Heatwave disrupts London Climate Action Week, forcing cancellations and warnings

Extreme heat forced London Climate Action Week to cancel events and issue safety warnings as a red extreme-heat alert covered London, much of southern and central England, and parts of Wales from 9 a.m. Wednesday to 9 p.m. Thursday. Organizers told participants to avoid prolonged outdoor exposure, hydrate, and move events online if needed as temperatures strained the capital during the nine-day program.

Hosted by E3G with UN partners, London Climate Action Week ran from 20 to 28 June in its eighth edition and brought together more than 75,000 people across more than 1,000 events. Bloomberg's supported programming included nearly 50,000 participants across more than 700 events.

Among the cancellations was a London School of Economics panel on improving extreme-heat governance. The session was called off because the venue was too hot and because of the Met Office red warning. Another event hosted by Ramboll was also scrapped, and organizers put the total number of cancellations below 10, though the precise count was difficult to track. The cancelled LSE event was due to be held in a near-100-year-old building that relies on natural ventilation and fans rather than air conditioning.

Greater Thameslink Railway warned passengers to travel only if absolutely necessary because of heat-related disruption, adding pressure on attendees trying to reach venues across central London. Nick Mabey, chief executive of E3G and a founder of London Climate Action Week, said much of London’s building stock cannot function in the heat, calling the cancellations a dramatic demonstration of climate change’s threat to the economy, way of life and cultural heritage.

Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said the weather in London this week impels action on climate change and recalled that 35C in London in June was not normal in his childhood.