The climate crisis is already having a profound impact here in the UK. Scientists projected the deaths of almost 600 people due to the heatwave in England and Wales between 19 June and 22 June, and that such dangerous weather is 100 times more likely because of climate change caused by human activity.

The time is now

It’s true that the people with the lowest incomes in the world bear the brunt of the negative consequences of the climate crisis, while bearing the least responsibility for creating this situation. But that definitely doesn’t mean people in Britain escape the consequences completely.

Researchers at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and Imperial College London warned that people of any age are at risk because of the heat, but the vast majority of deaths predicted are those over 65.

Saturday’s heat would only have been expected once every 2,500 years if not for the fossil fuel-powered system.

The adverse weather follows 2024, which was the hottest year on record globally and around 1.55C above pre-industrial levels. Last year, 1,311 people died because of heat in England – more than anticipated. And Europe faces a 40% drop in food production this century unless we change course.

Prof Antonio Gasparrini, lead of the EHM-Lab at LSHTM, said:

Increases of just a degree or two can be the difference between life and death. When temperatures push past the limits populations are acclimatised to, excess deaths can increase very rapidly. A large number of the excess deaths wouldn’t have likely happened without climate change. To give an estimate, more research will be required. Clearly, a hotter climate is a more dangerous climate. Every fraction of a degree of warming will cause more hospital admissions and heat deaths, putting more strain on the NHS.

Getting worse

According to research published in Nature, climate change resulting from human activity caused roughly 56% of Europe’s 68,000 heat-related deaths in 2022. And if we continue to power the economy through fossil fuels, there will be more than 10,000 heat-related deaths per year in the UK by 2050, according to the Climate Change Committee, which advises the government.

The committee recently warned that Labour are continuing the agenda of the Conservatives when it comes to climate change:

There is now unequivocal evidence that climate change is making extreme weather in the UK more likely and more extreme. Across the UK, this looks like heatwaves, heavy rainfall, and wildfire-conducive conditions. The UK is not appropriately prepared for this. Notably, there has been no change in addressing this risk with the change in Government.

Baroness Brown, chair of the Adaptation Committee, said:

We have seen in the last couple of years that the country is not prepared for the impacts of climate change. We know there is worse to come, and we are not ready – indeed in many areas we are not even planning to be ready. The threat is greatest for the most vulnerable: we do not have resilient hospitals, schools, or care homes. Public and private institutions alike are unprepared.

We can see our country changing before our eyes. People are having to cope with more regular extreme weather impacts. People are experiencing increasing food prices. People are worried about vulnerable family members during heatwaves.

Ineffective and outdated ways of working within Government are holding back the country’s ability to be future-fit. Is this Government going to face up to the reality of our situation? Failing to act will impact every family and every person in the country.

According to the Adaption Committee, the UK government is doing no better in adapting to climate change in 2025 than in 2023.

Whether it’s issues like austerity or privatiastion, Keir Starmer is as bad or worse than the Tories. And the climate crisis is no exception.

By James Wright

This post was originally published on Canary.