‘The city isn’t built for heat’: how extreme weather puts London’s rough sleepers at risk

A makeshift shelter in south London. The homeless charity Crisis estimates up to 15,000 people sleep rough in London every year. Photograph: Martin Godwin/The Guardian View image in fullscreen A makeshift shelter in south London. The homeless charity Crisis estimates up to 15,000 people sleep rough in London every year. Photograph: Martin Godwin/The Guardian ‘The city isn’t built for heat’: how extreme weather puts London’s rough sleepers at risk As heatwaves make the capital increasingly dangerous, outreach workers warn that vulnerable people face barriers to finding water and cool spaces “You’ve just got to bear it. It’s like being in a hot country. It drains you,” said Tom*, a man in his 60s who has been homeless for a number of years. “I haven’t seen weather like this for as long as I’ve been outside. “I keep to my routines, but you need to find somewhere to sit down and rest. Either some cardboard outside or you find somewhere they’ll let you sit and sleep a bit inside,” he added. As the UK sweltered through its third heatwave of the year, the Guardian joined outreach workers as they tried to support some of the capital’s most vulnerable people. In his first speech as prime minister last week, Andy Burnham vowed to end rough sleeping in England “at the earliest opportunity”. “The city is not built for heat,” said Josie Ashdown, a lead manager at the homelessness charity Thames Reach. “You can feel that the concrete makes it hotter here than probably anywhere else in the country at points, and there’s hardly any tree cover.” As London endures repeated heatwaves fuelled , outreach teams are offering extra support to those most at risk – handing out water, carrying out welfare checks and directing people to cool spaces. Scientists have estimated that the May and June heatwaves in England and Wales killed 2,700 people. “Outreach teams are working around the clock,” said Elle Slater, a service development manager at the homelessness charity St Mungo’s. Many of the tents beneath an underpass in London were empty when the Guardian visited. Their occupants had probably left in search of water, work or somewhere cooler, Ashdown said. But for the record numbers of people like Tom who are sleeping rough, escaping the heat is rarely straightforward. View image in fullscreen A homeless person sleeping in central London. Rough sleepers have spoken of the stigma of being visibly homeless.