The climate crisis is coming home. This year has smashed heat records for the UK, with the record for the hottest June day obliterated and the first year on record to see temperatures of 35°C or above in May, June and July.
By Liam Geary Baulch, Heat Strike on 21 August 2026
Here in the UK, we are already living with the consequences of climate change. We’ve recently had repeated heatwaves, which followed heavy rainfall and flooding across many parts of the country earlier this year. Climate change is shaping the conditions in which we live and work today. Climate change is most definitely a workplace-safety issue.
By Sophie Vipond, Climate Change Committee on 10 August 2026
With scientists predicting the UK will in future face increasingly extreme and frequent heatwaves due to climate change, it is essential employers take practical action now to protect indoor and outdoor workers from the health impacts of high temperatures and humidity.
By Stephen Sandford, Casella on 28 July 2026
Research by the University of Reading has found that 67% of UK construction workers have concerns about heat affecting their health, making it essential that construction managers take steps both to reduce heat exposure and educate workers about the dangers of heat-related illness.
By Dr Alba Fuertes, University of Reading on 28 July 2026
The UK must introduce a legal maximum working temperature and urgently roll out air conditioning across schools, hospitals, and care homes as UK temperatures are forecast to exceed 40C by 2050, the government’s independent climate advisers have warned.
By Belinda Liversedge on 21 May 2026
A Green Party peer has called for a new amendment in the forthcoming Employment Rights Bill requiring the government to publish a review of the impact of high temperatures on workplace health and safety.
By Belinda Liversedge on 21 August 2025
Workers across the world are increasingly being exposed to excessive heat with serious implications for their safety and health. It is therefore vital that governments, employers and workers’ organisations develop, share and implement practical and low-cost strategies and measures for effectively reducing the risk from heat stress at work.
By Halshka Graczyk and Lacye Groening, ILO on 07 April 2025
Climate talks in Azerbaijan ended with a last-minute finance agreement to provide developing countries with $300 billion a year by 2035, to support efforts to cut emissions and deal with the effects of climate change.
By Kerry Reals on 25 November 2024
It is time to end the “brinkmanship” and “get down to the real business” of reaching a global agreement on financial support to help developing countries cut emissions and cope with the effects of climate change, the United Nations’ climate chief told negotiators in Azerbaijan as the COP29 summit entered its final week.
By Kerry Reals on 19 November 2024
The world is on the brink of an “irreversible climate disaster” with many of the planet’s “vital signs” having reached record extremes, scientists have warned in an alarming new report which says that even in the most optimistic scenario, large-scale climate adaptation efforts will be needed.
By Kerry Reals on 09 October 2024
