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This week’s heatwave is exactly why we exist 

  Progress Update   By

The UK is in the grip of a red extreme heat warning – temperatures forecast to reach 39°C, with June records expected to break and overnight temperatures staying above 20°C, leaving people unable to recover from the daytime heat. 

The Met Office Chief Scientist put it plainly: “Human induced climate change has made events like this more likely and more intense. To see temperatures like this in the UK in June is sobering.”

Researchers at the University of Reading were equally direct: “We are looking at an intense and record-breaking spell of heat with widespread impacts on public health, infrastructure and essential services. Unlike previous heatwaves, elevated humidity levels are expected to make conditions feel even more oppressive and dangerous by severely reducing the body’s ability to cool itself through sweating.”  

A country not built for this 

The effects are cascading across every part of daily life. Steel rails are buckling and overhead electrical wires are sagging, forcing speed restrictions and service shutdowns across the rail network. Road surfaces are softening under sustained heat, and power grids are under strain. The UK Health Security Agency has warned of a rise in deaths, particularly among those aged 65 and over or with underlying health conditions. A BMJ report found that 90% of NHS buildings in England are prone to overheating – raising serious questions about whether our health infrastructure can cope. 

Meanwhile, the demand for cooling is surging. The number of UK households running air conditioning has doubled in three years to an estimated 4 million units – and during a heatwave, weekly electricity bills per household can jump from a few pounds to over £40. That electricity is largely priced against gas: because gas-fired power plants generate much of the UK’s electricity, gas sets the price of electricity the majority of the time. Every air conditioning unit switched on this week is, in effect, burning more fossil fuel to cope with the consequences of burning fossil fuel. 

Energy bills: still hostage to global markets 

The timing could not be more pointed. The July 2026 energy price cap will leave typical bills 53% above their winter 2021/22 level, with energy costs for the average household expected to stay above £1,800 per year until at least July 2027. Wholesale gas prices have spiked again in 2026, with heating oil now at a 12-month high – 30% up year on year. As the End Fuel Poverty Coalition put it: “As long as our energy bills remain dependent on gas, households will keep being hit by global price shocks.”

The Met Office notes that on the 50th anniversary of the 1976 heatwave, scientists are projecting UK temperatures could reach 45°C by 2056 in a plausible scenario. This is not an edge case. It is the direction of travel. 

Where Equisera fits 

It is also, this week, London Climate Action Week – the largest independent climate event in Europe – bringing together governments, investors, and businesses to accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels. 

We founded Equisera because we believed the answer to the climate crisis had to be practical, affordable, and deployable at scale. RiPR converts waste that already exists – on farms, at food factories, in industrial facilities – into carbon-negative biomethane and hydrogen at fossil fuel cost parity. No new infrastructure required. No subsidy dependency. Energy produced locally, from materials that would otherwise be a cost and a problem. 

Weeks like this one are a reminder of why that matters – and why the pace of transition needs to accelerate. 

References 

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