Is your home too hot?
Here’s what you and your community can do…
What’s going on?
Heatwaves are becoming more common and the risk to health is rising too. In the summer of 2022, nearly 3,000 people in the UK died during very hot weather. Many people find that their home does not cope well during extreme heat.
Cities are the worst-affected areas. Concrete, traffic and tall buildings trap warmth, making inner-city areas hotter than nearby suburbs. Most British housing wasn’t designed to deal with high temperatures and so our buildings struggle to stay cool.
Some local authorities are starting to think about heat. But proposed solutions often focus on outdoor spaces or short-term fixes. Many people remain trapped inside their homes, behind closed doors, where the heat lingers.
‘When you’re actually at home, there’s no respite for a second once it gets hot.’ Local resident.
We’re researchers from the Melting Metropolis project. We’ve been looking at heat using a human-centred approach. We look beyond temperature charts. Through archives, oral histories and community stories across London, Paris and New York, we explore heat as a lived experience across time and place.
We found that heat challenges are not new. But they are getting worse. And they are deeply unequal.
There are things you can do. We share four key actions you can take, and stories from our research about what helps.
How to take action
Action ONE: Work out where is hot in your home
Not every room at home will be as hot as others. Create a map of your home and highlight where the hot and cold spots are at different times of day. Why might that be? Is it windows, sunlight, insulation, radiators, electrical equipment or something else that makes it hot or cold?
Action TWO: Talk to other people in your building or street to see how they are affected by the heat
Not everyone is affected by heat in the same way. Older people, babies and young children are at higher risk. So are people with long-term health conditions or limited mobility. Women and some neurodivergent people report stronger impacts. Renters may have little control over ventilation, shading or insulation. Where you live — and who you are — shapes how heat feels. Talk about people’s attitudes and experiences to heat - what’s good or bad? What helps and what doesn’t? When is it worse? When is it better?
‘I live high up in a large 1930s block of flats with no ventilation …I can barely make it through the summers without fainting in my own flat, so I can only imagine what it’s like for the elderly who live in my building’
Suffering in the heat can feel isolating – it helps to share experiences.
Creative methods for talking about heat
Not everyone will be used to talking about heat. Creative methods can help explore the topic in accessible and engaging ways.
Through Melting Metropolis, we’ve explored heat through poetry, photography, drawing and storytelling.
You could ask residents to:
• Share a positive and negative story about their experience of heat
• Take photographs of their home to show where it’s hot and cool
• Create a ‘memory jar’ to think through what heat meant to them in the past
• Take part in a drawing heat walk, using chalk to highlight hot and cold spots in public spaces
• Write poetry about their experiences of heat
This could be done individually and submitted online, or in a group in person. Find more information on the Melting Metropolis website.
ACTION
THREE: Find out who knows how to keep cool, and share the knowledge
Our research shows that residents in the past and present have found ingenious ways to keep cool. What do members of your community do that could be shared to help others? Here’s what some of our interviews revealed:
‘I was disciplined keeping curtains and windows closed on every hot day during most daylight hours. The downside of less light is more than offset by the lower temperature. There is only so much we can do in buildings designed to keep heat in.’
‘At night I filled hot water bottles with cold water and wet my hair before bed.’
Collect stories, tips and tricks on how to keep cool. Share them on your building or area’s Facebook page or community forum.
ACTION FOUR:
Take collective action - advocate for what your buildings and people need
Sign up for heat-health alerts from the Met Office so that you know when it is likely to be hot: https://ukhsa-dashboard.data.gov.uk/weather-health-alerts
Check out Shade the UK and the Red Cross for advice on managing heat in the home.Create an action plan for what could be done in your area to ensure everyone can cope with and enjoy the heat equitably. Share this with your local authority and housing authority to lobby for change.
Find your local council and local councillors
Let’s tackle heat together.
Explore our interactive infographic on the Melting Metropolis website to learn more about our research and get more information about tackling heat in your community.
Find out more:
https://www.meltingmetropolis.com https://www.shadetheuk.com https://www.redcross.org.uk/get-help/prepare-for -emergencies/heatwaves-uk https://embodiedecology.substack.com/p/drawing-heat