As temperatures across Britain rise amid a fourth official summer heatwave, data can play a huge part in helping authorities mitigate impact on the most vulnerable.
Using mapping from the 2022 UK heatwave — the first time in the country’s history thermometers surpassed the 40C mark, leading to 4,500 excess deaths — experts have been able to pinpoint areas which are most likely to suffer from future temperature spikes.
Conducted by Friends of the Earth, and focussed on the one-third of the UK which experienced the hottest days three summers ago, the average maximum daytime temperature was 38C over a 72-hour period. This is 10C above the Met Office threshold for heatwaves.
In total, 4,715 of these ‘high heat neighbourhoods’ have been identified in England alone. Combined, there are around 10,000 care homes for the elderly in these locations — accommodation for some of the most heat-vulnerable groups in the population.
Additionally, there are also 1,012 hospitals in these areas, significantly raising the risk for people suffering form long term, chronic and terminal illnesses, alongside 10,064 nurseries. Children under the age of five are also considered to be particularly susceptible to high temperatures.
‘Time and again, disabled people are treated as an expendable afterthought in emergencies – and climate change is one of the biggest. The government’s lack of effective consideration for us in its climate action plan is completely unacceptable,’ said disability rights activist Doug Paulley. ‘Friends of the Earth’s research reveals just how many care homes are in heatwave danger zones. The government must do more to ensure residents like me are properly protected from the threat they face.’
Campaigners are now calling for £1billion per year to upgrade buildings and make them cooler, prioritising those in areas that are most at risk. A new national adaptation plan should also be drawn up addressing how to protect people from summer heatwaves, with an increase in blue and green spaces also tabled.
Public ‘cool spaces’ should also be open for longer during peak seasons, allowing people struggling at home to seek refuge in lower temperature places like libraries and community centres. A similar step has been taken on mainland Europe this year due to extreme heat. Many of these proposals are supported by an overwhelming majority of the country. 84% of those included in a recent YouGov survey want to see more protection for care home residents, including improved staff training. 81% also agree that a heat-specific adaptation plan is needed.
An interactive map has now been developed, which allows people to search by postcode to determine localised heat risks. This includes data on care homes and under-5s. Due to the urban heat island effect, England’s major cities are home to some of the highest concentrations of high heat neighbourhoods, although the league table is topped by West Worthing, on the East Sussex coastline. Birmingham, the UK’s second most populated metropolitan region, ranked at number two in the list.
You can view the map here.
Image: Friends of the Earth
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