Heatwaves are killing people in Britain. We need to take action now | Letters

The data published by Imperial College London on deaths caused by the May and June heatwaves is a stark reminder of how climate change is not only measured in degrees of temperatures but also in terms of lost lives (May and June heatwaves killed about 2,700 people in England and Wales, data suggests, 13 July).

While each death due to extreme heat is a preventable tragedy, mortality only represents the tip of the iceberg of how heat is impacting our health. Extreme heat also affects our mental health. Throughout the past weeks in the northern hemisphere, we have all experienced how it is making it harder for us to sleep, making us more irritable and reducing our ability to concentrate.

Research has linked higher temperatures to a surge in negative emotions and an increased risk of suicide. Extreme heat drives more hospital admissions for mental health conditions, while tragically leading to elevated mortality rates among people living with existing mental health conditions. We must ensure mental health is protected from the impacts of extreme heat.

The good news is that solutions exist. For example, the South Australia heat health warning system includes a daily welfare check to vulnerable individuals, including people with mental health conditions.

Extreme heat is impacting our health now, whether it’s by killing people or by worsening our mental health. Climate action is therefore also action for mental health.
Dr Alessandro Massazza
Senior policy and advocacy adviser on climate change and the environment, United for Global Mental Health

It was both shocking and frustrating to read that an estimated 2,700 people died owing to the recent heatwaves in England and Wales. While this inevitably feeds into the debate about climate change, we also need to focus on immediate, practical measures that can protect vulnerable people from suffering in their homes.

The media routinely offer advice for reducing heat indoors, but these measures alone are often not sufficient in preventing conditions that pose a threat to health. Recently in my house, the temperature over a 24-hour period was a minimum of 30C – and reached a maximum of 33C. Even as a healthy person, I could sense the unrelenting stress on my body.

As a temporary measure, I made some external blinds using radiator reflector foil and attached them to the south-facing patio door with Velcro. This cost about £10 to make. The living room now is consistently 4C-5C cooler, compared with closing curtains and indoor blinds – a temperature drop that could be life-saving for some. The government should provide funding for vulnerable people to retrofit external window coverings and make heat-blocking measures a standard feature of new homes.
Sean Smith
Milton Keynes

I have been brooding about the statistic that the recent heatwaves caused 440 excess deaths a day. I checked the statistics from the Imperial War Museum for the blitz, and read that on Black Saturday, 7 September 1940, some 430 Londoners died in the initial bombing. Since 1938, the RAF and others had been busy planning a defence, but the ferocity of the blitz still shocked people. Policymakers and planners engaged in urgent discussion, and (within the limits of wartime censorship), the press actively contributed.

The Guardian has done its bit to publicise the heat health emergency. In 1940, Churchill and Attlee worked together across party lines. In 2026, who will unite our country in defence against lethal heat?
Woody Caan
Duxford, Cambridgeshire