SNA (New York) — Public buildings across the United Kingdom will become refuges for those unable to afford the projected 80% rise in heating bills this winter.

A cost of living crisis has emerged in the country exacerbated by the effects of the Covid pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and Brexit difficulties. Experts and charities now believe the coming winter will provide extraordinary challenges for average Britons.

Local authorities in some of the nation’s largest cities are set to invite those in need to libraries, galleries, and places of worship to spend time in heated buildings. Birmingham City Council aims to launch a program for its more than 1.1 million constituents including an interactive online map to show freezing families their nearest “warm bank.”

Bristol Mayor Marvin Rees also announced on Twitter that his city has already established a “citywide network of warm places” ready to open in October.

The Worcester Community Trust charity is just one of many nongovernment organizations also planning to open “heat hubs” in its areas of operations. These hubs aim to provide hot food, device charging, and wifi access.

It is presently unclear how both government and NGO warm banks will be run–including facility capacity and the limiting guests’ use time. Even more critically, managers of public buildings warn increased funding will be required to fulfill this new role. They expect to see a 500% rise in their own energy bills combined with the legacy expenses of the Covid pandemic.

Researchers at the University of York estimate that by next January more than three-quarters of all –or 53 million people–will have been pushed into “fuel poverty,” which is defined as having to spend over 10% of net income on fuel.

More than 90% of large families and pensioner couples will fall into fuel poverty this winter, the researchers calculate.

Growing fears over unplayable bills are mounting pressure on the embattled Conservative government and newly elected Prime Minister Liz Truss to take action. The specifics of how the new administration will respond is yet to be seen.

Ironically, something similar to warm banks is beginning to appear in the US state of California, but in this case the challenge is summer heat. Forty public buildings across Los Angeles are being used as “cooling centers” to protect vulnerable citizens who cannot afford air conditioning amidst the 43 degree Celsius (110 degree Fahrenheit) weather.

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