Climate change adaptation and resilience

Extreme rainfall events risk flooding our buildings, destroying research sites and disrupting local transport infrastructure for those getting to campus.

What are we doing?

• We install sustainable urban drainage systems into all our new buildings and maintain our current drainage systems to help increased water quantities enter the ground
• Opportunities for virtual delivery have already been used to replace in-person teaching during storms and rainfall events and can continue to do so
• Furthermore, we have regular monitoring and forecasting for utility usage and regularly invest in our campuses to support our buildings to be more resilient, for example by installing rainwater harvesting to rely less on mains water supplies.

Hot weather events pose a risk to our community’s health through heat stress incidents and reduced performance. They can also impact our water supply, infrastructure and increase disease and pest infestation.

What are we doing?

• We supply clear guidance to our community during hot weather events to support them to stay safe and well
• Our campuses host many free water points and cool specialised areas, while our buildings are designed to minimise unwanted heat gain and our Biodiversity Policy commits us to planting drought-resistant plants.

Failure of electricity, gas and/or water supply is at an increased risk in times of extreme weather and could result in the closure of our campuses.

What are we doing?

• We have UPS generators on-campus to protect our data centres and are investigating other energy sources and storage solutions to increase our resilience in this area.

Advice during exceptional heat events

‘Heat stress’ can affect individuals in different ways and some people are more susceptible to it than others.

Typical symptoms are:

• an inability to concentrate;
• muscle cramps;
• heat rash;
• severe thirst – a late symptom of heat stress;
• fainting;
• heat exhaustion – fatigue, giddiness, nausea, headache.

There are a number of things that you can do to reduce heat stress and improve thermal comfort:

• Wear sensible clothing and add or remove layers of clothing depending on how hot or cold you are (with the exception of personal protective equipment where required)
• Use window blinds/curtains (where available) to cut down on the heating effects of the sun
• Drink plenty of water (avoid caffeinated, alcoholic or carbonated drinks)
• If possible, position yourself away from direct sunlight or sources of radiant heat
• Take regular breaks to cool down
• Open doors/windows where possible (to allow for a ‘through draught’). Please note that if you are on campus,  fire doors should not be propped or wedged open.

Advice for students required to be outside:

• Remain covered up by wearing appropriate clothing, including a hat to protect your head from the sun
• Utilise shade whenever possible, especially during breaks (and where possible, take breaks indoors, in as cool an environment as possible)
• Use a high-factor sunscreen (at least SPF30)
• Drink plenty of water to avoid dehydration.

Additional external information:

NHS: Heatwave: how to cope in hot weather
Gov.uk: Hot weather and health: guidance and advice

If national advice changes, we will communicate with you via our BU website and if necessary, by email.

Advice during power outages

Power outages are a rare occurrence across our local area, but it is good to be prepared. Here are a few things you can do:

• Make sure you have a torch (with batteries), warm clothes and/or a blanket, some non-perishable snacks and water. Do not use candles in the event of a power outage.
• Keep your mobile phone charged and make a note of key telephone numbers for support in an emergency, for example:
• BU’s emergency number: 01202 962222 
• 999: police, ambulance or fire brigade in an emergency
• 101: non-emergency help and advice from the police  
• 111: non-emergency help and advice from the NHS 
• Other useful numbers to save are for your landlord or halls’ team.
• Follow BU's social media accounts. We use these to post details of any incidences which might affect students or staff and in the event of a power cut or loss of another service, we will share details of support
• Make sure you have contact details for friends and neighbours, so you can check if they are okay or if they need any support.

BU also has plans for any potential loss of services to any of our campuses or to the wider local area and will be on hand to provide support.