Extreme summer heat in the UK is forcing a rethink of the long-standing reluctance to embrace air conditioning, as brick-built homes designed to retain warmth are proving dangerous during heatwaves. In the West Midlands, residents such as Mandy Bourne, who has COPD, describe flats becoming unbearably hot, while housing associations like Walsall Housing Group (whg) improvise solutions such as turning community rooms into makeshift "cool rooms" with portable air-conditioning units.

Researchers at the University of Birmingham found the urban heat island effect, where cities can be up to 7C warmer than surrounding countryside at night, accounted for roughly half of the 130 heat-related deaths in a previous regional heatwave. The article also highlights a wider debate about climate spending priorities: in 2023, $1.8 trillion went to reducing emissions ("mitigation") while adaptation measures, such as heat-resilient housing and cooling, received under $65 billion. This imbalance has been challenged by figures including Bill Gates, who argues too much focus on emissions targets has diverted funding from practical measures that improve lives as the climate warms, a view that has sparked criticism from climate scientists.