- Almost 1.6 million children in England, including over 70,000 babies, live in homes that regularly overheat, prompting calls for “urgent action” to ensure safe indoor temperatures.
- The National Housing Federation (NHF) warns that increasingly frequent spells of hot weather make it “impossible” for parents to keep homes comfortable, with up to 92 per cent of existing homes projected to eventually overheat, according to the Climate Change Committee.
- YouGov polling commissioned by the NHF reveals that seven in 10 parents report overheated homes disrupt their children's sleep, and nearly half (49 per cent) say it affects their children's ability to concentrate.
- The NHF and Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) are urging ministers to ensure existing plans to upgrade social housing address overheating.
- Dr Chloe Brimicombe, a climate scientist from the University of Oxford, said UK infrastructure “is not prepared for heat”, advocating for a shift in design to prioritise summer cooling and integrate heat resilience measures.
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