Climate change: UK hospitals urgently need cooling systems as deaths and admissions are set to rise, government backed report warns

The BMJHotter heatwaves by 2050 will see 92% of UK homes overheat, creating “dangerous conditions for vulnerable people,” the UK Climate Change Committee (CCC) has warned.1In its fourth independent assessment of the UK’s climate risk, released on 20 May, the government appointed body said that the 2°C global warming expected by 2050 could also triple heat related hospital attendances and admissions and see 32% of hospitals flood.“By the middle of the century, the UK’s climate will be much more extreme than today,” the report said. “Without global emissions reductions, these risks may go past the point where the UK can protect itself with adaptation measures.”Last summer-the hottest on record-an estimated 1504 heat associated deaths were recorded, said the UK Health Security Agency.2 The CCC has warned that this could rise further to 3000-10,000 a year unless the UK starts adapting.Julia King, a CCC advisory body member and cross bench member…