Britain’s love of talking about the weather is by no means new.

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Sun, snow or storm, its unpredictable nature has made weather talk our safest conversation starter for centuries. But after five heatwaves in four months, the dial is shifting.

The weather is no longer a harmless national obsession but a serious warning sign.

The discomfort many of us will have felt from rising temperatures - disrupted sleep, challenging commutes to name but two – may have prompted a new appreciation for rain and cloud. More importantly, it’s exposed a concerning weakness: much of our built environment is poorly prepared for the climate we’re already living in.

The UK has the oldest building stock in Europe, with around 10.2 million buildings across the country dating back more than 80 years. But age is just a number. The bigger issue is that 80 per cent of our existing building stock will still be in use by 2050 – and so many of these buildings have been designed on outdated principles,........

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