All the ways the UK will have to adapt to extreme heat - from workers' rights to transport

The UK experienced yet another heatwave this week and the extreme heat has left parts of England in drought. It is now expected that summer 2026 will be the warmest on record, according to the Met Office. Meanwhile, wildfires have been breaking out across parts of the country which has seen Prime Minister Andy Burnham ban the sale of disposable barbecues and say the country has to “face up” to the “changing climate” and needs to transition to “more clean energy”. But as climate change is making hotter temperatures the new normal, how else can the country adapt in the future to respond to warmer weather? Transport Rail services can become disrupted as heat can cause overhead lines to expand and sag and rails to buckle. But the problems could get worse if more is not done, a campaigner warned. London bus drivers have announced strikes this month over working conditions in hot weather. The AA also warned drivers that the extreme heat could impact the UK’s already deteriorating roads. It said air temperatures in the low-to-mid 30Cs could lead to higher road surface temperatures as the dark asphalt absorbs and stores heat - which could cause some to soften.Michael Solomon Williams, from Campaign for Better Transport, said the system “could buckle” if changes are not made. The campaigner said: “There’s a genuine risk that if the railways aren't made more resilient, in particular, and if the roads not made more resilient then the system will buckle. "And, for example, if there is a big shift from one mode to another, if mainline railways buckle and people need to use roads then, if they’ve got the ability to use roads, then that overloads the road network and that suffers and vice versa.” Mr Williams explained how this could have a huge impact on essential services, adding: “The result is people will by necessity be able to travel less.“ The campaigner said targets needed to be set to move the public towards more sustainable methods, saying: “Most important thing we could do now is to set a target... a target to get a greater proportion of people using sustainable transport - that’s public transport, shared transport such as car clubs and shared bikes.” NHS Nurses across England are collapsing at work and even suffering seizures as they are forced to care for patients in extreme heat, The Royal College of Nursing warned this week. The NHS normally sees increases in A&E attendees in the summer but health chiefs say this year has seen unprecedented pressure. David Williams, deputy director of policy at the NHS Alliance, said too much of the NHS is not designed for extreme heat and warned urgent changes are needed if temperatures keep rising. He said: “Too much of the NHS estate is run down, with crumbling buildings and dilapidated equipment in need of urgent repair. “Many facilities are not designed to cope with extreme temperatures, and the hot conditions in hospitals and GP surgeries has an impact on the wellbeing of both patients and staff." Mr Williams said hospitals are spending more money on hiring air conditioning units - but warned this is a temporary fix. He added: “It’s clear that NHS organisations will have to adapt their premises to become more resilient to extreme weather events, and plan for them.” “The NHS has done a brilliant job delivering record levels of activity in really uncomfortable conditions during this summer’s heatwaves. But the challenge the high temperatures have placed on the service should not be downplayed.“ Workers’ rights There is no legal maximum working temperature in the UK. This is because some jobs always involve working in a hot environment, such as if you work in a bakery or foundry. However, employers still have to make sure their employees are working in a safe environment. For example, they should carry out risk assessments to determine whether workplaces remain safe - such as access to water and adjusting work schedules if necessary. The Trades Union Congress wants new legislation to be introduced for people to legally be allowed to stop work above a maximum workplace temperature of 30°C, or 27°C for those doing strenuous jobs. TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak said: “As the climate crisis makes heatwaves more common, the UK needs to adapt. That means new laws on maximum working temperatures, improvements to workplaces to keep them cool, and ambitious climate action to tackle the problem at its root.” A spokesperson for the Health & Safety Executive said: "There is already a legal duty for employers to properly assess the risks to workers from extreme heat - and we provide practical steps employers can take to keep workers safe." A Government spokesperson said: “We have no plans to introduce a mandatory maximum workplace temperature. “The Health and Safety Executive has shared guidance for employers to plan for and support those working in extreme heat to keep workers healthy and safe.” Housing UK homes get hot in the summer because they are built to trap warmth in the cold winters - but it is estimated that fewer than 5% of UK properties have air conditioning to combat the rising temperatures. Latest research from property website Rightmove shows searches on its site this summer for homes for sale with air conditioning were up 104% compared with the same period last year. However, housebuilders say it is unlikely the UK will see air con units come as standard in new build homes. They say building regulations mean there is a focus on using passive cooling methods, such as windows and natural airflow. However, if there is a policy change in the future and more air con units are installed, experts say the cost of delivering new homes would also increase. A spokesperson from the Home Builders Federation said: "If consumers and political decision makers require air conditioning to be included, house builders will do so in the same way solar panels and heat pumps are now standard. "However, as a result of taxes, policy requirements and material prices, the cost of delivering a new home has increased by an average of £76,000 in the past five years." Farming The UK “must prioritise food production” a farming leader has warned amid severe droughts and wildfires across Europe this summer.The National Farmers' Union called on the government to prioritise water for food production for domestic food supplies.The representative body said wildfires in France and Spain “have demonstrated the risks of relying too heavily on food imports”, so called on homegrown food production to be treated as critical infrastructure.Several changes have been demanded, including: investment for on-farm reservoirs and streamline the planning system for farmers to build water storage.NFU President Tom Bradshaw said: “This is one of the most severe droughts many farmers and growers have lived through. "Harvest yields are looking poor, farmers are struggling to access water to irrigate fruit and vegetables, and livestock farmers are having to use grass they cut this spring for their stores of winter feed for cattle as there's very little grass growing now.”Mr Bradshaw added: “If this summer teaches us anything, it is that we must prioritise food production. We have taken food production for granted for too long; we must create a more resilient food system to feed the 29 million households across the country, and we can’t produce food without water.” Water Water companies have been accused of prioritising shareholder dividends over replacing old pipes and fixing leaks — all while paying large executive bonuses and putting up customer bills. Water UK said companies are investing a record £105billion into infrastructure between now and 2030 and argue that climate change and hotter weather has put increased pressure on infrastructure. But environment campaigners want water networks to be brought back into public ownership. Ash Smith, founder of Windrush Against Sewage Pollution and one of the campaigners who inspired Channel 4's docudrama Dirty Business, said: "The point is that the infrastructure should have changed already because the crisis is upon us. "Privatised water has been talking about the need to prepare since at least as early as the mid 1990s - yet all they did was sell reservoirs for profit and rely on sucking dry aquifers to make up for the shocking waste of water through pipe leakage." Prime Minister Andy Burnham has previously said he wants "greater public control" of the water and energy sectors - however, this may not necessarily mean full nationalisation. There will be a debate in Parliament on September 14 after more than 170,000 people signed a petition demanding a referendum on public ownership of water. But campaigners say it is not too late to turn things around. Kim Waters, part of the Sewage Campaign Network, said: "When you've ignored infrastructure for a long time... now we pay for the sins of the past. But that means there's no better time to start to fix this than today." A Water UK spokesperson said: "We understand increasing bills is never welcome, but the money is needed to fund vital upgrades to secure our water supplies, support economic growth and end sewage entering our rivers and seas. “No new reservoir has been built in more than thirty years because Ofwat and previous governments blocked them. Water companies have finally been given approval to build nine, plus a tenth already under construction at Havant Thicket." An Ofwat spokesperson said: "We have taken decisive action to support delivery, including setting up the Regulators' Alliance for Progressing Infrastructure (RAPID) to accelerate progress and approving £2billion in 2024 for more than 30 major infrastructure projects, including nine new reservoirs. "Water companies now have the funding and regulatory support to deliver the infrastructure needed to secure resilient water supplies for future generations - and we expect them to deliver at pace."