London’s Expats Struggle to Adapt to Extreme Heat Without Air Conditioning

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In London, “there’s nowhere to retreat to. It’s hot outside and then it’s even hotter inside,” says Dimple Rana, heat resilience leader at Arup, the buildings consultancy. 

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“Much of the country was designed for a climate that no longer exists,” says Andy Love, founder and managing director of Shade the UK, a community interest company that works with government and authorities to manage overheating risk in buildings. “We have spent decades largely prioritizing warmth, airtightness and winter performance, often without fully considering how buildings would behave during prolonged hot weather.” 

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The failure of Britain’s buildings to shield people from extreme heat now represents an “architectural crisis,” he says.

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As the UK gets continually hotter, large parts of the population have no clear path to adequate cooling. Though adoption of air conditioning has doubled over the past three years, it’s still only installed in 7% of UK homes. Another 8% have portable units, which are cheaper to buy but less efficient and costlier to run.

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During the latest heat wave, UK sales of portable air conditioning units and fans soared. Retailer Currys saw purchases of such products jump more than 2,700% year-on-year over the latest holiday weekend, while John Lewis Partnership Plc saw an 800% surge, spokespeople for the companies said. 

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London’s local government has long been opposed to embracing air conditioning, citing the added energy consumption such units entail and their impact on carbon emissions. It also warns that widespread use of AC units will worsen urban heat islands, as the hot air sucked out of buildings gets pushed onto city streets.

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But as Londoners like Chan struggle to cope with rising temperatures, those running the city are now under growing pressure to reconsider. This month, the Climate Change Committee (CCC) — a body that advises the UK government — said it’s no longer acceptable to reject air conditioning as a key tool to help Britons cope with the increasingly dangerous heat levels they face.

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“Air conditioning is going to be essential, particularly in places where we have vulnerable people, like hospitals and care homes,” said Julia King, the CCC’s adaptation chair. 

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Meanwhile, early-season heat waves such as the one now gripping Britain and other parts of Europe are particularly dangerous because people haven’t had time to acclimatize, says Garyfallos Konstantinoudis, a lecturer at the Grantham Institute for Climate Change and the Environment at Imperial College London. The Institute says England and Wales may see 250 additional deaths as a result of the current heat wave. 

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Love of Shade the UK says more focus should be placed on ensuring Britain’s buildings are constructed in ways that avoid trapping heat. That way, people stay cool even if there’s a power outage that renders AC units useless, he says.

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London’s planning policy requires developers and homeowners to demonstrate that they’ve tried passive cooling measures, such as shading. Only then are they allowed to add air conditioning. 

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But the CCC says solutions such as shading may no longer be enough in a warmer Britain, particularly in London. It’s now advising that air conditioning be part of the country’s “plan for more active cooling.” That means investing in air conditioning in public buildings, applying maximum temperature regulations for workplaces, and subsidizing air conditioning for people who can’t afford it.

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Last year, the UK government announced £2,500 subsidies for air-to-air heat pumps, a type of home heating which can also provide cooling. However, those funds aren’t yet available because certification standards for installers and equipment aren’t ready.