Comment

In the face of increasingly extreme weather, developers, design engineers, architects and policymakers must take the lead

By Abhishek Parmar 2025-07-17T06:00:00

Abhishek Parmar,

The recent heatwave presents yet more evidence that we face a challenge – and a huge opportunity – to construct buildings that are thermally comfortable, energy-efficient and wellness-led, says Abhishek Parmar at HB Reavis

This spring was the UK’s fourth sunniest season since 1910, yet we have already had three 30°C heatwaves this year and London has recently been hotter than Barcelona and the Algarve. Combined with the climate change committee’s sobering reminder about the government’s inaction on the growing climate crisis, one thing is clear: the UK is heading for extreme weather and we are not set up to cope.

The Met Office forecasts and committee send a clear warning: the climate risks that face Britain’s buildings are accelerating faster than government action. With extreme weather events, droughts, heatwaves and flash floods becoming the new normal, the built environment must adapt or risk becoming obsolete.

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