Abstract

Heatwaves are associated with large impacts on human health and mortality, as well as having economic repercussions. The direct impacts of heatwaves can subsequently affect the flow of goods and services through extensive and complex linkages in the economic system, as well as indirectly affecting society, in the short to medium term. The propagation and amplification of direct impacts within cities can be large, with the potential for impacts to extend far beyond the temporal and spatial extent of the original event. Urban areas are especially at risk of negative impacts of climate change due to their high concentrations of people and assets. As part of the ARCADIA project (Adaptation and Resilience in Cities: Analysis and Decision Making using Integrated Assessment), an Urban Integrated Assessment Facility is being developed that enables exploration of a wide range of scenarios and their implications, focusing on Greater London and the surrounding region. This framework has been applied to heatwaves and a methodology has been developed to assess the direct impacts on society and on the economy as well as subsequent indirect impacts on supply and demand, and labour resources.