Britain may need to rethink what a "normal" summer looks like.
A major new climate report warns that temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) could hit every part of the U.K. by 2050.
The U.K.'s Climate Change Committee says the country should prepare for 2 degrees Celsius of global heating by midcentury, as hopes of holding warming to 1.5 degrees appear increasingly out of reach, The Guardian reported.
The advisers said spells of extreme heat are likely to become "the new normal," and around 9 in 10 U.K. homes could overheat.
They also warned that warmer weather could bring about 10,000 additional heat-related deaths each year.
The report noted that people may not need cooling in every room, but having one room kept cool during heat waves could become essential. It also urged the government to set a maximum temperature for work, both indoors and outdoors.
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Extreme heat is already a public health threat, especially for vulnerable people in hospitals, care homes, and schools. When U.K. temperatures topped 40 degrees in 2022, about 3,000 excess deaths were recorded.
The report highlighted other climate-related risks. It warned that flood risk for the 7 million properties already exposed could climb 40% by 2050, while water shortages could leave the country short by 5 billion liters a day.
The committee estimated that the climate crisis is already costing the U.K. about 60 billion British pounds ($81 billion) per year, or roughly 2% of its gross domestic product. Without action, that figure could rise to 260 billion pounds ($349 billion) a year in a little over two decades.
The committee said adapting will require far more than installing cooling systems.
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It called for new reservoirs, stronger flood defenses, better water efficiency, fewer leaks, and more heat-resilient schools, hospitals, and care facilities.
Because air conditioning is energy-intensive, experts pointed to efficient heat pumps and rooftop solar as a smarter long-term pairing. Sam Alvis of IPPR said air conditioning "is actually a great pair for solar" because energy demand rises when sunshine is plentiful.
"Extreme heat is certainly the most deadly of the climate impacts on the U.K., so we need to see cooling rolled out at scale," Julia King, the chair of the adaptation subcommittee of the CCC, said. "With the right decisions, we can protect the people and the places we love."
Emma Howard Boyd, a professor in practice at the London School of Economics, warned, "Heat resilience cannot continue to be treated as an afterthought."
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