The U.K. remains unprepared for extreme heat, even after a summer of unprecedented temperatures, drought and wildfires, according to a new analysis.

The report by the National Heat Risk Commission warns while there have been plenty of discussion around climate-driven extreme heat for more than a decade, delivery remains noticeably absent.

The study adds extreme heat is a national challenge with consequences for critical infrastructure, public services, economic productivity, and everyday life.

“It is no longer a future threat,” the report states. “Extreme heat is happening now, and it is happening often and will only get worse for the foreseeable future. We need to recognise the threat and get ahead of it.”

The Met Office in the U.K. announced earlier this week that summer 2026 was provisionally the warmest since records began, overtaking last summer.

Temperatures surpassed 35 degrees Celsius in May, June, July and August for the first time on record.

The 2026 summer’s prolonged heat, combined with a long period of low rainfall, led to widespread drought and destructive wildfires, as well as serious disruption to hospitals, schools and railways.

The report argues the impacts have been felt across every sector of society, highlighting the growing consequences of extreme heat and the urgent need to strengthen resilience.

It notes during the June heatwave, more than 1,000 schools were disrupted, hospitals declared critical incidents and the London Ambulance Service recorded its highest ever number of life-threatening emergencies.

And in August, conditions in healthcare settings were being described as “impossible and inhumane” and this year’s farming harvest was expected to be the worst on record.

The study adds early estimates for the June 2026 heatwave suggest losses of between £1.15 billion and £2.36 billion, depending on whether wider economic disruption is included, and an estimated 24 million lost working hours .

“These figures indicate that extreme heat is not only a public health risk, but also a material threat to productivity, livelihoods and economic resilience,” the report adds.

The report identifies a lack of governance as a key barrier to tackling the issue of extreme heat.

It draws comparisons with the issue of flooding, which has ministerial accountability, dedicated funding, and defined roles and responsibilities, whereas extreme heat does not.

The report recommends the U.K national government publishing a national heat resilience strategy with clear accountability, and improve heat alerts, as it says they do not accurately reflect local risk, or reach the most vulnerable.

It also calls for more help to protect the vulnerable, who might not have the ability to adequately cool their homes or adapt to rising temperatures without additional support. And it argues nature-based solutions are among the most cost-effective forms of cooling infrastructure, while also delivering multiple co-benefits, including reducing wildfire risk, improving water management, and supporting public health.

Commission chair Emma Howard Boyd said heatwaves look set to become hotter, more deadly and more disruptive, in a statement.

Howard Boyd added the extreme heat of this summer also placed growing strain on hospitals and public services, disrupted transport and infrastructure, threatened crops and food production.

“Our task is to ensure that the U.K is better prepared when they strike,” she added.

The Green Alliance’s director of politics, Holly Brazier Tope said the 2026 summer of record breaking heat, wildfires and disruption has left the country “paying the price for climate inaction”, in a statement. Brazier Tope added the U.K can no longer afford to treat climate resilience as a long- term ambition. “The government must make resilience a national priority, with clear leadership, adequate resources and urgent action to protect people, infrastructure and nature,” she added.