6million Britons at risk from heat and lack of climate protections

A new analysis, published two years after the UK recorded it highest ever temperatures, points to negligent government policy.

3.7million people living with high blood pressure, 700,000 heart disease sufferers, 1.5million asthmatics, 400,000 diagnosed with respiratory disease and 1.6million diabetics are all considered high risk for heatwaves in Britain. 

According to new analysis, kidney disease is also a major contributor to death from extreme heat, with 800,000 people in the country living with this type of condition in high risk areas. Meanwhile, 200,000 have developed rheumatoid arthritis, which is another associated factor. 

Research conducted by the University of Manchester and Friends of the Earth has identified 15,662 neighbourhoods considered ‘under threat’ from extreme heat. These are defined as locations exposed to temperatures of at least 27.5C for five days or more. 28million people live in these areas. 

This week a High Court hearing begins in which Friends of the Earth and two co-claimants believe they lives have been severely impacted by the climate crisis, and the UK’s National Adaptation Programme does not offer sufficient protections from the foreseeable impacts of climate change. 

‘The disproportionate impacts that are already being felt by disabled people, and will continue to in the future without better plans for adapting to climate change, are a stain on the UK and show just how far we’ve still to go to ensure disabled lives are taken seriously and treated with the respect they deserve,’ said Doug Paulley a disability rights activist and co-claimant in the case.

‘As someone who really struggles to regulate their body temperature due to health reasons, heatwaves like the one we had in 2022 mean I have to keep all of the curtains, windows and doors shut, and constantly cool my home with air conditioning just to get through,’ he continued. ‘It becomes really isolating because I can’t go and visit anyone else in my care home, let alone the outside world. It’s not lost on me that disabled people were similarly cut off during the pandemic, too.’

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Image: La coccinelle