Britain must think like a hot country – otherwise inequalities will only grow

With nine out of 10 British homes at risk of overheating, the Climate Change Committee report said that air conditioning might be the only answer. Photograph: Owen Humphreys/PA

It may not always feel like it, but Britons are going to have to get used to living in a hot country.

Temperatures are already 1.4C above the historic norm, and heading for a 2C rise in the next two decades. This may not sound like much, but it will mean far higher temperatures in summer – heatwaves as high as 45C lasting for more than a week, dwarfing the previous record of 40C in 2022 – as well as more frequent droughts and severe flooding, according to a major report published on Wednesday.