Second London Working Group meeting

The second London Working Group (LWG) meeting, chaired by Professor Anna Mavrogianni, held on 6 July 2026. The meeting brought together 24 participants from the HEARTH team and external stakeholders across national government, public organisations, the third sector, industry, and academia.

Key topics covered:

• Progress updates across the HEARTH programme, with a particular focus on London.

• An overview of the Greater London Authority’s (GLA) Heat Ready London initiative.

• Reflections from the GLA’s Public Health Unit on heat resilience and health.

• A presentation by GLA team on the health sector's response, highlighting a Heat Health Action Plan aimed at protecting vulnerable populations, leveraging health system resources, and laying the foundations for a climate-resilient health system in London.

• Heat vulnerability analysis and temperature datasets, examining Land Surface Temperature (LST) as a key proxy when high-resolution air temperature data is unavailable. 

LWG Discussions concluded with a focus on funding challenges for heat adaptation and potential collaborative opportunities between HEARTH and GLA initiatives.

Key messages and strategic priorities of the LWG second meeting:

• Indoor overheating and passive cooling: Studies in East London developments revealed severe heat retention in flats after outdoor temperatures drop, disrupting resident activities and forcing temporary relocations. Work Package 5 (WS5) is evaluating solar shading and passive cooling strategies to mitigate this.

• Adaptation funding and strategic vision: The Mayor’s Heat Ready London strategy outlines 37 priority areas across six sectors. The strategy underlines the need for mixed, blended finance and insurance-backed funding models, while highlighting a substantial funding gap, supported by an estimated £1.5 billion in economic losses during the 2022 heatwave.

• Health sector action plan:  London Heat Health Action Plan targets four priorities, including partnership management, protecting vulnerable populations, leveraging health system levers, and building a climate-resilient health system. A supporting technical report will publish in late summer 2026.

• Implementation and evidence base: An implementation framework across six key sectors was established, evaluating adaptation actions based on effectiveness, deliverability, equity, and cost-benefit ratios, validated through stakeholder workshops.

• Operational collaboration : Active linkages are being established between local borough teams (Westminster and Newham), GLA retrofit schemes (Warmer Homes London), and international efforts (C40 Cities / City of Miami "cool kits").