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Today in Focus

What will it take for the UK adapt to extreme heat?

Today in Focus

The Guardian

Daily News, News

4.65.7K Ratings

🗓️ 19 July 2022

⏱️ 29 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The UK is experiencing its hottest recorded temperatures this week with much of the country’s infrastructure struggling to cope. What will it take to adapt to far more regular heatwaves?. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus

Transcript

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0:00.0

This is the Guardian.

0:09.2

Today, Britain is sweltering with record temperatures.

0:13.3

How can we adapt to a future where heat waves become more common?

0:33.3

What do you normally do when it gets hot in the UK?

0:39.3

Maybe pop down to the park, break open a pack of ice lollies, play a bit of frisbee,

0:46.1

or just go to the beach and bask in it.

0:49.7

And so they come to a beach which is far from lonely now.

0:52.9

To find a place in the sun, to stretch their legs and toes in a sweltering paradise,

0:57.4

where the office and the washing upper forgotten things and sandcastles come at just right.

1:02.1

At the moment, I guess you're thinking differently because in some parts of the country today,

1:11.6

it's set to get over 40 degrees Celsius.

1:15.9

So hot that the government has put out a red warning.

1:19.2

The extreme heat we're forecasting right now is absolutely unprecedented.

1:24.4

We've seen when climate change has driven such unprecedented severe weather events all around

1:28.9

the world. It's clear that the UK isn't built for this kind of heat.

1:33.1

Our homes don't tend to be air conditioned.

1:35.7

Our offices might be, but seeing as train tracks are buckling in this weather,

1:40.9

lots of us can't even get to work.

1:43.6

Our towns and cities don't have enough shade, and so we'll just have to struggle through it.

1:50.4

Year on year, the temperatures are going to go up.

1:53.9

And you can already see the devastating effects that the climate crisis is having across Europe

2:00.7

and beyond.

...

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