The government has been warned to take "urgent" action to prepare the UK for the effects of climate change, in the face of soaring temperatures, rising pollution levels and the threat of more floods.
A report from the Committee on Climate Change investigated how the UK is preparing for extreme weather, and if the government was meeting carbon emission targets.
Lord Krebs and Lord Deben, chairmen of the committee, called for action to be taken to make buildings safer during heatwaves - as well as highlighting the increased flood risk to homes.
"By the 2050s the sort of heatwaves we might experience in the next few days will be the norm, a typical summer," Lord Krebs said. "Just as we've been encouraging on the mitigation side retrofit of loft insulation and so on, we need to think how to develop passive cooling measures maybe tinted glass, shading, again as is common in other countries."
A spokesperson for the Department of Energy and Climate Change said the government was intent on meeting the climate change target of reducing emissions by 80% by 2050.
"We have already made great strides to that goal, with emissions down 30% since 1990," said a spokesperson. "There's still much work to do and we will continue to power our move to a low-carbon economy at best value to consumers."
Eight things Britain has to do to prepare for climate change, according Committee on Climate Change
