The UK healthcare system has found itself in a situation this summer that would have seemed almost unimaginable only a few years ago. During heatwaves, hospital wards are becoming dangerously hot, healthcare professionals are reporting risks to patient safety, and infrastructure designed for a different climate is no longer able to provide suitable working conditions.
UK government data indicates that approximately 90% of hospital buildings in England are at risk of overheating. In some wards, temperatures can exceed 30°C even when outdoor temperatures are only 22°C. Healthcare infrastructure was not designed for prolonged periods of extreme heat, and air conditioning is still not a standard feature in UK hospitals.
This is no longer merely a matter of comfort. It is about the healthcare system’s ability to continue functioning in a changing climate.
Climate Change Is Also a Healthcare Challenge
Europe is warming at roughly twice the global average rate, and the World Health Organization (WHO) warns that extreme heat is becoming an increasingly serious public health threat. In June 2026, WHO reported that more than 200,000 deaths across Europe had been associated with heat exposure over the previous four years.
The summer of 2026 has only reinforced this trend. In July, WHO reported that data from five European countries pointed to nearly 10,000 excess deaths attributable to heat. At the same time, data from the European mortality monitoring system recorded approximately 10,650 excess deaths during a single week, from 22 to 28 June.
Heat increases hospital admissions, exacerbates cardiovascular, respiratory and other chronic conditions, and places additional pressure on emergency services. As a result, healthcare systems must not only cope with growing patient demand but also adapt themselves to new climatic realities.
Hospitals Are More Than Just Buildings
When discussing climate adaptation, attention often focuses on flood protection, urban shading or heat-resilient transport infrastructure. Yet healthcare infrastructure is one of the most critical systems that must continue operating during times of crisis.
Hospital operations depend on reliable electricity supply, ventilation and cooling systems, water services, IT infrastructure, appropriate conditions for medicine storage and effective logistics networks. If any of these elements fail, the consequences can be far more serious than a higher electricity bill.
The UK’s experience has already demonstrated this reality. In 2022, overheating caused major IT infrastructure failures within London’s Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, disrupting hospital operations and contributing to patient harm. Climate resilience in healthcare is therefore not just about temperatures inside hospital wards. It is fundamentally an issue of healthcare system continuity.
Paradoxically, healthcare is often viewed as a sector that helps society cope with the consequences of climate change. Increasingly, however, healthcare infrastructure itself is becoming vulnerable to climate-related risks.
Where Does Latvia Fit Into This Story?
At first glance, this may appear to be a problem primarily affecting the UK or Southern Europe. However, Latvian policy and planning documents have for years highlighted growing climate-related risks within the health sector.
Latvia’s Climate Change Adaptation Plan to 2030 identifies rising temperatures and increasingly frequent heatwaves as significant risks. The updated National Energy and Climate Plan likewise highlights the potential for infrastructure damage, equipment overheating and electricity supply disruptions.
The Ministry of Health has also acknowledged that climate change is increasing both the frequency and duration of hot weather periods in Latvia. During heatwaves, hospital admissions rise among patients with cardiovascular, respiratory and metabolic disorders, placing additional strain on the healthcare system.
Yet one important question remains: who is advocating for sustainable healthcare? Climate adaptation is increasingly discussed within environmental and energy policy circles, but healthcare infrastructure resilience rarely receives the same level of attention. As heatwaves become more frequent and severe, healthcare professionals, hospitals, professional associations and policymakers will need to play a stronger role in ensuring that climate resilience becomes a healthcare priority rather than merely an environmental objective.
From Energy Efficiency to Climate Resilience
Hospital renovations, LED lighting upgrades and solar energy installations are typically assessed as energy-efficiency or greenhouse gas emissions reduction projects. While these objectives remain important, they are no longer sufficient on their own.
In the future, investments in healthcare infrastructure should also be evaluated against another criterion: do they increase the healthcare system’s resilience to climate-related risks?
Building renovations can simultaneously reduce energy consumption, lower operating costs and decrease overheating risks. Solar power combined with energy storage solutions can improve energy independence, while shading, ventilation and passive cooling measures can help maintain safer indoor temperatures without significantly increasing energy demand.
This year, WHO Europe published updated Heat–Health Action Plans guidance. These guidelines go beyond public awareness campaigns and promote a coordinated approach encompassing governance, financing, early warning systems, protection of vulnerable populations, healthcare system resilience, and monitoring and evaluation.
This serves as an important reminder that climate adaptation is not solely an environmental policy issue. It requires coordinated action across healthcare, construction, energy, transport, social protection and financial policy.
Sustainable Healthcare Is Not a Future Project
Latvia still can act proactively. There is no need to wait until hospital wards become unbearably hot or critical infrastructure begins to fail during extreme weather events.
Climate-related risks should become a key consideration when planning healthcare infrastructure development, renovations and energy supply solutions. Sustainable healthcare means more than treating patients today. It also means ensuring that hospitals will be able to deliver high-quality care ten, twenty and thirty years from now.
Sustainable healthcare will not emerge on its own. It requires political leadership, long-term investment planning and strong advocacy capable of bringing together climate, energy, infrastructure and health policy objectives. Without clear advocates, healthcare resilience risks remaining an overlooked dimension of climate adaptation.
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