We talk a lot about peak season in warehousing. Increasingly, we also need to talk about peak temperature.
The UK is not in the Middle East, of course. But when I visited a warehouse in Kuwait in the summer of 2023, I was struck by something I had not expected. In a country where ambient temperatures can reach 50°C, even ambient warehouses often have temperature control equipment. Not chilled storage, not specialist cold chain, but ordinary operational space designed on the assumption that heat is a serious factor in how buildings, people and processes function.
Recent hot weather here in Britain has reminded us that warehouses are not abstract boxes on a spreadsheet. They are workplaces. They are filled with people, vehicles, stock, machinery, chargers, conveyors, mezzanines, loading bays and yard activity. Some buildings are highly automated and energy intensive. Many have large roof areas, dock doors opening throughout the day, trailers sitting in the sun and teams carrying out physical work under operational pressure.
In UK law, there is no fixed maximum workplace temperature. That sometimes leads to the mistaken assumption that heat is simply something to be endured. It is not. Employers have a duty to manage risk, and heat is plainly a risk when it affects concentration, hydration, fatigue, safe manual handling, equipment use and decision-making. For warehouse operators, this is both a safety issue and a productivity issue. A team that is exhausted, overheated or dehydrated cannot perform at its best. More importantly, heat can make accidents more likely. A moment’s loss of concentration around forklift trucks, dock levellers, racking or pedestrian routes can have serious consequences.
The practical answers are rarely glamorous, but they matter. Good ventilation, access to drinking water, shaded rest areas, suitable uniforms or PPE, sensible break patterns, early communication with staff and supervisors, and reviewing the timing of the heaviest work can all make a difference. So can better use of data: monitoring internal temperatures, identifying hot spots, understanding which parts of the building become difficult at which times of day, and planning accordingly.
There is also a bigger question for developers and landlords. If hotter summers become more common, will temperature resilience increasingly affect warehouse design, specification and leasing decisions? Solar shading, roof materials, insulation, airflow, dock design, welfare facilities and even landscaping may all become more important. Today’s “ambient” warehouse may not be quite ambient enough for tomorrow’s climate. This does not mean every warehouse needs to be air conditioned. That would be unrealistic, expensive and, in almost all cases unnecessary. But it does mean heat should be taken seriously as an operational factor, not treated as a temporary inconvenience.
Warehousing has always adapted to changing conditions. We have adapted to e-commerce, automation, labour shortages, energy pressures and supply chain disruption. Adapting to hotter weather may be less dramatic, but it is no less important. In extreme climates, temperature control is not seen as a luxury. It is part of making warehouses work.
Perhaps that is the shape of things to come.
Clare Bottle
UKWA, CEO
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