London’s Burning

Extreme heat hits Europe — the US is next

The UK just broke its record temperature for June. And then beat that on the following day. And the day after that. In France, people are dying from the heat. The US is facing surging temperatures, farm-destroying droughts and wildfires.

The Climate Crisis is an existential threat to everyone. Our societies are not built to withstand what’s coming, and by any rational thinking, all countries should be uniting in a last ditch battle to save the world.

Instead we have three old white men prepared to sacrifice humanity’s future for their dreams of power, and populations who either believe there’s nothing that can be done or refuse to sacrifice their comforts to bring about change.

The other night, as London hit 36.4C, approaching 98F, I walked outside and was surprised that the city was so quiet. No traffic noise, no sirens, no loud voices as people turned out of the pubs. And it wasn’t just human activity that had been stilled. At dawn, birdsong was muted. The urban foxes had disappeared from the streets.

I’m someone who always enjoys hot weather, even in cities. Maybe I’m still haunted by one of my first journalistic jobs, sleeping in a tent in -20C in the Arctic Circle. But this was different. In France, which had it even worse, the government advised that even young people could die if they exercised in the extreme heat.

Those in Texas or Arizona might wonder what the fuss is all about. But it’s not the level that matters, it’s the difference from the norm.

The UK and most of Europe is not built for these temperatures. There’s virtually no aircon, certainly not in homes. Even many stores, offices and hotels don’t have it. And as the meteorologists point out, these kind of temperatures are going to become a regular occurrence from now on. The New Normal is hell.

What is coming to Europe now will hit the US hard soon enough, though you wouldn’t know it looking at the discourse across US society and in the media. Of all the terrible things Trump has done, the many deaths that will arise out of the USAid cuts, gutting America’s climate response will ultimately be seen to be the worse.

His executive order dismantling key actions at the federal level to tackle climate change was the signature of a man who doesn’t care what happens to anyone once he’s gone. But this is what you end up with when enough people get behind anti-intellectualism because pointy-headed educated people make them feel bad about themselves. Evidence doesn’t matter. Experts are “over-educated”. What you feel is more important than facts. And what you feel is that everything is fine because it’s always been fine.

And that’s how the biggest crisis any of us will ever face has been folded in to a Far Right checklist for their Culture War battles: anti-climate change measures sit alongside anti-vaxx alongside anti-science, anti-women and anti-immigration for the Nobody Tells Me What To Do demographic.

It’s a worldview that is corrupting the issue everywhere. Even the UK’s Labour government is looking at watering down its Net Zero commitments to, in the view of some MPs, help with affordability right now. In essence: we’ll put a bandaid over this cut, but we’ll be amputating your arm later.

As stupid as it gets, of course. A few days ago the European Environment Agency said the heatwaves, floods, droughts and wildfires will cost Europe €40-50 billion *a year*. The EEA says agriculture, energy and transport will be hit the hardest.

The same is going to smack down on the US, though that won’t bother Trump and the oligarchs who will have their private bunkers with their own energy and water supplies. Regular people, as always, will face the true horrors. The South will be getting a taste of what’s to come during the next six months when what is expected to be a super-El Niño sweeps in.

Over the coming weeks I’ll be doing a few posts about the climate crisis. They’re not going to be Misery Articles, there’s no point in that. Big change will only come when the public picks up pitchforks, but in the meantime there are many things that can be achieved to mitigate the worst excesses of the Crisis.

And so, from a friend in the industry, “Heat pumps are incredible technology.”

In the winter, heat pumps extract heat from the outside air and move it in doors. In the summer they reverse the process and act like a standard air conditioner. Importantly, they can be powered by solar panels making them completely independent of fossil fuels.

England has a heat pump policy to bring about low carbon heating instead of fossil fuel boilers. Planning rules have been changed, the Future Homes Standard mandates new builds must be fitted with low-carbon heating systems and the Boiler Upgrade System provides £7,500 to upgrade homes in England and Wales to cover installation.

Lower-income households can get the full cost of heat pump upgrades and insulation through the Warm Homes Plan. There are some drawbacks. Heat pumps don’t work well in extreme cold and robust insulation is required, including a radiator upgrade.

Overall though, all governments should have similar incentives. Heat pumps will reduce greenhouse gases while immediately providing relief from excessive heat.

The Climate Crisis attacks in lots of different ways, not just heat. In the coming weeks I’ll look at some of the other aspects.

And please join in the conversation. This is so big everyone needs to be involved. Suggest things to write about, offer knowledge and insights. Those three old white men won’t be in power forever. We need to be ready for what comes next.