Tower Bridge, London in the heat

Climate resilience in the capital

Agencies across London came together yesterday to establish how they will respond to extreme heat across the capital.

Coming in a week when the UK Health Security Agency and the Met Office issued a four-day Yellow Heat Alert for high temperatures, Operation Helios brought a number of organisations across public health, local government, transport, and emergency response together to explore London’s ability to cope with future extreme heat conditions. Led by the Greater London Authority’s London Resilience Unit, more than 80 participants joined to support the long-term approaches that will be required for the city to adapt to high temperatures.

Taking place over the course of the full day, those taking part experienced a developing scenario in which the Met Office and the UKHSA provided updates and warnings, the impacts of which would need to be considered in relation to how they will affect individuals, communities and services.

London resilience quote

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said:

“Over the past few years we have seen the damaging and dangerous effects of extreme heat and climate change in London, and Operation Helios provides a vital opportunity to bring partners together and plan how we can manage these threats in the future.

“London is known as a beacon for climate action thanks to the bold policies we’ve adopted to address the climate emergency and air pollution.  We were the first global city to declare a climate emergency in 2018 and have been working tirelessly to combat the impacts of climate change ever since.

“I am committed to reaching net-zero carbon by 2030, but our climate is already changing and so we must work together to ensure we can effectively adapt to the climate risks we face. London needs to become a climate resilient city and testing and improving London’s response to extreme heat is essential as we work to build a fairer, greener London for everyone.”

Alongside the exercise, the Mayor also commissioned an independent London Climate Resilience Review, an interim of which was published in January. The full review itself is expected next month and is one of a number of ways in which London’s climate resilience is being supported by the GLA. Funding worth £30 million has also been committed to support adaptations to climate change – including projects such as rewilding and other green infrastructure measures.

Chair of the London Resilience Forum, David Bellamy, also commented:

“Recent summers have demonstrated that our climate is changing, which will affect all areas of our society, environment, and our economy. Extreme heat and flooding pose real risks for Londoners, so as a partnership we need to prepare for weather conditions that previously would have been unbelievable.

“Exercises like Operation Helios help to ensure we have the right tools and knowledge to handle emergencies and support Londoners through extreme weather events.”

 

Image credit: iStock

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