July 19, 2022 was the hottest on British record. In the village of Coningsby, the thermometer reading was the highest in the country, i.e. 40.3 degrees.
In Wennington, which is part of Greater London, there was also a heat wave. All of a sudden, all hell broke loose: a fury erupted fire, which spread quickly with the wind and destroyed twenty houses down to their foundations. According to Vamminma Veikkaus, the fire started by itself – from the compost.
Shayng Turner was one of those who lost their home. He didn’t get to the scene of the fire right away because the railway leading from the heart of London was twisted in the heat.
There is a fire station in the village, but it was of no use because the firefighters were elsewhere on another mission. The day was the busiest for Greater London fire departments since the Second World War: there were 2,496 calls.
The British authorities had previously estimated that temperatures of 40 degrees could be experienced in the island kingdom around 2040. The prediction went wrong by a couple of decades.
London wants to set an example
Climate change has disciplined London before. In the summer of 2021, floods took over the streets in the heart of the big city.
London will now ambitiously shows the rest of the world how big cities protect themselves from the effects of advancing climate change.
– London has many good plans and programs against climate threats. We have to admit that the lives of Londoners are at risk, and we need to act now, leading the climate committee Emma Howard Boyd Has said.
In addition to heat and heavy rains, London is threatened by rising sea levels. It requires extensive measures on the River Thames that cuts through the city.
A new water storage is also on the procurement list, because the heat of the other year dropped fresh water reserves to their lowest level in decades. Leaks must be fixed, Londoners must be taught to use water sparingly.
Small-scale works include a map of London marked with cool places like churches and libraries. You can take shelter in them when the heat feels unbearable.
– We have to be fast, not perfect, Howard Boyd added.
Poor victims of climate change
Large cities are generally well prepared for the effects of climate change, says the professor of urban environmental policy at the University of Helsinki Circus Juhola.
The difference between rich and poor countries is of course large. Rich cities can afford to build reasonable infrastructure, and residents can cool their homes with air conditioners.
Climate change punishes the poor in big cities the hardest everywhere.
– There are slum areas in the global south in particular, which are already absolutely horrible places for most of the people who live there, says Juhola.
Almost a hundred of the world’s major cities are involved C40– in the climate network. Among the Nordic capitals are Stockholm, Oslo and Copenhagen – but not Helsinki.
In the network, big cities share their plans and experiences for adapting to climate change. Most of the big cities have cooperation with local research institutes.
– Monitoring adaptation is extremely difficult for cities, because the measures are so diverse, says Juhola.
Sandy flooded the streets of New York
Hurricane Sandy already showed in 2012 what climate change can do to a big city. In New York, water flooded streets, power stations and subway tunnels. Bridges and tunnels leading to Manhattan were closed.
However, according to Juhola, New York is a good example of preparing for rising temperatures and other extremes. The work has been done for twenty years.
Embankments have been built to prevent flooding of the Hudson River, roofs of houses have been painted white to reflect the sun’s rays back into the sky, more trees have been planted in the city, social networks are preparing to take care of the elderly suffering from the heat.
It can also sometimes make sense to give in to climate change.
– On Staten Island, it has been decided to give part of the coastline to nature. We are talking about the government withdrawing, says Juhola.
The heat can torment residents for a long time. Floods quickly mess up the city, when the drainage is not enough for huge masses of water and the asphalt and stone surface does not let the water through.
There is an art for this in Copenhagen. The homeowner gets a discount on his water bill if the yard is left to absorb water.
Big cities now in the wrong place
A very large part of the big cities on the planet are built in a way in the wrong place. In the past, the seashore or river estuary was a good place for population concentration, but climate change can make these locations a problem.
An extreme example is Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia. The city is sinking, caused by the reckless drilling of water from under the city. On top of this is the rise in sea level caused by climate change. It has been decided to move the capital elsewhere, to the island of Borneo.
The density of big cities is also a problem. It reduces people’s movement and saves energy, but the concrete houses standing next to it trap heat during the day and do not have time to cool down at night.
According to Juhola, in big cities you have to prepare specifically for uncertainty. Forecasting the weather will hardly become easier with climate change.
Uncertainty is also felt in Wennington, where only one blackened ruin remains as a reminder of the terrible day two years ago.
Shaign Turner and his spouse have also had a new house built in place of the burned one and will soon be able to move into it. Humor has also found a place: according to Turner, they were spared the task of unpacking things from the attic because the fire took everything.
– Absolutely. This can happen to others too. Climate affects so many things and you don’t notice it until it happens, says Turner.