We still count heatwaves in degrees. Perhaps it's time we counted them in lives. 

Like many people this week, I read the estimates in the news suggesting around 2,700 people died during the recent heatwaves in England and Wales. 

The number is confronting. But what does this statistic say about the way we’re talking about climate change. 

Whenever a heatwave hits, the conversation quickly turns to temperatures. Was it the hottest day? Was it a record? How long will it last? 

Those are important questions. But are they the most important ones. 

Because for many of us, climate change isn’t experienced in degrees Celsius. It’s experienced through our health. 

We’re now becoming aware of the older neighbour struggling to sleep. The child in an overheated classroom. The ambulance taking longer to arrive because demand has surged. The GP seeing more people whose existing conditions have worsened. The care worker trying to keep vulnerable residents safe. The family wondering whether it’s safe to exercise, walk the dog or work outside 

None of these stories make dramatic television. Yet together they paint a picture of something bigger.  As the news stories on heat roll on day after day,  we seem to be witnessing a quiet shift in how climate change affects our lives. It is no longer only an environmental story. It is becoming a health story. 

That feels significant. 

Not because it replaces everything we’ve said about emissions, biodiversity or renewable energy. Those remain essential. But because health is where climate change becomes personal. It’s where global trends become everyday experiences.  Looking at climate through a health lens also changes the kinds of questions we ask. Instead of seeing shade as an amenity, we begin to see it as public health infrastructure. Instead of thinking about trees simply as carbon stores, we notice how they cool our streets, encourage walking and make neighbourhoods more resilient. Instead of asking whether homes are energy efficient, we also ask whether they’re healthy places to live during both winter cold and summer heat. 

Perhaps that’s the opportunity. 

Not simply to respond to hotter summers, but to use them as a prompt to design places and systems that are healthier all year round.  At the Centre for Net Positive Health and Climate Solutions, that’s the conversation we’re increasingly interested in. 

Because if climate change is becoming part of everyday health, then maybe health should become one of the ways we judge our response to climate change. 

The numbers published today matter. 

But perhaps the bigger story is what they reveal. Climate change seems to be moving from something happening to the environment to something shaping everyday health. And we are asking if there is an opportunity in changing the conversation to put the focus on solutions that deliver improvements to health, the environment and our communities.