Boiling point: short-term coping with heatwaves in the UK is not enough

In July 2022, a national emergency was declared in the United Kingdom (UK) following the Met Office’s first-ever red extreme heat warning. As temperatures reached 40.3oC, thousands of excess deaths were recorded. Based on 38 expert interviews and 4 focus groups with key decision-makers and stakeholders working on the frontline of the 2022 UK heatwaves, we found that the country is not prepared for extreme heat because: (1) policies and planning prioritise coping over resilience; (2) insufficient preventative actions were taken; and (3) a range of barriers hinder effective short and longer-term measures. We argue that whilst the UK coped with the heatwaves in 2022, it lacks the resilience needed to deal with persistent and prolonged heat events.

Candice Howarth et al 2025 Environ. Res. Lett. in press https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/add94c