16


feature


hot topic


the heat is on


Overheating is now a critical building safety issue. With the UK set to record its warmest summer on record, the Building Engineering Services Association (BESA) is calling for urgent action to tackle the growing number of buildings that overheat...


The Association says the rising number of deaths linked to longer and more intense heatwaves makes this a serious building safety issue with larger parts of the population now vulnerable to heat- related health problems. The Met Office confirmed that this summer was already the sunniest and driest on record with temperatures also consistently above average for the longest ever period – 79 days and counting. Researchers from Imperial College London also estimated there were 263 excess deaths due to heat in the capital during June alone.


“2022 might have seen more dramatic temperature peaks but this year seems to mark a move into much longer and more relentless periods of heat stress,” said BESA’s technical director Kevin Morrissey. “This is significant because it suggests we are experiencing a new long-term weather pattern which calls for a more concerted effort to adapt our built environment.” Research by the environmental campaign group Friends of the


Earth (FoE) has identified almost 5,000 neighbourhoods in England that now regularly suffer from heat stress. These areas cover about a third of the country and contain more than 1,000 hospitals,


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