‘That’s why we work in finance – so one day we can afford air-con’: Britain’s unequal heatwave
Travelling from his air-conditioned flat to the air-conditioned Elizabeth line to his air-conditioned office, 27-year-old banker Aykhan found this week’s heatwave a breeze.
Travelling from his air-conditioned flat to the air-conditioned Elizabeth line to his air-conditioned office, 27-year-old banker Aykhan found this week’s heatwave a breeze.
Smiling while grabbing lunch in the shopping centre under the gleaming One Canada Square skyscraper in Canary Wharf, he said he’d been sleeping very well over the last few days. “It’s a new flat, the air-con is great, my bedroom is cool.”
He hadn’t been affected by the heatwave, but said: “I think my colleagues have. We have higher attendance in the office this week because it has AC.”
One Elizabeth line stop away in Whitechapel, one of the most deprived areas in the UK, Asiyha, 26, was having a very different experience. Sitting under a tree in Weavers Fields, she tried to sooth her baby, who is not yet one.
“It is way too hot in my flat, that is why we are sitting outside,” she said. “I live right nearby. My baby is struggling. We are in a very hot flat and we cannot sleep at night.”
England recorded the hottest days in May in history this week, with London temperatures reaching 35C. There have been consecutive “tropical nights”, where theheat does not dip below 20C, making it hard for those without air-con to sleep. Some homes, many of those in poorer areas and not built for extreme heat, have become furnaces.
Health risks spike when indoor temperatures are above 25C, and there is a link between overheating in homes and the risk of death, particularly for older people. Last year, an analysis of housing stock by the thinktank Resolution Foundation found nearly half (48%) of the poorest fifth of English households have homes liable to get too hot – three times as many as among the richest fifth (17%).
The steely skyscrapers of Canary Wharf dazzled in the bright sunshine on Thursday lunchtime. Underground, there is a warren-like shopping centre, which is air-conditioned and full of people in suits scurrying around to pick up lunch to eat at their desks.
Will, 37, who works for one of the UK’s largest banks, was waiting for a sandwich. “Dress codes have relaxed in recent years, so I am wearing a linen shirt and no jacket,” he said. “I don’t have air-con, but I live in an Edwardian house in north-west London which has shutters on the windows and very high ceilings, so it does stay cool. We also have a garden.”
Serving up lunch in the blood-red upholstered Boisdale restaurant, 21-year-old Delano said he was making do with an Argos fan at home. “The AC here is good though. Honestly, it’s the commute which is the worst – the Elizabeth line is air-conditioned but if you have to get the bus, it’s unbearable.” Boisdale is serving frozen cocktails to combat the heat, which apparently go down a storm with the office workers.
A group of eight men in their early 20s were enjoying a lunchtime beer in a dizzyingly hot, artificially turfed square outside the shopping centre. “We can’t afford AC yet,” one said, “that’s why we work in finance, so one day we can afford it!” Most of them had invested in a Dyson fan, which retail for between £300 and £600.
One young man had a novel technique for getting some sleep in the heatwave. “I drink four pints in the evening, that knocks me out!”
Fans, air-con units and other seasonal items have spiked in price during the heatwave, which puts them further out of reach of the less well off. An industry expert said air-conditioning units had risen by about 17% since April. The Dyson Cool Tower fan was priced at £299 on Amazon, up from a low of £249.99 during the period examined.
This view was not shared by the people in Whitechapel, just up the road, who don’t have air-conditioned flats or offices to escape to. Shereen, a 21-year-old student, was drinking a bottle of fruit juice in the Budgens supermarket near the station. “I’m in here for the air-con,” she said. Asked if she had it at home, she burst out laughing.
Unlike the plush venues of Canary Wharf, the traditional workers’ cafes of Bethnal Green do not have the luxury of air-conditioning. E Pellicci, the 126-year-old family-owned cafe, was making do with a cheap white fan positioned in the doorway.
“We have applied multiple times to install air-conditioning,” said Anna Pellicci, who manages the cafe. “But we are Grade II-listed, so we aren’t allowed.” She’s compensated for this by moving some tables out of the cafe to avoid crowding and the associated heat. “We have all been finding it really hot.”
Amy, a waitress at the cafe, said that it was “much nicer” at work despite the steam from the espresso machine and warmth of customers. “My flat is boiling, it’s on the first floor and it is so humid. I have been finding it hard to sleep.”
Several people mentioned the oppressive heat of the No 8 bus, which is much cheaper to travel on than the cool Elizabeth line. On board, passengers mopped their brows as the vehicle crawled down the high street. Overheated children were crying.
But nestled under the imposing concrete tower blocks of the Cranbrook Estate in Tower Hamlets, something rarer than air-conditioning can be found. A green oasis – a secret garden – with a sign welcoming visitors to take a look.
Tucked at the back, past green bean, strawberry and rhubarb plants, sits Laura Buckley, the founder of the Cranbrook community food garden, who was smoking a roll-up and chatting with her friend. “We have been sitting out here pretty much every day during the heatwave,” she said, “the plants keep it nice and cool.”
Wildlife was finding it a wonderful respite from the concrete jungle, too. “We’ve put out water for the birds and the bees, and there’s a fox which loves drinking from our pond. We have all kinds of nesting birds here, and the beetles nest in our log pile,” she said. “It’s been really hard work keeping all the plants alive in the heat.”
Buckley, with her tumbling long hair and colourful clothes, sat under trailing vines and a nest of cheeping baby wrens, looking almost like a fairytale character. “We built every little inch of this place. It’s open to everyone and is a garden for the people who live in the estate who are banned from putting pot plants on their balconies.”
Because of all the plants, the garden is significantly cooler than the streets outside. “This place provides respite and joy for so many people,” said Buckley.
