The Liberal Democrats have called for all new UK homes to be built with air conditioning to address the effects of the climate crisis. The party argues that British housing stock is 'woefully unprepared' for rising temperatures and that passive cooling measures, such as planting more trees in residential areas, are also needed.
Mandatory cooling in public buildings
The Lib Dems want air conditioning to be mandatory in essential public buildings like schools and health facilities. Their 'climate ready' programme would legally require new homes to have either air conditioning or another cooling system, particularly important for older people and those in poor health.
The proposal comes as the UK Health Protection Agency issued a yellow alert for high temperatures from Tuesday to Friday morning for the south-east, south-west and east of England, the Midlands, and Yorkshire and the Humber. Temperatures in London are forecast to reach 32C (90F) on Wednesday.
Dry summer and drought risk
Much of the summer has been exceptionally dry. In July so far, England has seen only 5% of average rainfall, falling to 1% in the south, bringing drought and a severe risk of wildfires.
According to industry estimates, the number of UK homes with air conditioning has doubled in the past three years, but only about 4 million of the country's 30 million-plus homes have it.
Public impact and polling
Polling commissioned by the Lib Dems found that 28% of people bought a fan or air conditioning unit during recent heatwaves, and 26% said the conditions left them feeling unwell or faint.
Tim Farron, the party's environment spokesperson, said: 'This latest set of relentless heatwaves has taught us that Britain is woefully unprepared for extreme heat, and families across Britain are paying for the cost of inaction.'
Gideon Amos, the party's housing spokesperson, said: 'Air conditioning is becoming essential in UK homes, which are now among the smallest and hottest in Europe after previous Conservatives governments swept away minimum space standards.'
Heatwave fatalities
An analysis led by Imperial College London found that the heatwaves of May and June, which included three successive days of red warnings, killed about 2,700 people, with a peak fatality rate of about 440 a day. More than 40% of those deaths would not have occurred without the 1.4C of human-caused heating to date.
