Preparing London for extreme weather

London needs a systematic approach to climate adaptation that considers risk across all sectors in the Climate Change Committee’s adaptation monitoring framework. This should consider:
 

Water stress: numerous reports predict severe water shortage in London’s mid-term future. Shoring up water sources and preservation mechanisms should be a priority, taking lessons from jurisdictions with good practice like Singapore. 

Flooding is an extreme risk as seen in recent years - greater attention needed particularly in London’s low-lying areas. Will otherwise make large swathes of city unliveable. 

Spontaneous fires are already happening in London in discrete areas during hot weather - risk of wildfire should be considered and how to prepare fire service. 

Homes need to be built for all weather extremities - properly insulated, heat pumps, with fixed shutters to keep out sun in hotter weather. National house building regulations are insufficient to prepare for needs of the future. 

Our biodiversity needs protection - we are lucky to live in a city with plentiful green space. This should be expanded and protected where possible, recognising the adaptation co-benefits of natural assets.

We hve planted 3 trees in the garden and put hedging the front. We want to install cavity wall insulation, fix guttering, unblock drains and turn our concrete driveway inot semi permeable gravel/pot plants, but its unaffordable to spend anything rifht now. I've checked bit we aren't currently eligible for grants.

There are two things which come to mind for the points mentioned:

1.  When considering the number of hard surfaces in London, we'd benefit from better regulation against building on green belt sites. We are lucky to have green spaces and do not value the drainage they provide, as well as the obvious health benefits. The short term gain of building on these sites does long term damage. Often the buildings are for prohibitively expensive flats for the average person and sit empty which negatively affects Londoners in a number of ways.
2.  Homes in London are largely built for moderate climates. I would love to see an insulation grant be given to Londoners to help them make dealing with the ext eme weather more accessible. It would also be good to consider ways this can help those in rented accommodation.

The picture accompanying this survey of Tower Bridge flooding has nothing to do with extreme weather.  It was because barriers erected on the bridge had blocked the drainage gullies.

Siddiq Khan said in November 2018, "a number of the barriers on Tower Bridge have blocked the gullies and led to a build-up of standing water" during heavy rain.  The Metropolitan Police Service has been working with Transport for London (TfL) to address this issue and, on 20 November 2018, barriers were removed to clear the drainage system of any blockages and clean the surrounding area. Barriers were then put back in place, but with alterations to ensure more water can flow into the gullies in the future."

Civil Engineers subsequently cited the same being the reason for further flooding in 2021.  We see more floods in England now not because of the rain, its because we've built on the flood plain.  Built massive supermarkets and retail parks.

England is the only part of the UK in which the fire and rescue service (FRS) does not have a statutory authority to deal with floods. As I understand it, this has a negative impact on the funding the FRS receives to deal with flooding (which is getting worse every year). 

Local authorities need more funding and there needs to be a push for more sustainable urban drainage. It should be built into all new housing / infrastructure and retrofitted where possible. Drainage also needs to focus and prioritise pedestrian and cycle ways as these are often the first to flood, discouraging people from active travel especially in wet weather and therefore compounding the issue.

Creating more shade and reducing heat island affect is needed - again need to be more mechanisms to encourage local authorities to do more of this.

London is not currently developed to deal with extreme heat and warmer weather. In hot weather, there are very large pockets of neighbourhoods with little shade, no trees or water, and congested roads adding more heat. Even in cooler areas such as commons, the grass becomes so dry it is mainly dust. During heat waves it is unbearable to be outside at all. More trees on every road for shade and cooling, and more investment into parks and commons. Accelerating electrification of public busses and encouraging electric cars would help reduce additional heat on main roads, as well as reducing traffic. 

Public buildings and homes are also not set up for heat, having invested in installation instead and being in built up areas or in high rise flats where heat rises so if there are not nearby green and cool spaces people can go to, there is no respite from extreme temperatures. Air conditioning on public transport (busses and tube), in hospitals and surgeries, and in public buildings like libraries so that people can get some respite from heat if their homes are not comfortable and do not overheat during travel or necessarily appointments. There should be extra support for businesses to fund air conditioning in their buildings.

There needs to be more support for vulnerable people including SWEP for people who are homeless, with cool spaces to be implemented as standard not just during extreme heat warnings. More water and drinking fountains and mist (as in some European cities) which the public and homeless can use. Support for local market traders to protect their food and workers when trading outside in extreme heat so their livelihoods are protected.

The effects of significant climate change are already evident in London. Living centrally, one is perhaps not subject to more of the extreme conditions, but the extreme heat / lack of rain affects everyone. Houses are baking, and without the advantages/availability/previous necessity of air-conditioning, living in our previously comfortable flats is now becoming a problem. This year, I have already faced two days without water, where the mains supply had been affected. It does not predict well for the future, unless we take immediate action countrywide.

There are several actions that can & should be taken:

• planning permission should include a joint assessment (incl builders & WAs ) about capacity both for providing water & dealing with waste,
• Reduce hard surfacing incl in private properties to reduce runoff, 
• Reducing fouling of rainwater going into rivers from traffic waste esp when rivers running low
• Review need for more reservoirs
• Troubleshoot in areas with flooding ? Creating floodplains 
• Practical help to re-use ‘grey’ water especially during dry periods
• An energy support group to assist households, at reasonable cost, with practical advise on energy saving eg draft proofing/ insulation etc. 
• Edication & information including in schools
• Incentivise public buildings & institutions to reduce waste
• Monitor water extraction from rivers by WAs
• Water harvesting schemes

This is just hysteria & an excuse for blocked waterways, drains and overflow channels. Successive bad local government management!

 If you build on traditional flood plains, as was done in the build up to the 2012 olympics in East London, or create housing in low level areas that have a history of flooding where do you expect water to go? 
The more concrete and paving built, the drier the earth becomes making it harder to soak away surface water…

Climate change is happening, and has been happening for centuries. The difference in the 21st century is that the idiots in charge haven’t got a clue about how their policies are just making it worse. 

Hold the water companies accountable for blocked drains, charge businesses that cause the fat-burgs & building materials going in the water system and hold government officials accountable for giving planning permission for building on traditional flood plains & using too much paving and not enough soak aways…

THE SIMPLEST MEASURES ARE NOT ALWAYS THE EASIEST FOR POLITICIANS WHO ARE ONLY INTERESTED IN RE-ELECTION AND PROFIT!  

I’d like to see a concerted and regular effort to clean drains all over London. Local councils fail to gather leaves and drains get clogged which means huge puddles. 
More trees with wider canopies are needed. 
And rather than go after the owners of the ten percent of so-called non-compliant vehicles (ULEZ) make it compulsory for all vehicles belonging to large organisations and public bodies to be electric or hybrid. 

The review should start by acknowledging that humans are part of nature not separate from or in control of it. We need to act in partnership with it. 
I suggest that they invite Mac Macartney, Satish Kumar or any of the team at Embercombe to speak to you about The Children’s Fire and to agree to hold the principal “No law, no decision, no action of any kind shall be taken that will harm the children of this generation and seven generations hence.” at the heart of the review. I suggest that they consider and recommend that Ecocide is written into UK (and international) law and the review considers how to hold themselves, the Mayor, councils and companies to account in a way that benefits the community. London councils should have access to specialist advice and we should be looking at ways to green the city that has a positive impact of also providing organic food to Londoners. We should be assessing the (financial and nature) cost  / benefit of solar energy to power things like street lights, bus shelters to either have green roofs or solar panels, innovative ways of rainfall capture. Incentivising industry to create heating/ cooling systems that not only work for whole buildings but also for the many, many flats. There should be investment in the parks and other open spaces to  educate the planners about how they can capture rainfall and councils how to divert flash flooding, capture & clean it to use it for green spaces to flourish. Fire beaters by grass / park / woodland to be considered as important as life rings are by open water. Consider how to educate community groups about collective action they could take locally, harnessing the people power we saw during covid. Similar to Wandsworth have skip months so that people don’t fly tip and cause fire hazards. Use tech so people can access education about individual and collective action to prevent, prepare for and how to act during extreme weather emergencies. 

Create local community response groups, supporting local emergency services, and provide assistance if required. 

A group of volunteers can help to organise local communities, using tools available to support within emergencies, if London prepares guidelines and use online training we can create resilience groups to support each other.

Several people have asked for more trees, which is fine but young trees need water, I have seen many examples of dead young trees and I believe this is due to lack of water.  I have watered the young trees near my house but clearly this is not the norm.

With heatwaves increasing and temperatures generally rising there is an urgent need to make all public transport air conditioned - or more will be forced to use cars to get to work as the heat on the tube in july/August is practically unbearable. Its inhumane. If aircon can't be afforded for all lines, start with the hottest deepest lines - victoria/northern/central. If aircon cant be a quick fix then there needs to be urgent innovation to reduce the heat on the network. 

In terms of reducing carbon footprint of london - why are big businesses allowed to leave lights on overnight when the building is empty/closed - im thinking of places like Pret who seem to leave all their lights on at night or large office blocks with lights on all night. Could there be some incentive or consequences for businesses?