Trains and buses cancelled, blistered feet, exhausted people – what London taught me about climate heating

Instead, one of the strongest memories I brought home was the pain in my feet.

During the late June heatwave, London’s public transport repeatedly ground to a halt. Underground tube services were disrupted, buses stopped running, and taxis and Ubers became almost impossible to find as thousands of people looked for alternatives.

Like everyone else, I had no option but to walk.

And walk, and walk, in the stifling heat.

The pavements became so hot that, despite wearing professional leather brogues, the soles of my feet blistered through my shoes.

By the time I got back to my hotel in the evening, I needed the first aid kit to treat my feet before heading out again the next morning.

At my third meeting the following day, I noticed that the woman I was meeting was wearing an immaculate, professional dress —paired with runners. When I asked why, she admitted she too had blisters all over her feet after also walking through the city in extreme heat.

It struck me that if two relatively young, healthy climate-aware people were struggling, what was happening to elderly people, young children, outdoor workers and people living with chronic illness?

For me, that became the real story of the week.

I grew up in central Queensland near Rockhampton. I’m used to tropical summers and long stretches of hot weather. Heat doesn’t usually bother me.

But London was different.

The city, and many others across the United Kingdom and Europe, simply aren’t built for temperatures that are becoming increasingly common.

Many of the beautiful historic buildings where the London Climate Action Week events were held relied on natural ventilation for cooling and, if we were lucky, fans or a few, struggling, portable air conditioners. Few have built-in air conditioning because, historically, they never needed it.

Outside, vast expanses of concrete, asphalt and stone absorbed the sun throughout the day before radiating heat back into the streets in the afternoon and well into the evening. Even after sunset, the city struggled to cool.

One of the great ironies of the week was that an event dedicated to discussing the dangers of extreme heat had to be cancelled because the historic venue became too hot for people to gather safely. It was a reminder that climate change is no longer a future policy discussion. It is disrupting the conversations about how to respond to it.

The launch of the global Electrify Now campaign, attended by hundreds of delegates, took place inside Mansion House, another historic building without air conditioning. By the evening reception, hundreds of people were sweating, fatigued and struggling to concentrate.

Heat doesn’t simply make people uncomfortable.

It affects our ability to think, work, travel and care for one another.

The experience also highlighted something Australians understand well but often underestimate cities can become dramatically hotter than official weather forecasts suggest.

The urban heat effect means built-up areas can be many degrees hotter than the weather forecasts. Pavements can reach temperatures capable of causing burns, and concrete, asphalt and bricks keep releasing heat overnight, preventing people from getting a cool night’s sleep.

As climate change drives more frequent and intense heatwaves, this becomes a serious public health issue.

The challenge isn’t confined to Europe.

Australian cities are also becoming hotter, and our own infrastructure will increasingly be tested.

We need to start designing our cities and buildings for the climate we know is coming.

That means planting far more trees and creating shaded public spaces. It means using cooler building materials and surfaces that absorb less heat, for example cool roofs and green streets. It means ensuring air-conditioned libraries, community centres and other public buildings can serve as cool refuges during heatwaves.

It also means making our public transport systems more resilient. Heat should not be capable of shutting down the trains, trams and buses people rely on to reach safety or simply get home.

Building standards must also evolve.

Passive design remains important, but it will not be enough on its own in a future where extreme heat becomes more common. Homes, schools, offices and public buildings need better insulation, smarter ventilation and efficient heat pump air conditioners that can keep people safe without driving up emissions or electricity bills.

Governments play a key role in health and safety here – heat safe building codes, and support for households and businesses to make upgrades, particularly for lower-income communities and older housing stock.

But infrastructure moves slowly, and heatwaves are not waiting for us to catch up.

Retrofitting a city takes decades, and a heatwave can cause catastrophic harm in hours. So, while we’re building a climate resilient future, we need to change the one thing we can right now: how we look out for each other.

Access to cool space is a health and safety imperative, not a luxury for those who can afford it. Shopping centres, libraries, pools and community halls can become heat retreats today, provided they’re free and easy to reach when the temperature spikes.

It also means checking in on elderly neighbours, people living alone or with young children, outdoor workers, and anyone managing a chronic illness.

If two healthy, climate-aware professionals can blister their feet from a few hours walking on hot pavement, we owe it to those more vulnerable to build that habit of care now, because heat like this isn’t waiting for our cities to catch up.

And we need to acknowledge that adaptation alone will never be enough.

The uncomfortable truth is that every tonne of greenhouse gas emissions we avoid today reduces the severity of the heatwaves future generations will face.

I was in London to present on what Beyond Zero Emissions has learnt from developing our National Action Plan for the energy transition in Australia, and our work designing and working with industry around Renewable Energy Industrial Precincts – both initiatives aiming to support decarbonisation while also growing new clean industries.

The heatwave showed me the real-world importance of this work and the global community continuing the shift away from coal, oil and gas towards renewable energy, electrification and cleaner industries, while we urgently build the homes and cities we need for the future.

If a city as wealthy as London can’t keep its own people safe from a single heatwave, the question for every Australian city is whether we’re ready for what’s coming.