, many of you expressed your priorities as:

• Better protection from the health impacts of high temperatures
• More access to green space
• A city that is better prepared for future conditions 

Your priorities are reflected in the objectives of the London Heat Ready Plan to: 

• Protect Londoners from the health impacts of high temperatures
• Reduce inequalities by prioritising those most at risk
• Ensure buildings, public spaces and green spaces are adapted to heat and provide shade
• Maintain essential services and infrastructure, such as healthcare services and transport
• Support businesses and the economy   

Heat Ready London sets out 37 priority areas of focus to protect Londoners from rising temperatures and extreme heat. 

Areas of focus include: 

• More cooling spaces and access to public drinking water
• Retrofitting homes at the highest risk of overheating
• More tree cover and green spaces in priority areas for long term cooling and shade
• More safe access to blue spaces such as swimming and other activities based around London’s waterways  
• Helping our health and care system better withstand high temperatures  
• Making London’s transport infrastructure as reliable and safe as operationally feasible in high temperatures

Thank you once again for helping to shape Heat Ready London.

We’ll keep you updated with the latest opportunities to help inform policies and programmes in City Hall.