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Wildfires burning dozens of houses in London suburbs. Downpours so severe they can drown people trapped in basements. Record heatwaves paralysing our railways and hospitals.

This sounds like fiction but it isn’t. The climate is turning far more hostile than many realise, and tragedies are now happening on our doorstep. Even in Britain, one of the richest nations in the world, we aren’t ready. We’re sliding into an age in which the seemingly inconceivable suddenly becomes reality. Unpicking the threads of climate disasters that have already struck reveals a shocking reality:

We could have been prepared but weren’t.
We could have responded to early warnings but didn’t.
Lives are being lost but they could have easily been saved.
But it doesn’t have to be this way. There are plenty of opportunities to protect ourselves, if we only pay attention to the warning signs. The Response is David Shukman’s gripping account of the new extremes that our bodies, buildings and landscapes now face in Britain and around the world — and what we can do about them.

© David Shukman 2026 (P) Penguin Audio 2026