As you may have realised by reading this month’s newsletter, some articles and the website of the month relate to climate change.
It is a “fresh” memory that London reached 34.8 ‘C this week. To find the last time of this temperature in London in May (by the way, we are still in Spring, not in Summer) we have to go back to 1944.
Someone could argue this event already happened so it is nothing strage to worry about. The problem is these peaks have become more frequent now than in the past. London has recorded heatwaves a number of times per year in the recent past. A few years ago, a picture taken in June from a satellite of Hyde Park yellow – instead of green – raised a lot of concern among newspapers readers.
This shows climate change is among us and its effects are becoming unpredictable and heavier.
Last week in Northern Italy, not far from Milan, a hailstorm was so intense that snowploughs had to intervene to make urban roads passable.
Beside extreme weather events, the temperatures soaring causes multiple effects on several fields: agriculture, building constructions, water scarcity, frequent floods, etc. which generate indirect effects such as more energy consumption, fragile transport infrastructures (in particular, rail and air services).
In short: we should understand that it’s now time to change our lifestyle to reduce the incontrollable spiral of problems. Let’s see quickly the trends in the fields mentioned above.
Agriculture – some crops now have to be cultivated in lands located further north. This means that the original lands run a high risk of desertification
Building constructions – houses must be better insulated to protect us from excessive heat. This morning on the Financial Times it was published this interesting article: “Why Britain’s new homes do not have air conditioning” which correctly points our that air conditioning systems have become useful also at these latitudes and not only in Mediterranean countries
Water scarcity – on top of making citizens aware of this issue, with excessive temperatures we as human beings consume more water and crops need being more irrigated with a consequent higher consumption of this precious resource
Floods & heavy rains – trying to make a crisis an opportunity, we need more reservoirs properly built and located in strategic places in order to prevent from flooding and collect the huge amount of water produced by heavy storms. It could be used in agriculture
More energy consumption – more heat means more energy consumptions and this leads to an increase of potential blackouts. This risk could be mitigated by installing more Renewable Energy Sources (RES) plants that could ensure the right provision & level of service while respecting sustainability
Transport (rail services) – excessive heat can melt rails making this travelling mode dangerous and less reliable (due to sudden services suspension)
Transport (air services) – excessive heat can melt airports tarmac with consequent services suspended or diverted whereas extreme weather events during the flight may cause intense turbulences and even diversion caused by strong winds or hailstorms.
The list above is incomplete despite being an example of the many issues we are called to think of to find rational and durable solutions.
In June 2026 the new UN SDGs Report is due for publication and I really hope we will able to read the efforts defined in 2015 for a better 2030 have been going on with satisfactory results, otherwise we should start worrying, seriously.
Stefano Mainero
EPN Consulting and EPN Consulting Research and Innovation Founder & CEO
Article written by human beings without any use of AI. EPN Consulting Ltd. copyright 2026
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