Blog
London given top marks for preparedness in new study
14 August 2013
Academics at Newcastle University have studied cities’ response to the climate challenge and their report states that that London leads the way. … Read more
Understanding London’s Heat Island
25 July 2013
As London’s first prolonged heatwave in seven years – including a temperature of 33.5C at Heathrow and the Met Office issuing a level 3 heatwave alert – was brought to a dramatic close with a crash of thunder, it seems an opportune moment to take stock of the recent events. … Read more
Equinox extreme weather guides – alcohol, drugs and mental ill health
6 June 2013
Charlotte Tarrant writes about how the charity Equinox produced valuable guidance for people who use drugs and alcohol, and for people who suffer from mental health. … Read more
Thames Estuary 2100 – managing flood risk in an uncertain future
15 April 2013
Tim Reeder explores the Environment Agency’s TE2100 Plan, designed to continue to protect 1.25 million people and £200 billion worth of property in London and the Thames estuary from increasing tidal flood risk … Read more
Trees in Towns
20 March 2013
Trees have many benefits; they help sweeten the air, they provide habitats for birds and other wildlife, they improve the look and feel of the city, they help in times of extreme heat to provide much needed shade and when the rain falls they help to slow down water into the drainage system.
… Read more
Green Deal and Overheating
4 March 2013
The Green Deal is the show in town in terms of helping us all make our buildings more efficient, using less energy and water, and safeguarding against rising energy prices in the process. For the first time with such a policy, water and energy saving measures have been brought together, in recognition of the importance of hot water saving measures in saving energy. The thing is how will these measures ensure we are ready for our changing climate? … Read more
How Superstorm Sandy helps us think closer to home
2 November 2012
With rising seas and changing climates, cities like New York and London face significant challenges. So what can we learn from New York? A similar event to Storm Sandy is very unlikely in London, but we can benefit from learning about the real damages and successes. We can make London more resilient by asking where New York’s preparedness saved lives and protected property, and where they needed to do more. … Read more
Water shortages during 2012
20 September 2012
In early spring 2012 following the driest two-year period on record we had a serious water shortage and this led to the imposition of water use restrictions to conserve valuable resources. In the future this is projected to be a more common occurrence and we are preparing for this possibility as part of our water resource planning. … Read more
Landlords: Adapting to climate change?
12 March 2012
Sustainable Homes has a new tool for cost effectively modelling climate change risk assessment for thousands of existing properties. This has proven particularly useful for social housing landlords who want to find out how their stock may be affected by future climate change, but don’t have the resources to carry out the assessment on a home by home basis. … Read more