The ‘constant fear’ of living in a hot house with a baby

A separate poll of 1,592 parents commissioned by the NHF found that seven in 10 said an overheated home disrupted their children’s sleep, while nearly half (49%) said it affected their children’s ability to concentrate.

Smith’s English housing stock is mostly built for cold climates. “The challenge in the past was keeping it warm,” he explains. “Now it’s about keeping the heat.”

In the short term, he recommends measures such as closing curtains and blinds during the day, staying hydrated and using reflective window film to reduce indoor temperatures.

Longer-term, he said, the UK needed a better strategic approach, including collecting better data, targeting existing homes and learning from warmer countries with measures such as external shutters and reflective exterior paint.

“Ultimately, we need government funds to deliver those measures,” he added.

CIH CEO Gavin Smart: “The ambition in the government Warm homes plan , ExternalIt’s an important first step in the right direction, and we need to think carefully about whether the 1.5 million homes we’ve proposed to build in this Parliament can withstand the rising temperatures we’ll see in the future.

“CIH believes that we need to strengthen building regulations around warming and we are starting to consider policies that support energy costs that will cool down future heat waves.”