Britain is not ready for heatwaves - and it's our fault

Attempting to stop climate change in its tracks is one thing; making sure that people are able to adapt to whatever changes are coming their way is quite another. Much has been made of efforts to keep global warming to a minimum, and whether they really are enough, and really will work, but climate resilience will soon become the topic on everyone’s lips.

It seems remarkably unlikely that we will manage to keep the planet’s climate unchanged over the next few decades. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t keep trying, of course, but it should lead to some serious thinking about how best to adapt to what’s coming.

Over the past two years, the UK Green Building Council has been working on a project setting out just that. Their findings make for predictably bleak reading. According to them, the UK’s houses, care homes and schools just aren’t equipped for the future heatwaves heading their way.

If this doesn’t change, the country risks facing more deaths of vulnerable people, increased injuries, some broader negative health impacts and “untold” economic damage and loss in productivity. Climate resilience, they argue, should be declared a national emergency. They are almost certainly right, but it seems worth wondering if the concept shouldn’t be expanded to include human behaviour.

It is a well-known fact that many British people struggle with the heat. According to a recent YouGov survey, nearly half of people were, as of a few weeks ago, hoping that this summer wouldn’t feature a heatwave. Sadly for them, their wishes weren’t respected by the weather gods, and places including London have already seen temperatures rise into the mid-30s.

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At time of writing, it is looking like a second wave will soon hit the south of England, with temperatures once again forecast to go into the thirties, not even a fortnight after the first round ended. This summer has, so far, offered little respite to people who tend to thrive in more temperate climates.

What should be done, then? Infrastructure won’t be fixed by the end of this summer, or the next. In the meantime, Brits must look to their southern neighbours, and learn to live alongside the heat, as opposed to endlessly trying to fight it.

Take Mediterranean eating times, for example; inviting people over for dinner in Britain and serving food at around 9pm or later would probably make you a social outcast right now, but who really wants to eat a full meal when it’s still sunny and 28 degrees outside? It may take some effort to get used to it, but eating later in the evening simply is a lot nicer when the day has been a very warm one.

Similarly, no-one is forcing anyone to have a “siesta” after lunch – though you can if you want to – but understanding that nothing physical should be done between, say 1pm and 3pm really is crucial. Try to avoid leaving the house in the middle of the day, and leave any exercise or even errands for the early morning or as close to nighttime as possible.

Again, it isn’t a rhythm of life that will come easily to anyone born and bred on these islands, but it’s what they do down south, and one can only assume that they had to learn it the hard way. In truth, the only way through is a slightly philosophical one, and involves realising that your relationship with the weather outside must change on a fundamental level, at least a few weeks a year.

British weather, aside from some exceptions in the Highlands or perhaps in hilly parts of Wales, is usually something that can be ignored, or at least reasoned with. You can always put on a coat or grab a brolly, and be on your merry way. After a certain threshold, heat cannot be cast aside. It is not an enemy you can defeat.

Truly reckoning with this may not be easy, but there’s just no other way. Naturally, we can also hope that the state will step in and make sure that the country’s buildings and public spaces are tweaked and remade to take the changing weather into account, but that will take time. In the meantime, true climate resilience, on a human level can only come from acceptance.