Over a third of England’s homes at high risk of overheating as temperatures reach new extremes – with poorest households most at risk
Over a third of homes in England are at high risk of overheating as summer temperatures of 40oC and above become the new UK normal, with the poorest fifth of households three times as likely to be affected as the richest fifth, according to new analysis from the Resolution Foundation published today (Tuesday).
In its Spotlight report It’s getting hot in here, the Foundation says that, while a fifth of homes in England currently overheat each summer, the make-up of the country’s housing stock means that one in three (36 per cent) homes are at high risk of overheating in the future. This puts occupants in danger of potentially fatal heat exhaustion and heat stroke, as well as heat-related cardiovascular and respiratory issues, sleep disturbance and mental health problems.
It is also the country’s poorest families who will be most affected by these coming extreme temperatures: over half (54 per cent) of the poorest fifth of English families currently live in homes that are at high risk of overheating, compared to 18 per cent of the richest fifth.
Drawing on previous BEIS research, the Foundation says that housing type is a key factor when it comes to overheating dangers, with flats and smaller homes more exposed to these risks. Overcrowding is also a cause for concern, as properties with more residents – especially properties that are over-occupied – are also more liable to overheat.
Location also matters: because man-made structures like roads, pavements and buildings absorb and re-emit the sun’s heat more easily than forests, bodies of water and other features common in rural landscapes, properties in urban environments and more built-up areas are more exposed to ‘heat-island’ effects, in which they become significantly warmer than surrounding areas.
The Foundation’s report says that these location and property-type differences mean that people who do not own their own homes, ethnic minority households, and families with young residents are more likely than others to live in an at-risk property (a point that is especially worrying given that young children and babies are particularly at risk of heat-related conditions).
In addition, one-in-five (19 per cent) of households with a resident aged over 75 – an age above which people struggle with body temperature regulation – also live in housing that is at-risk of overheating.
Finally, the report notes that it is not just our homes that will be impacted by rising temperatures: our workplaces are also set to become dangerously hotter, with around a quarter (23 per cent) of UK workers in those sectors of the economy in which overheating is a big risk: in physical roles, such as construction, working outside (such as in agriculture), or in environments where heat is created (such as manufacturing facilities), and working in confined spaces. With age a magnifier of heat-related illness, it is concerning that close to one third (31 per cent) of workers in jobs exposed to heat are aged over 50.
Office workers are not exempt from overheating concerns either: not all can escape the heat at work. The share of air conditioned office buildings ranges from a high of 29 per cent in London to 14 per cent in Yorkshire and the Humber, and from 27 per cent of properties in the least deprived areas to 15 per cent in the most..
Tackling the issue of overheating, and how to protect people from it in both their homes and workplaces, will require significant future investment, the Foundation says, from both property-owners and the Government – who will need to make sure that lower-income households do not find themselves facing unaffordable bills, or unsafe exposure to high temperatures at home.
Renters could be protected by expanding the Decent Homes Standard – a legally enforceable minimum standard on housing that is currently applied in the social housing sector but expected to be expanded to include the private sector – so that it incorporates the need for houses to not become too warm in the summer, as well as too cold in the winter.
Jonathan Marshall, Senior Economist at the Resolution Foundation, said:
“With soaring summer temperatures of 40oC and above set to become normal in the UK, one of the main ways that climate change will impact the UK will be through the heightened risk of overheating, in both our homes and our workplaces.
“The risks these higher temperatures bring will not impact all households and workers equally, however, with lower-income households, renters, ethnic minority households, and families with young residents most at risk, alongside people who work outdoors or in confined spaces, who are concerningly older than the average worker.
“Alongside their goal of reaching net zero without unfairly burdening lower-income households, policy makers must also ensure that people are protected from the dangers of climate change, including soaring summer temperatures.”
