This is an edited version of an article that appeared in The Yorkshire Post on 2 June 2026 in which Matt Bromley argues that more strategic investment is needed to prepare the UK for the impact of continued climate change…
Last weekend I had my first water fight in decades. It wasn’t a fair fight: my wife and daughters had the element of surprise, I was on the backfoot; they had pistols, I had a dog bowl and two excited hounds at my heels. The first salvo stuck whilst I was reclining, eyes closed, enjoying the sunshine, having earlier given in to my primal urge to make fire to feed my tribe, flipping burgers on the BBQ for flipping hours. I soon forgave my attackers for the shock of ice-cold water, however, because it provided some much-needed relief from the heat – the mercury in my garden rising to 32C. And I got my own back. All’s fair in love and water, after all.
Weather extremes seem commonplace these days with headlines regularly proclaiming the driest day, wettest week, and fastest-flowing flood since records began. Climate change is no longer contestable and it’s no longer on the horizon; it’s real and it’s here. Whilst that’s good for small talk, it’s not so good for the planet nor our infrastructure.
To wit, two weeks ago, the Climate Change Committee published a report which said we should prepare for 2C of global heating and 40C+ heatwaves across the UK by 2050.
With about 9 in 10 homes likely to overheat, the CCC said drawing curtains and opening windows are unlikely to be enough. Air conditioning should be installed in houses, care homes, and hospitals within 10 years, and in all schools within 25 years. Further, the government should set a maximum temperature for working.
It’s not just about the heat, either. The number of homes at risk of flooding could increase by 40% by 2050, and peak flow in rivers could be 45% higher. Sea levels could increase by 20cm to 45cm, putting some coastal areas at risk, and heavy rainfall could increase by 60%. By the end of the century, storm surges that now occur once a century could be annual. Droughts could also become more frequent with the shortfall in water supply reaching 5bn litres a day.
Adapting our infrastructure to cope is therefore essential… although it won’t come cheap with the CCC estimating it could cost £11bn a year. But let’s put that in context: every £1 spent will yield £5 in benefits, and the climate crisis is already costing the UK about £60bn a year, or about 2% of GDP. Failing to act could cost £260bn a year within 20 years.
Climate change exposes another problem: inequality. More affluent families can retreat to shaded gardens, cool conservatories, or air-conditioned cars bound for the coast. They can afford ice cream and sun screen, blackout blinds and fans. Meanwhile, across Yorkshire, thousands of children living in poverty are trapped in cramped flats that store heat like ovens. The great irony is that those who contribute least to the climate crisis often bear most weight.
Teachers see this disparity daily. In one classroom sits a child returned from half-term with tales of beaches and BBQs; beside them, another arrives exhausted after another sleepless night in a stiflingly hot shared bedroom.
What’s more, most schools were built to retain heat not release it, and thus by the summer term classrooms become unusable. Pupils struggle to concentrate. Attention spans and tempers shorten. Learning suffers. Especially in exam halls.
Therefore, redesigning public buildings, insulating and air-conditioning homes, improving public services such as parks and swimming pools, and creating shaded public spaces, and are not ideological gestures; they’re matters of good governance… and basic humanity.
Read more of Matt’s columns for The Yorkshire Post…
