The continent is reeling. A brutal heatwave that has scorched Europe for two weeks has now claimed at least 1,300 lives, with France, Spain and Italy bearing the brunt. But the UK, despite recording its highest-ever temperature of 40.3°C in Coningsby, Lincolnshire, has seen a death toll that is conspicuously lower than its neighbours. This is not luck. It is the result of decades of public investment in infrastructure that works for people, not just profit.
In France, hospitals are overwhelmed as the mercury topped 42°C in parts of the Rhône Valley. The country’s ageing rail network buckled: train lines warped, causing delays and cancellations that left passengers stranded in stations without water. Spain saw wildfires rage across Extremadura and Catalonia, forcing mass evacuations. Italy’s energy grid nearly collapsed under the strain of air conditioning demand, with rolling blackouts hitting Naples and Palermo.
The UK’s performance stands in stark contrast. Yes, there were disruptions. Some train services were suspended. The London Luton airport runway melted. But the core public services held. The NHS, despite its own deep strains, reported no heat-related hospital collapses. The power grid remained stable. Water companies, often criticised, maintained supplies.
Why the difference? The answer lies in choices made long before this heatwave. The UK invested in a more resilient electricity grid, including underground cables that are less prone to overheating. Our rail network, while far from perfect, has more overhead line equipment designed to cope with temperature swings, a legacy of the Victorian engineers who built for extremes. Our public health system encouraged GPs and care homes to check on the vulnerable, a coordinated response that France, with its fragmented primary care, struggled to emulate.
But let's not mistake resilience for complacency. Britain’s infrastructure still shows cracks. The melting runway at Luton exposed the fact that many of our airports use poor quality tarmac not designed for these new extremes. Commuters in the South East endured hours of delays when signalling equipment failed. The reality is that our old and ageing railways were built for a climate that no longer exists.
The staggering death toll in Europe demands a rethink. In the UK, the official count is 16 deaths directly attributed to the heatwave, though the true figure is likely higher once excess deaths are calculated. That is 16 too many, and a fraction of the continental carnage, but it's still a warning. The heatwave has killed more people on the continent than the 2003 disaster, which claimed 70,000 lives. Europe is not ready for a rapidly warming world.
The lesson from this crisis is clear. Investments in resilient public services paid dividends. The Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (Usdaw) has pointed out that many of those who died in Europe were warehouse workers and farm labourers. In the UK, stricter workplace temperature guidelines and union pressure have forced employers to provide breaks and water. The power of the union has saved lives.
As the mercury finally drops, the government must now capitalise on this public good. Upgrade the railways. retrofit homes with cooling. Make heatwave planning a legal requirement for employers. The cost of inaction is already being counted in body bags from Lisbon to Paris. The UK's relative success shows that a different path is possible. But it also shows how much further we have to go.
