Feeling the heat - with Polly Turton from Shade the UK

<p>In this episode I'm chatting to Polly Turton, Head of Climate Action and Public Health Shade the UK, an organisation who have a vision and a mission of "zero deaths from overheating and a UK where everyone can live, work and thrive in hot weather."<br />We dive into:<br />- How hot was this summer? <br />- What about 1976?<br />- Is the new 'normal' (or abnormal)<br />- The health impacts of heat on different groups within our societies<br />- Why heat is a climate justice issue, and 'cooling poverty' is now a growing concern for summer months<br />- Shouldn't we just install air con?<br />- Changes that are needed to help our towns and cities adapt to a warming climate<br />- Changes we can look to make in our own homes, from DIY measures, to more permanent retrofit</p><p></p><p><b>USEFUL LINKS:</b></p><p>Shade the UK<br />- <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.shadetheuk.com/" target="_blank">Website</a><br />- <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.instagram.com/shade.the.uk/" target="_blank">Instagram</a><br />- <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/shade-the-uk/posts/?feedView=all" target="_blank">Linked In</a><br />- <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.shadetheuk.com/advice" target="_blank">Overheating adaptation guides</a></p><ul><li><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/pollyturton/" target="_blank">Polly Turton on Linked In</a></li><li><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/andy-love-442945a2/" target="_blank">Andy Love (Shade the UK founder) on Linked In</a></li><li><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/about-us/news-and-media/media-centre/weather-and-climate-news/2026/summer-2026-provisionally-hottest-on-record-for-the-uk" target="_blank">Summer 2026 hottest on record for the UK – Met Office</a></li><li><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/blog/2026/summer-1976-and-summer-2026-two-remarkable-summers-fifty-years-apart" target="_blank">Summer 1976 – 2026 – Met Office</a></li><li><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.london.gov.uk/programmes-strategies/environment-and-climate-change/climate-change/climate-adaptation/heat-risk/heat-ready-london" target="_blank">Cooling Roadmap for London</a></li><li><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/heat-mortality-