A massive 95 per cent of deaths caused by hot weather in London and the West Midlands occur before heatwave alerts have been triggered, a study has found.
And many do not view high temperatures as a risk – with only two out of five over-75s saying they thought it posed a danger to their health.
England’s current heatwave plan – based on the 2003 heatwave where 2,000 people died – only puts out alerts when temperatures rise above 32C in the capital, or 30C in the West Midlands.
But scientists have urged Public Health England (PHE), responsible for the policy, to take action, saying it’s ‘vital’ a warning system is in place that meets present day needs.
This map shows areas in England where there is a heightened risk of death due to temperature rises, according to the study. The dark red areas have the highest risk.
Nurses were also questioned as part of the study. It found many had never heard of a Heatwave Plan and even fewer had read it
The study by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine evaluated PHE’s plan through questionnaires to 2,697 nurses signed up to the Royal College of Nursing, including 237 working in care homes, and surveying 1,878 members of the public.
They found it is having little impact on both mortality and emergency hospital admissions, which ‘have not changed substantially’ since it was introduced.
And a majority of adults in England do not consider themselves to be at risk, including most of those considered ‘vulnerable’ to its effects.
Several coastal local authorities would also ignore regional alerts, the study said, as they have rarely experienced dangerously high temperatures.
Professor Nicholas Mays, who was involved with the study, warned: ‘Although the Heatwave Plan appears to have contributed to reducing the harms that occur above the extreme heat threshold, the approach needs to be altered to reflect the risks to health that occur outside heat-health alert periods.
‘The evidence that the world is warming is now unequivocal. Many countries are experiencing higher summer temperatures, including the UK.
‘It’s vital to ensure contingency plans continue to be evaluated and adapted, if necessary.’
This shows the actions taken by nurses in hospitals when temperatures are high
Britons enjoying the sun in Sandbanks, Dorset, today. The survey found many view hot weather as a positive
He added: ‘People enjoy the sun and heat but it is perhaps easy to be lulled into a false sense of security during this weather.
‘Those especially vulnerable to hot weather include people over age 75 and with certain health conditions.
‘Some of the most vulnerable can also be hard to reach, such as the homeless community, and need additional consideration.
Nurses reported to the study that they regularly struggled to protect patients in hot conditions, often working in old and poorly designed buildings not well adapted for climate change.
More than half admitted they had never heard of the Heatwave Plan, while only one in four said they had read it, – but most said their place of work had a local plan.
In hot weather, the majority said their first action would be to turn on the air conditioning in their place of work or open windows, followed by ensuring patients knew how to protect themselves.
More Britons smiling together in the sunshine at Hyde Park, London, yesterday
It was unclear what role Clinical Commissioning Groups and GP practices had in organising the response to hot weather, the study said.
Surveys of the public found most viewed hot weather positively, particularly those under 45 years old.
Protective action involved taking cool drinks and staying out of the sun between 11am and 3pm – but knowledge of other measures such as closing sun exposed windows and avoiding alcohol was poor.
PHE’s consultant in Public Health, Emer O’Connell, said: ‘Since the publication of the National Adaptation Programme in 2018, our focus has been on developing the adverse weather and health plan, which focuses on long-term prevention of health impacts as well as the emergency response to extreme weather events in England.
‘This will support activities to reduce the health impacts of temperatures below the current threshold levels set out in the Heatwave Plan for England whilst continuing to ensure a robust emergency response when temperatures reach those levels.’