Prepare your home for hot weather

1. Check the local forecast and official advice. Met Office weather warnings cover the UK; UKHSA Heat-Health Alerts apply to England. You do not need to wait for an alert to take sensible precautions.
2. Notice which rooms get direct sun and which are easier to keep cool. Check that existing blinds or curtains work and that windows can be used safely. If you rent and need repairs or alterations, discuss them with your landlord or housing provider.
3. Check your fridge and any fan you already use. Plan who could help with drinks, shopping or reaching a cooler place. Ask what would be useful rather than assuming someone needs the same help as you.

Close blinds or curtains at windows receiving direct sunlight, and use outside shading if you already have it. When the air outside is hotter than indoors, opening a window may bring more heat in. When outside air becomes cooler, opening windows can help air move through the home.

Only open windows where it is safe and secure to do so. Keep window restrictors and your building’s fire precautions in place, particularly around children or anyone at risk of falling. If there is smoke or poor air outside, follow current local advice rather than opening windows simply to cool the room.

Switch off lights and equipment you are not using, and choose cooler times for cooking where practical. Keep essential equipment and refrigeration running. Keep fitted ventilation working as instructed rather than blocking it or switching it off just to keep hot air out.

Use a cooler part of your home if you can, including for sleeping. Check it again later: a room shaded in the morning may be hot by afternoon. At night, open windows only if the air outside is cooler and it is safe to leave them open.

If home stays too hot, look for a nearby cooler place, such as a public building. Check whether it will be open, cool and accessible, and how to get there safely. Avoid a long or difficult journey in the hottest conditions. Arrange help beforehand if you may need it.

Keep drinking water easy to reach and make time for regular drinks. If your care team has given you a fluid limit, ask them about hot-weather arrangements; do not replace their advice with a general drinking target. Use the water-supply guide to plan for an interruption to your usual supply.

Check that your fridge is keeping food cold and follow food labels. FSA guidance recommends 0–5°C for normal fridge use; Food Standards Scotland likewise advises 5°C or lower. During a power cut, keep the fridge door closed as much as possible and follow current food-safety advice rather than relying on a fixed number of hours — how quickly food warms can vary. The food guide covers the wider arrangements.

Check each medicine’s storage instructions before hot weather. Keep medicines away from hot cars and direct sunlight. Ask a pharmacist if you cannot meet the instructions or think a medicine has been affected by heat. Do not put every medicine in the fridge or change how you take it because of this guide. Use the medicines and care guide to plan how to keep essential care going.

Think about anyone who may find it harder to keep cool, recognise that they are becoming unwell, get a drink or move somewhere cooler. This can include older people, babies and young children, and people with some health, disability or mobility needs. Agree how to check in with them. Ask before making arrangements, and keep personal health details out of shared household notes.

Give pets fresh drinking water and a cool, shaded place to rest. Never leave them in a hot parked car. Contact a vet if you are worried that an animal is suffering from heatstroke.

Think about what you would do if powered cooling or other essential equipment stopped. Use the power-cut guide and Essential Power-Needs Inventory to identify questions for your provider or care team. Keep agreed arrangements with your household plan; do not assume someone else has already organised a fallback.

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• Choose a cooler place you can reach and check when it is available.
• Check shading, safe window use and any fan before the hot spell.
• Make drinks accessible and check food and medicine storage arrangements.
• Agree any help and a fallback if electricity is interrupted.