Engineers urged to turn up the air conditioning
The British Council for Offices has called for the minimum design temperature in offices to be raised by two degrees to reduce energy used in air conditioning. Free access If you would like to attend, please click here to send an email registering your attendance.
The current norm is for engineers to design the air conditioning to provide indoor temperatures of 22degC during summer months, but in its new 'Guide to Specification', the BCO says this should be raised to 24degC, which it believes would make little difference to occupants.
This suggestion follows the release of yet more gloomy weather predictions from meteorologists, who now predict that by 2080 the average July temperature in London will be 41degC. 
Defra and the UK Climate Impacts Programme (UKCIP) are also about to launch their UK Climate Projections for the 21st century to help the country prepare for the impacts of the changing climate.
Their projections are based on models developed by the Met Office Hadley Centre and include information on temperature, rainfall and sea level rise up to the end of the century for three different greenhouse gas emissions scenarios. The public will be able to access this information for free and will be able to study 25 kilometre grid squares covering the whole of the UK.
The projections look at the likely impact of overheating of buildings as well as floods and other risks to infrastructure alongside the possible actions taken to address these risks such as building regulations and planning decisions.
CIBSE , the IMechE and the EEF are holding a free joint event to explain the UK Climate Projections and their relevance to the engineering sector on July 9 from 9.30am to 1pm at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, 1 Birdcage Walk, Westminster, London SW1H 9JJ