Patients and workers at Queen’s Medical Center in Nottingham, England, sweltered during a heat wave last month as temperatures reached 96 degrees Fahrenheit, the hottest August day ever recorded in the city. Celia Burgess, 78, described the conditions as 'way too hot' while relying on portable fans in a geriatric unit. Experts warn that aging National Health Service hospitals, built for cooler climates, are ill-equipped for rising temperatures due to human-caused climate change.

About 90 percent of N. H. S. hospitals are at risk of overheating, with many lacking air-conditioning.

During May and June heat waves, there were 2,877 heat-associated deaths in the UK—nearly double last year’s figure. At least five hospital groups in England declared critical incidents, including Nottingham University Hospitals N. H.

S. Trust, which oversees Queen’s Medical Center. Chief executive Anthony May said the buildings were 'built for English winters' and not for current extreme summers, adding that climate change is advancing faster than adaptation efforts.

Staff have resorted to turning off lights and switching to T-shirts to cope, but retrofitting old buildings is hindered by limited funding and structural challenges.