Why is the UK so unprepared for extreme heat and what can be done?

A man walks along a dry bank of a tributary to the Dowry Reservoir close to Oldham, Greater Manchester, on Monday. Photograph: Danny Lawson/PA

Is the UK prepared for the worsening heatwaves driven by the climate crisis?

Absolutely not, despite years of warnings from its official climate advisers, the Climate Change Committee. “We’ve been telling the government for over 10 years that we are nothing like well enough prepared in the UK for the really hot weather we are seeing now,” said Lady Brown, the CCC’s deputy chair.