UK ‘built for climate that no longer exists’ and needs urgent changes to survive global heating, report warns | Environment
Posted by Jack_Flanders@reddit | collapse | View on Reddit | 49 comments
Jack_Flanders@reddit (OP)
Obvious relevance to this sub's topic. They are recommending air conditioning, first in all rest homes and hospitals, and eventually in houses too, saying that 9 out of 10 homes will eventually be too hot.
** This appeared in /r/news; here is the link to that thread's comments. That's part of the reason to post, is the fact that it's in a more mainstream subreddit.
(I tried to just crosspost it, but couldn't make that work.)
Saturn_winter@reddit
I knew not a lot of people in the UK have AC in their homes but this is the first time I'm finding out apparently theres some businesses and even hospitals without it. Is the UK just against AC for some reason? Why have they taken so long to adopt it? It's hard for me to imagine a hospital that isn't climate controlled and that includes AC.
The_F1rst_Rule@reddit
London, which is relatively south in the UK, is on the same latitude as Vancouver Canada. AC is also a lot less common in the Pacific Northwest than the rest of the US.
Also, its a relatively recent invention. Lot of old buildings and houses are expensive to retrofit especially if its not a glaring need.
Original_Ad4479@reddit
You can get a window unit for under $100 and install it without tools in 2 minutes.
SlyestTrash@reddit
Not here you can't, the portable aircon units are £300 and above.
Not to mention the insane cost of running them as much as you'd have to in order to cool a UK home.
Our homes are insulated to retain heat for winter which means they get way too warm in summer
Original_Ad4479@reddit
What do you think that means? Your homes are insulated therefore they are harder to cool?
Listen to me: I live in Texas where its regularly 39°c in the summer. You can die outside.
Insulation acts as a barrier between the outside temperature and the inside temperature. That means you would have more efficient cooling.
You don't understand the concept of air conditioning because you've never had to before, therefore you fear it. Its honestly hilarious to watch people grapple with 100 year old technology.
SlyestTrash@reddit
Yes obviously if a building is insulated better it would take aircon longer to cool and use more energy keeping it cool 😂
Why do you Americans always act like how you live is the gold standard for how you think every other country is
American houses in warmer arears are built to stay cool
A quick google search will explain to you how UK houses are built to remain warm in winter which means they RETAIN HEAT well so in summer it also RETAINS HEAT due to summer being warmer it means it gets too hot
Jfc it's like trying to explain something to someone with brain damage.
Original_Ad4479@reddit
No.
OneMonk@reddit
By your own logic, heat transfer slows. So what do you do once the inside temp matches the outside temp. It retains heat.
Acceptable-Bell142@reddit
Most British windows aren't designed for these units. I couldn't install one in mine.
Iximaz@reddit
I lived in London as a uni student during the 2019 heat waves and it was a miserable experience. Our dorm windows were locked shut to try and prevent students from smoking in them (so they just hotboxed in their rooms instead) and of course we couldn't install AC in there without permission even if the windows could take them. I pretty much existed in my undies, made myself sick drinking so much ice water, and the moment you'd hop out of a cold shower you'd be sweating again.
It's only going to be worse in the future.
poop-machines@reddit
This is delusional and shows you have no idea how much AC costs.
Find a window AC unit in the UK that is 10,000 BTU or more (barely enough for a small home). The average UK home would need 15,000-30,000 BTU for it to work.
The average 10,000 BTU unit is $600.
Old_Pitch4134@reddit
You can at least use them to cool your bedroom and keep the door shut though. Being able to sleep would make it bearable.
poop-machines@reddit
Yeah that's what I do, but the cheapest one that cools the bedroom is refurbished and $200. That's 7000BTU.
Still way of $100 for a window unit that cools the entire house.
Electronic-Country63@reddit
Yeah this is what we do. We have a 12,000 BTU portable unit that vents out of the sash window through a frame and keeps the room nice and cool. Our house is Georgian and has no insulation so it’s unbearable on hot summer nights.
Perfect_Caregiver_90@reddit
Prices will most likely come down a touch once air conditioning becomes less of a novelty. In the US I bought a portable ac for $250 at Costco that is capable of cooling an open floor plan 1,000 sqft (92 m sq) space.
If you're going with window units over a portable or central system you want to look at what the US deep south does in old homes. You don't deploy 1 window unit for an entire house. If you can only afford 1 unit then you create a refuge room that you can close off and cool down. Most people choose their bedroom first. The btu required to cool that space is lower so the unit is cheaper and smaller. Smaller space also means it cools down quicker and holds that temperature better so the unit isn't working so hard to keep it cool, which means it isn't using a ton of electricity to run.
If you're trying to buy just one unit for the whole house it will be cost prohibitive to buy and use, probably be too large to fit in a window, and be a frustrating experience all around.
jez_shreds_hard@reddit
July is the warmest month in London, on average. The average high tempature in July is 23-24c or 73-75f. AC expensive to build out, particularly when retrofitting older buildings and it's expensive to operate.
s0cks_nz@reddit
I grew up on the UK. We used to get excited if we got a week of sunny weather that was over 20C. That would be summer. No-one was buying AC because no-one needed it.
2xtc@reddit
Until about 10 years ago it was pretty unusual for us to have multiple consecutive days above 25°c.
In fact, depending on the region of the UK a heatwave is still defined as three consecutive days above a specific temp, varying from 25° (Scotland, Wales) to 28° (London), so we're really not acclimated to persistent high temperatures that would require AC as standard.
Z3r0sama2017@reddit
I remember when we had multiple days above 30c and it was hellish here in NI. The humidity, combined with homes that are built to trap heat made it brutal.
Didn't affect me too much as I was WFH, I had a solar powered AC unit and my house is one I had constructed to be insulated out the wazoo so it was rather nice actually. Fuck having to go outside though.
uatry@reddit
Cool to see another NI Collapser!
Old_Pitch4134@reddit
We don’t have it in my workplace and were regularly getting mid 30s and higher last summer in the upper offices.
Absolutely inhumane working conditions, we had two fans we were all fighting over to go between about 8 offices. Even they just blew warm air at you.
MsSchrodinger@reddit
I've never been in a hospital that has had AC throughout and I have worked in a couple. We haven't really needed AC, even now we get a few hot days a year and can normally cope with opening windows and doors, giving out cold drinks, cups of ice etc. In the past it has been seen as a waste of money and homes have generally been designed to try and hold on to heat. Its expensive if you will only use it for less than a week of the entire year. As the weather is changing we are not just getting hotter weather but its more humid (the warmer the air the more moisture the air can hold).
Z3r0sama2017@reddit
And the 1 in 10 homes that won't be, will likely be in Scotland and the it's Isles
undefeatedantitheist@reddit
Fuck me, has the Guardian-in-2026 not heard about the AMOC? Or did it just think that because the CCC report they're reporting on didn't mention it, that they could ignore it too?
(Take, as if written, a massive grumble about the trajectory of journalism and the role of its decline in the general decline of the public's mind and discourse.)
Least-Telephone6359@reddit
They can sell acs now and igloos later, way better for the economy
s0cks_nz@reddit
Collapsing AMOC will bring even hotter summers. By then tho it's probably game over for organised civilization.
WloveW@reddit
Hotter for most everyone but northern Europe.
daviddjg0033@reddit
still scortching hot in the summer. near arctic circle temperatures above 100F. polar amplification. siberian fires. sure winter will be colder without amoc the slice of a narrow climate window we knew is over for europe but that does not mean summers are cold at all. more like people dying in france summers with zinc roofs without ac going to harsh siberian winters.
Bobcatluv@reddit
I thought about this, too, but they’ve also had killer heatwaves and no AC for years, sooo…
unseemly_turbidity@reddit
We haven't got the right infrastructure for either the climate we've got now or the one we're getting if the AMOC collapses. I don't think an article about one automatically requires mention of the other.
Cultural-Answer-321@reddit
The entire world was built for a climate that no longer exists.
uber_sweets@reddit
Unironically, Canadians living close to the border will largely be fine. Food prices will be the killer though.
LeoGarDilemma@reddit
We are in the fast lane on the highway to Climate Hell - Antonio Gutetres.
It's not particularly easy to adapt to both extreme drought and heavy rain, at the same time.
Valencia is one of the most adapted places on Earth, for extreme rains, and yet they were damaged severely by floods - wait until we see how bad 2030 and 2040 floods will be, over dried earth with crumbling water infrastructure.
NyriasNeo@reddit
"needs urgent changes"
There is no such thing as "needs" in politics. One can always live with, or die from, the consequences.
devadander23@reddit
Until the AMOC collapses and Europe becomes Canada
BadgerKomodo@reddit
Yep. Within a decade, our winters will have snow and temperatures of about -40 degrees.
Rossdxvx@reddit
Not just the UK. We are all now living in this hothouse hell.
_rayquaza_@reddit
Bought a new build flat in England about three years ago. It's so well insulated but summer is horrendous. Invested in AC units already, with the massive windows the living room can feel like being under a magnifying glass in July 😭
AshamedAd6133@reddit
What kind of sun protection are you using on your windows?
Jeicobm@reddit
Hearing this on the radio was like the beginning of a disaster movie where you hear little snippets of news warning and foreshadowing the upcoming disaster. It made me wonder what the average person thinks when they hear 90% of homes may be uninhabitable by 2050. Very “Don’t Look Up” indeed.
Solo_Camping_Girl@reddit
they should actually consider adopting minor infrastructure and social behavior changes found in hotter Mediterranean European countries such as having awnings on their windows, gauzy but light curtains to dampen the sun but allow air in, and starting early in the day and resting during peak hot hours.
To the Brits reading this, figure out your living space on where the afternoon sun and the prevailing winds are. Take advantage of the wind to circulate air naturally in your home and block out that sun. ACs are a godsent, definitely, but electric fans will cool you when ACs fail.
I'd also avoid sleeping and sitting on those fluffy couches and beds during the summer months. It just traps heat like crazy. Consider getting mats and blankets that will help you sit and lie down on the floor. Remember, hot air rises, cool air sinks. Stay low.
HardNut420@reddit
The EU cucks made fun of American stick and cardboard houses now what who is making fun of who now
unseemly_turbidity@reddit
Living in a time warp or just not able to find the EU on a map? Or both?
-sussy-wussy-@reddit
I have some news for you. View of the world from 9th avenue strikes again.
traveller-1-1@reddit
I am sure the free market will be right on top of that.
leisurechef@reddit
“Climate Adaptation”
StatementBot@reddit
The following submission statement was provided by /u/Jack_Flanders:
Obvious relevance to this sub's topic. They are recommending air conditioning, first in all care homes and hospitals, then all schools, and eventually in homes too, saying that 9 out of 10 homes will eventually be too hot.
** This appeared in /r/news; here is the link to that thread's comments. Part of my reason for posting this here is to note that it's showing up in more mainstream areas.
(I tried to just crosspost it, but couldn't make that work.)
Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/collapse/comments/1tipeae/uk_built_for_climate_that_no_longer_exists_and/omvtivx/
AdiKadiAdi@reddit
The empire is not built for the climate it has caused.