Haringey’s Carbon Management and Public Health teams aimed to set out the impacts of more frequent and severe heatwaves on health and wellbeing and to highlight residents’ needs in this context.
Introduction
This case study was collected by London Councils as part of their London Leading: Case Studies in Climate Resilience Leadership report, which showcases how London boroughs are making climate adaptation a priority and embedding action within councils.
Haringey’s Carbon Management and Public Health teams aimed to set out the impacts of more frequent and severe heatwaves on health and wellbeing and to highlight residents’ needs in this context. They created a Joint Strategic Needs Assessment that focuses on heatwaves and includes recommendations for action.
How did it start?
In summer 2022, Haringey experienced 21 per cent higher excess deaths attributable to heat, compared with the five-year average. The largest increase in deaths occurred in care homes and amongst rough sleepers. Council service leads agreed to significantly improve heatwave preparedness and response.
The Carbon Management and the Public Health Teams worked alongside Emergency Planning and NHS services to identify an estimated 130,000 residents most vulnerable to heatwaves. The Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) used the London Climate Risk Maps and local data such as excess mortality, housing typologies and location of vulnerable residents to highlighting communities and facilities most at risk.
How does it build resilience?
The JSNA increased awareness on the impacts that a prolonged heatwave would have on the local population. It has allowed ongoing projects to consider new ways of managing overheating risks, such as the Council’s Housing Building Programme. It also resulted in new projects: increasing tree canopy, urban cooling, a community building retrofit resilience pilot, and green skills.
The JNSA identified interventions to increase preparedness and resilience: identifying community buildings at high risk, targeted communication, education and outreach within the Councils, NHS and voluntary sector, and community workshops to better understand challenges around the impacts of heatwaves.
What are the challenges?
Competing visions from teams with different motivations and local budgets means that new projects are challenging to fund. There are limited case studies in the UK of successful projects that reduce the risks of a prolonged heatwave. The team had to look at actions from other cities, for example Athens, Paris and Chicago. Communication to residents is challenging, including preparing pre-emptive local heatwave messaging and sending it out at the right time.
Conclusion
Working collaboratively across the council helps identify the communities, areas and facilities most at risk from climate change and consider the health of the local population to ensure that projects are focused on the people that are most vulnerable.
This case study was collected by London Councils as part London Leading: Case Studies in Climate Resilience Leadership report. You can view the full report on the London Councils website.
Useful link
Contact information
Public Health Team
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