As the UK faces its fifth heatwave of the summer, disabled people say extreme heat poses risks to their safety and independence that are largely absent from public health advice and emergency planning. Campaigners and those affected describe the situation as far more serious than mere discomfort, with heatwaves forcing them to curtail travel, work and daily activities, sometimes leaving them stranded at home.

Emily Davison, a London-based journalist with a visual impairment, must prioritise her guide dog Rosie's wellbeing over her own plans, cancelling trips when it is too hot for the dog to travel and struggling to find suitable transport, including overheating buses and Uber drivers refusing entry with a dog. Jimmy Macfarlane, a Cardiff-based actor who uses a powered wheelchair, finds the heat drains his chair's battery faster and has previously been trapped for days in his sixth-floor flat when the lift broke down in high temperatures; his cerebral palsy also means everyday tasks take longer and become more exhausting in the heat. Campaigner Doug Paulley said that while heat is merely uncomfortable for able-bodied people, for disabled people "we're starting to talk about survival."