UK Heatwave Preparedness Checklist for Summer 2027

This is a do-it-now checklist for the months before summer, not a forecast. Work down it at your own pace.

Why prepare early

Heat in the UK is a genuine health issue, not just a comfort one. UKHSA publishes heat-mortality estimates for England, and recent years illustrate the scale — an estimated 2,985 heat-associated deaths in 2022, 2,295 in 2023 and 1,311 in 2024. The year-to-year figures vary with how hot each summer actually was, so they aren’t a smooth trend — but the burden is real, and it falls hardest on the oldest and most vulnerable. Preparing ahead is what turns a dangerous few days into a manageable ones. Our why the UK breaks heat records guide covers the background.

Before summer: the home

1. ☐ Sort your shading. External shading does most; internal curtains and blinds help. Our window and curtain guide covers the order of what works.
2. ☐ Draught-proof for summer. The gaps that lose heat in winter let it in during a heatwave — our draught excluders guide covers the cheap fixes.
3. ☐ Buy any cooling out of season. Fans and air conditioners are cheaper and in stock in autumn and winter — our timing guide covers the calendar. Leaving it until a forecast means paying more, if you can get one at all.
4. ☐ Check the fan you already own works, and know the box-fan window trick for flushing night-time heat.
5. ☐ Plan your night ventilation. Know which windows you’ll open when it’s cooler, and how to do it securely — our window timing guide covers it.

Before summer: people and pets

1. ☐ Identify who you’ll check on. Older relatives and neighbours, anyone with a long-term health condition, and very young children are most at risk. A phone call during a hot spell costs nothing — our elderly heatwave guide covers what to look for.
2. ☐ Register vulnerable household members on the Priority Services Register with both the electricity network operator and your supplier — it gives priority support if a heatwave and a power cut coincide.
3. ☐ Plan for pets. Know how you’ll keep them cool and never leave them anywhere that can overheat — our pets guide covers it.
4. ☐ Check medication storage. Some medicines have storage temperature limits that a hot room can exceed. Ask a pharmacist if unsure — don’t guess.

Know the Heat-Health Alert system

A small heatwave kit

1. ☐ A thermometer for the rooms that overheat, so you know what you’re actually dealing with rather than guessing.
2. ☐ A fan that works, positioned and understood (see the safety note below).
3. ☐ A way through a power cut — a charged power bank, a torch (not candles), and water stored. Our power-cut kit guide covers a kit that serves both seasons.
4. ☐ Cool packs and a plan for hydration — plenty of water, and knowing the signs of heat exhaustion.

During a hot spell

• Close up and shade by day; open up and ventilate when it’s cooler.
• Keep hydrated and know the signs of heat exhaustion and heatstroke — our link to NHS guidance is below.
• Check on the people on your list.
• Move to the coolest room — usually north-facing, ground floor — for the hottest part of the day and for sleeping.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• Met Office — Heat-Health Alerts
• UKHSA — Adverse Weather and Health Plan (heat mortality reporting)
• NHS — Heat exhaustion and heatstroke
• Ofgem — Priority Services Register

Related reading: our heat-health alerts guide and elderly heatwave guide.