Residents across the UK are experiencing severe consequences from extreme heat, particularly those living in older brick housing that retains warmth throughout the day and night. Mandy Bourne and her elderly mother in the West Midlands have found their top-floor flat becomes dangerously hot during recent heatwaves, exacerbating existing health conditions. The urban heat island effect, where cities retain significantly more heat than surrounding rural areas, can elevate nighttime temperatures by as much as 7 degrees Celsius, with research suggesting such effects account for approximately half of heat-related deaths during extreme weather events.
Housing associations and landlords are beginning to respond to resident complaints about unbearable indoor temperatures. Some have implemented improvised cooling solutions, such as designating community rooms with mobile air conditioning units as refuge spaces. Jo Shields, a sustainability official with a major housing group overseeing thousands of properties, now finds herself balancing two competing priorities: reducing carbon emissions from buildings while simultaneously adapting homes to withstand rising temperatures.
This tension reflects a broader policy debate gaining momentum in wealthy nations. For four decades, climate strategy has prioritized mitigation—cutting carbon emissions—over adaptation measures such as cooling systems and heat-resistant building design. Global funding patterns reflect this imbalance, with mitigation receiving approximately $1.8 trillion compared to adaptation’s $65 billion in recent years. Recent arguments from prominent figures in climate and technology policy have challenged this allocation, contending that resources should be directed toward interventions that protect vulnerable populations in warming climates.
The UK government’s Climate Change Committee has issued recommendations urging stronger legal frameworks for adaptation targets, arguing that comprehensive cooling support for vulnerable housing and healthcare facilities could prevent 40% of projected heat-related deaths by 2050. However, adaptation investments face structural barriers; unlike carbon reduction technologies such as heat pumps, adaptation measures produce fewer marketable products and bankable returns. Currently, only approximately 5% of English homes are equipped with air conditioning units, leaving significant portions of the population without cooling capacity during extreme heat events.
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