London mayor, Sadiq Khan, has launched the first-ever heat plan, Heat Ready London, to protect the capital from extreme heat, as temperatures continue to soar.
The new vision focuses on priority areas where change is most needed, including retrofitting buildings, expanding access to cooling spaces, and improving infrastructure resilience.
According to analysis, one million London homes may be at high risk of overheating, with over 1,300 schools, 60 hospitals, and 351 care homes located in high heat risk areas.
Mayor Khan has unveiled the plan during London Climate Action Week, calling on partners to protect lives and strengthen the resilience of the capital to rising temperatures. The plan sets out five key objectives, including protecting Londoners from the health impacts of high temperatures, reducing inequalities, and ensuring buildings and public spaces are adapted to heat.
The Heat Ready London report highlights the scale of the challenge, with London experiencing one of its hottest and driest summers on record in 2018, and temperatures exceeding 40°C for the first time in UK history in 2022. The report also notes that the 2022 heatwaves are estimated to have cost the city £1.5 billion, reflecting the combined impact on health, learning, transport, energy use, emergency services, wildfires, and lost productivity.
The plan includes 37 priority areas of focus, such as expanding access to cooling spaces and public drinking water, retrofitting high-risk homes, and increasing urban greening. Transport for London (TfL) is also adapting the capital's transport network to more frequent and severe heatwaves, with over 190 Tube trains now air-conditioned and investments in station cooling and ventilation measures.
Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “Rising temperatures are no longer a future threat – they are becoming a growing reality for Londoners. It is affecting our communities, from homes and high streets to schools, hospitals and care services.
“That is why I am proud to unveil Heat Ready London, London’s first ever heat plan. This is a new vision that will help tackle the huge obstacles we face with rising temperatures.
“No single organisation can address the scale of the challenge alone, so this is a call to action to our partners to use this framework to drive collective delivery so we can protect lives and strengthen the resilience of our city.
“We must act now. By working in partnership, we can ensure the benefits of climate action are shared by all Londoners and that those who are most vulnerable are protected as we build a greener and fairer London for everyone.”
