I recently wrote about why museums matter more than ever. They connect us with history, spark curiosity, and help us understand the world around us – and in London most museums are free to visitors. 

Whether it's a centuries-old painting, a fossil, a handwritten letter, or a cultural artefact, museums preserve pieces of our shared story for future generations.

But today, many museums are facing a challenge that previous generations of curators could never have imagined.

Climate change is no longer simply a topic explored within museum exhibitions. It's becoming a real and growing threat to the collections themselves. Across the UK and around the world, museums are having to adapt to rising temperatures, changing humidity levels, more frequent heatwaves, and increasingly unpredictable weather patterns. 

At first glance, this may seem surprising. After all, museums are often have controlled environments. Yet preserving artwork and historical objects requires remarkably precise conditions. Paintings, manuscripts, textiles, wooden artefacts, and natural history collections can all be affected by environmental changes. Too much heat can cause materials to expand, contract, crack, or deteriorate. Fluctuations in humidity can damage fragile objects and increase the risk of mould and decay. 

Recent heatwaves in the UK have highlighted just how vulnerable some collections can be. Museum professionals have reported growing concerns about protecting artefacts during prolonged periods of extreme heat. Some institutions have even had to close parts of their facilities during exceptionally high temperatures, while conservation specialists increasingly rely on sophisticated monitoring systems to safeguard valuable collections.

Many museums are also housed in historic buildings that were not designed to cope with the environmental challenges of the twenty-first century. These beautiful and often iconic structures are part of our heritage in their own right, but they can present additional challenges when it comes to managing temperature, energy efficiency, and resilience against severe weather events. Flooding, storms, and prolonged heat can threaten not only the collections inside but also the buildings that protect them.

What I find particularly interesting is the dilemma museums now face. Maintaining controlled environments often requires significant amounts of energy. Yet many museums are also striving to reduce their environmental impact. This creates a delicate balancing act between preserving the past and protecting the future. 

The good news is that museums are responding with creativity and innovation. Across the sector, organisations are sharing knowledge, exploring more sustainable conservation methods, investing in smarter building technologies, and collaborating through initiatives focused on climate resilience. New resources such as the Museum Climate Hub and events like the Green Museums Summit are helping institutions learn from one another and accelerate progress. 

As climate change continues to reshape our world, museums find themselves in an unexpected role on the front line of adaptation. Their challenge is not only to preserve beautiful artworks and our history but also to ensure that future generations can continue to enjoy and learn from it.