From shutters to reflective paint: how to prevent UK homes overheating

Reducing urban heat islands, greening local areas and using heat pumps for air conditioning can also play a role

• Low-income and minority ethnic people in England most at risk from dangerously hot homes

• Why UK housing is dangerously unprepared for impact of climate crisis

Extremely hot days in summer are becoming more normal across the globe, but in the UK and other typically mild countries, our homes are not prepared. A third of UK homes are susceptible to overheating, and research shows that renters, people with young children and those from ethnic minorities are at particular risk of living in dangerously hot homes in England.

So what can be done to cool down homes?