‘The city isn’t built for heat’: how extreme weather puts London’s rough sleepers at risk

A makeshift shelter in south London. The homeless charity Crisis estimates up to 15,000 people sleep rough in London every year. Photograph: Martin Godwin/The Guardian

“You’ve just got to bear it. It’s like being in a hot country. It drains you,” said Tom*, a man in his 60s who has been homeless for a number of years. “I haven’t seen weather like this for as long as I’ve been outside.

“I keep to my routines, but you need to find somewhere to sit down and rest. Either some cardboard outside or you find somewhere they’ll let you sit and sleep a bit inside,” he added.