Britain must acclimatise to heatwaves – and fast | Extreme heat

Call me a Killjoy, but I agree with Zoe Williams (why do we pretend that the heat waves are fun-and ignore brutal and burning reality? June 23). It is not only because I am a redhead that fades with clear skin, freckles, vitiligo and a need to protect the 50 factor. I like to feel hot in my bones as much as anyone. Today, the world is warmer than it was when I was a child. I am now 68 years old and science has predicted a warmer climate for many years. People around the world die because they overheat.

Does anyone care about it? The possibility of building human -centered solutions to warming is missed – for example, in urban housing and for vulnerable people, we are therefore incredibly sub -prepare for the human tragedy provided by scientists. I am worried about my children and grandchildren. What kind of people do we build?

This is one thing to build in public ads on how people can stay cool in the heat – obvious things such as hydration, sunscreen and the maintenance of closed curtains. The roadmap for the physiological society to manage climate change points to multidisciplinary approaches to find solutions for decision -makers and infrastructure, but I fear that the current accent on the attenuation of heating means that long -term heat challenges are ignored.
Dr Laura M Ginesi
Yaxham, Norfolk

While a large part of England has been stifled under Amber heat warnings, another crisis is quietly intensifying: forest fires quickly become the most neglected climate emergency in Great Britain. Already this year, more than 560 forest fires have been recorded in England and Wales – an increase of seven years over the same period in 2024. From the burnt to the motorway yards, the firefighters are stretched in Breaking Point. Many flames are caused by disposable barbecues, cigarettes or junmed glass – small acts with catastrophic consequences. The peat bogs and the woods, the vital carbon wells and the paradise for biodiversity are destroyed acres by acre.

However, we do not have a national forest fire strategy. No coherent ban on open fires during high -risk periods. And the fire services, cut to the bone, are left to improvise in the face of this new standard. It is no longer a Mediterranean problem. Without an urgent national action, the United Kingdom will face an Infernos summer cycle. Ministers must restore funding of fire services, introduce fire source prohibitions during alerts and establish a properly resource response plan. Nothing less is climate complacency.
Antony David Davies
Shrewsbury, Shropshire

The way the media positively presents extremely hot and dangerous weather using words such as “Beautiful” and “Lovely Sunny Day” strengthens me. These descriptions are personal value judgments and must be kept away from objective reports. All we can say objectively is that it is hot. My immune system has trouble dealing with heat due to medication to help prevent recurrence of breast cancer. The high temperatures and the humidity leave me exhausted and forced to seek refuge inside. I want a more benign time, days when I can spend my normal life without having to withdraw until it passes.

The binary opinion that hot weather is equal to the right and cold / humid time is equivalent to a bad must be read in the light of current climatic challenges if we want to have a chance to persuade everyone to do their bit to protect the environment.
Helen Peebles
Stamford, Lincolnshire