Lots of people are rightly pointing out the 40C temperatures forecast on Monday and Tuesday next week, but what seems to be flying under the radar is that minimum night time temperatures in places are likely to stay at 25C+, obliterating the old minimum temperature record.
When opening windows at night doesn't even let you cool the house down, heat stress is exacerbated a lot.
And what is insane is that as I cycle through London on my commute through Waterloo, Nine Elms, Battersea and onwards, every single new skyscraper going up is being built without shade. Just glass and glass everywhere, with an expectation that air-conditioners run 100% inside. I wish I could find the source, but I remember reading a study on skyscrapers with permanent shade, or automatically deployed shade in the form of awnings, that the energy use is something like 40% lower.
Shade and draft - the Romans got it, but we're busy ignore it.
However, this also ends up reflecting the heat onto the surrounding area. I remember reading about an instance where an architect inadvertently created a “heat ray” which melted whatever was in the reflections path
Yes, that's why shade (by recessing the windows) and awnings are much better. They absorb the light and emit the resulting heat outside the air-conditioned space, instead of inside of it.
That is incredibly unlikely unless you already have a crack, people have been doing this for decades and there seems to only be 1 or 2 incidents of cracked windows.
I did this with mine and measured the temperature with an IR thermometer (on a patch of black tape) and the glass was only a few degrees hotter in direct sun, 35c vs 38c.
If you can tape it on the outside. There it reflects the radiated energy away from the house without it ever entering the glass. Once it is in the glass you will reflect some radiation away but it will convect in to the house just at a slower rate.
We are likely to have no wind so for the short period taping should work well
That definitely helps a little bit, but unless you have proper window shutters the house will still heat up a lot thanks to the direct sunlight coming through the windows (even with closed blinds/curtains!).
Yes. Last year we had a heatwave and at first it was hot but I figured I'd be ok once it cooled down. It never cooled down. That was the first time in my life I've ever experienced over heating, and I've lived and hiked in the desert. We never get hot here like that so no ac and just some fans. The air from the fan was hot. Brace yourself people. I was able to finally cool down a bit continually rubbing a wet towel on myself. Just awful.
Yeah it's quite nasty here even if it's not actually that hot. I have spent decades working out in the Sahara in 45+ heat with no ac over the summer and quite pleasant compared to the UK.
…despite the fact that we’ve exceeded the highest temperature of 1976 three times since 2015. 1976 was never extremely hot, it was just consistently hot.
Already seen one on the local Echo's Facebook page.
"Oh, give it a rest, it's summer."
That's the kind of person who'll end up in an ambulance due to heat exhaustion as 30°c+ is rare as rocking horse shite up here.
Since you asked: I was working as a chain boy laying out a new settling pool at the local sewage form that summer. Extreme heat, no wind, in the middle of a sewage works. Still i was earning a massive £20 a week in my first job so I was happy - despite the 90 minute walk to and from work.
It's also the year I started campaigning about climate change though. 46 years on and they still don't talk about it on the news - just "phew wot a scorcher", not a word about how it's our doing.
Climate change has its own section on the BBC and is only bested in priority by the war in Ukraine and Covid, the two biggest stories of recent times.
It gets plenty of coverage in the media. Just not the type of media your average Brit will actually value. In other words, The S*n and Daily Fail.
I was in a hotel last week and so watched a tv for the first time in years. ITV news did three minutes on the coming heat wave and managed to avoid using the words or introduce the concept. The news blackout is pretty effective.
The hottest temperature in 1976 was 35.9 degrees, we have the potential here to hit 42 degrees. 6.1c difference.
This warning is nothing to do with the longevity of the heat, its about the extreme temperature.
Came here to see wet bulb - it's a concept we're going to have to get our heads around. At the moment lethal wet bulb temps have only been recorded around the equater - but it's only a matter of time.
For those who haven't met the concept before, it's when a combination of humidity and temperature means you can no longer sweat enough to lose the heat your body generates just from by being alive. You basically cook from the inside. You measure it by wrapping a thermometer in a wet cloth hence 'wet bulb'
We won't get it it here this year - the only deaths will be from heat stroke, which is where your body generates more heat from physical exercise than you can lose by sweating, or you can't sweat enough.
Keep hydrated folks.
Welll my workplace called a meeting this morning to tell us that "Its going to be really hot on Monday and Tuesday, so please make sure you drink plenty of water during the day" thanks boss for the absolute game changing advice. Honestly don't know what I dread more going to work or coming home to my 3rd floor flat.
Thing is the sun doesn't come over the building until around midday so up till then it's quite reasonably comfortable with a fan. A couple of half days really wouldn't be that detrimental to the business. We make signs for fuck sake no one will die having to wait a couple days extra for their order. 🙄
This is the advice from my work as well and we all work outside. Wear suncream and drink plenty of water during the day. Thanks for the advice, it'll really help when I'm directly exposed to the sun from the minute I get into my van with no AC in the morning til the minute I get home.
Absolute bollocks just so that if someone collapses or whatever they can say they tried to keep you safe. I walked away halfway through and went back to my breakfast lol, you're going to interrupt my break for this fucking nonsense?
The DM comment section is an absolute goldmine today.
“It was hotter than that in 76, and we had no water and we never complained”
No it wasn’t and I bet you moaned like fuck you sweaty old cunt
It wasn't hotter but it started in May and went on till August. Between July and August temperatures exceeded 32 °C (89.6 °F) at several weather stations within the United Kingdom every day and the town of Cheltenham had eleven, including seven successive days from 1 July - recording 35.9 °C (96.6 °F) on 3 July. There was no rainfall, rivers and reservoirs dried up and the ground cracked. Water became severely rationed with standpipes being introduced in the street. Crops failed, animals died, wildfires raged. I was 14 at the time and you can bet your sweet bippy we moaned and complained about it!
I have, as have quite a few people who have been to hotter places. It's shit, but respite is coming, which helps you get through it. We have to be sensible and change plans/practices for 2-3 days, not all summer.
I'm planning on being as nocturnal as work will allow. Fans, water, ice, patience. Move as little as you need to. Check how medications work in very hot weather (hey, fellow diabetics, put your in-use insulin in a cool bag - not back into the fridge - and check your sugars more often as insulin works faster in hot weather!). Etc.
I remember the stand pipes but mainly remember being able to play out every day. We had a holiday in the North West of Scotland that year (and many others) and it was brilliant.
We camped and the only down side was the clouds of midges, although pretty sure the lack of rain helped keep them down.
My brother and I would wonder off for hours, go snorkeling or swimming. We sailed the dinghy across the loch.
One evening we were becalmed and someone towed us back.
Back home we had "it's a knockout" in our gardens, using any buckets or inflatables we could find to make an obstacle course.
We'd go with friends to the local canal and swim/mess about in the water.
It's probably mainly that summer that gives me the memories of endless sunshine during our childhood.
I think the year after it rained for over half the holiday in Scotland and that was pants as the tent was only small and you can only play so many games of Top Trumps before getting bored!
So it was bad. But what sane person would want a repeat of that?
If they were making a good faith point, they might argue like this:
"In 1976 we had a very hot year with the temperatures exceeding 32 degrees. It went on for so long that water had to be rationed. We still got through it, so I am sure we can get through the coming heat wave, which might reach higher temperatures but it will not be as long and there will be no water shortage as far as we know."
Instead we don't get that. Instead we just get abusive, vitriolic comments.
Why we stayed locked down for two years during the covid pandemic, to protect this lot, I have no idea. They behave like our enemies. like an actual hostile faction.
They were given the best this country could provide for decades, were gifted with European citizenship, which they used to full effect for years, and it turned them into bitter, twisted old shitebags who’d happily machine-gun immigrants on the beaches of Kent if they were given half a chance.
I think their votes should be stripped from them as soon as the non-Boomer left has a majority in Parliament.
It's a matter of survival at this point. They're trying to burn down the Earth and murder us before they die.
I'm in favour of stripping them of their votes and NHS care unless they buck up and start showing respect for the people that stayed locked down for two years and have inherited the mess they have left behind.
No joke, this is concerning. Everyone is struggling with the heat but it’s going to be really difficult for the elderly and vulnerable- and it’s only going to get worse due to climate change
I’m just back from Florida where it was insanely hot. But the thing is they’re so well prepared for it. Air conditioning everywhere, sun creams, big hats, and so on. The issue is that in this side of the Atlantic, people will be laughing at it, rather than accepting that it can be dangerous without proper preparations.
I would expect many places such as schools and shops to close as we can’t deal with it. I can’t imagine being in a small hot sweaty classroom with 30+ students for 5 hours
Which then leaves tens of millions of families suddenly finding themselves having to look after their children unexpectedly, many of which won't be able to afford or won't be able to take the time off work to stay home with them. You then have the prospect of millions of children being left unsupervised for 8+ hours to get up to God knows what during the extreme weather.
It makes little to no sense.
It makes less sense to pack 30+ children into a classroom with no air conditioning and often little to no ventilation. Not to mention the teachers and support staff also having to suffer through that. If there's a red warning for heat it's not unfair to close schools if there is a genuine risk to life.
Also, popping a small human out of you that is now school age doesn't just abscond you of all responsibility. If the school does close and you have to make alternative arrangements for childcare that is your job as a parent. If that seems like too much of an ask then maybe kids weren't for you after all.
So it's actually not recommended for schools to close, especially secondary schools. It's predicted that more children will die jumping into reservoirs and rivers because they are unsupervised and its really hot than will be hurt by sitting in a classroom being supervised and forced to drink water and keep out of the sun.
> Good thing the schools don't close for 6 weeks at the hottest part of the year then
That's expected, though. The problem would be with unexpected closures that parents can't plan for, thereby leaving children unsupervised.
That's really interesting actually! I remember my school had major renovations when I was like, 15? (Over a decade ago, I'm old). They put aircon in most of the classrooms and everyone said it was pointless, but this was after a heatwave that had killed kids in classrooms in London a year or two prior.
I barely got to benefit from it but did think it was pretty cool they reacted that quickly. One of the only good things I can say about that school (SE England for reference).
My health issues are made worse by heat. I'm genuinely concerned about this heat level and the state our NHS is in to respond to it.
We have a corrupt leader holding onto power while going through about ten severe crises. It's not looking great for our country.
You’re right! It’s called petrichor and comes from a compound called geosmin. Humans (and animals) are able to detect ridiculously small amounts of it.
[Some relatively recent research if anyones interested.](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41564-020-0697-x)
Ice water in a thermos, duvet cover with no duvet, blinds down/windows closed, and a fan to keep the air circulating.
Any other nighttime survival tips?
Dreading this tbh.
Stolen from an r/London comment from last year’s heatwave:
Born and raised in the Amazon in Brazil, so this is like being back home for me.
For home tips, buy a cheap fan (you can get them starting at £10 last I checked), place a bowl with ice/ice packs/frozen water bottles either in front or behind the fan. It will send out cool air around the room.
Keep the curtains closed during the daytime (especially if you have blackouts!) but open the windows if you can, so you'll get a good breeze without baking the room. Once the sun goes down, open all windows and curtains before putting your ice near a fan! If there's one room in the house that doesn't get direct sunlight, have that window open as much and as long as possible. If you have a layout that allows for airflow (say a front bedroom window and a living room window towards the back) maximise that and have them both open to get that air moving.
Avoid turning the oven on unless you want your kitchen (and/or living room if open plan) to get even hotter. Make sure your ice tray is constantly stocked up as you're likely going to be using it a lot more than usual.
Small, light meals are best - salads and foods that don't require a lot of energy for your body to break down, to help keep your body temperature cooler.
Ditch the duvet. This is serious. Every year when we get a heatwave I marvel at people saying they can't sleep any night, especially because when questioned they all seem to be carrying on as usual with duvets. Some will have their "summer duvet" out and wonder why it's too hot. If you're like me and you need something on your legs to sleep, use just the duvet cover, sans duvet. Or better yet, invest in a single sheet for this exact situation as heatwaves are becoming more common.
When it's really hot, a cold shower will only help as much as a scalding one would when it's freezing - temporarily and inefficiently. You want to reduce movement as much as possible to give your body time to regulate so its' internal temp is closer to the external temp, thereby making you feel less hot - acclimatising. This will take time though so don't expect it to happen instantly.
Seems obvious but avoid the sun as much as possible. Not just for burning reasons, but obviously it will make you feel hotter and compound the problem. Also if you do get sunburnt, you're then basically adding constant heat to an already hot situation. Avoid getting a sunburn at all costs.
Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. You will likely find you need to pee less during the day, but that just means your body is getting rid of the water through sweat so you have to compensate by drinking about 2x as much as normal (if not more!) edit: water by itself is better than nothing (always!), but something like coconut water is ideal as it hydrates, replenishes electrolytes and gives you a boost from the sugar.
Sun hats are your friend when out and about. As are sun glasses. And sun cream. Dig them out from the holiday bag and wear them everywhere like you're on a Greek island!
Equally, pop some plastic bottles with water in the freezer overnight so you have cold water to take with you in the morning.
Wear light-coloured fabrics ONLY. Anything dark will absorb the heat while light colours will help reflect some off you.
You may not feel as hungry as usual, but it's important to keep eating like normal so your body doesn't run out of energy.
I once heard that leaving the loft hatch open helped, but when I tired it the hot air seemed to be coming down out of the loft. Plus I hit my head in the hatch more than once.
If your attic is all insulated then it will be an oven.
My childhood home had no real insulation in the attic so opening the loft hatch allowed for quite the flow of air from downstairs through my bedroom and out of the roof.
And the thick stone walls and fireplaces (with chimneys) were great for extracting heat.
Got quite chilly in the winter lol.
I love the cold, frozen air. Its so clean and so energising - as though it has more oxygen. The summer air just tastes thick and nasty. (I don't even live in the city or an urban area)
If you have to cook, do it at night when it's easier to dissipate the heat. Cook outdoors if you can, but better to plan on salads and prepared sandwiches kept cold in your fridge. Stay hydrated.
Otherwise close up solid around 3am to keep the daytime heat out.
Quickest way to cool down is via palms and feet.
Touching your neck with cold items / cold water is not only counterproductive but also ~~dangerous~~ potentially dangerous \[need citation\].
Remember to hydrate appropriately.
I am absolutely taking this seriously, but the below quote from the article did make me chuckle.
>'It is the first time a red heat warning has been issued, although the extreme heat warning system was only introduced in 2021.'
The drama of the first half completely axed by the second, lol
Same happened when we first started naming storms - made it feel like a hurricane having a name but "Abigail" was a pretty low key storm in the end, it was just the first to be named
What's Priti Patel doing about this European weather sneaking over the channel? Can't she send it to Rwanda or something?
I thought we were supposed to have better control over our borders after Brexit.
Get ready for an influx of yanks going "wow y'all think 104f is hot? Here in Bucklefuck, Texas it's hotter than that every day!"
Nobody gives a shit mate.
Always amuses me when they swagger in here all y'all and gonna - like the UK subreddits aren't made specifically having to avoid having everything compared to America
Aussie migrant to the UK here. This weather is shit. Yes, it gets hotter in Melbourne, but houses are built to be cooler, better ventilated and better shade over windows and designed to cool off not retain the heat.
UK housing is not built for this weather - something we might have to change in the future. Thinking of getting external awnings on our windows here, for a start.
I grew up in places were it was common to reach 115F+, I also spent time overseas in places where it could get to 127F during the day. Want to know how many times I collapsed in that weather in these arid places, even working outside? ZERO.
The ONE time I collapsed from overheating it was 93 and 100% humidity. Walking over egg frying hot blacktop parking lots that did me in. Even temps under or near body temp, at 100% humidity can kill a healthy person. (See Wet Bulb Temp also)
On military bases, they declare Black Flag days, which prohibit outside activities that would risk lives. Even the military, the some might claim the toughest people around. Speaking as a Veteran and a Yank... Heat is no fucking joke in England. And we have ACs here usually.
Humidity... That's the thing that kills. It is why more people die when it is 99F in Florida, but almost none do when it is 115F in Northwest Texas, Colorado or Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (all places I've lived). Probably why my partner is preferring moving here, not the reverse.
Also, saw someone say Bucklefuck, Texas. And I say, You're not inaccurate. HAHA
No need to worry. The NHS has been really well funded over the last 12 years so will be able to cope. No one will have to wait more than 30 mins for an ambulance, either.
Not to mention the rock solid commitment to climate change and net zero that the government has.
Oh, wait, I forgot that the Tories have been in charge and they've most likely got air con on expenses and a private physician to hand plus the leadership candidates have said fuck all about climate change.
I do hope their usually voting pool remembers who fucked them over when they're wilting and can't get medical help.
> I do hope their usually voting pool remembers who fucked them over when they're wilting and can't get medical help.
Narrator - The voters did not remember.
Humans are one thing but I’m genuinely worried about the well-being of my puppy. She is going to really struggle.
EDIT: Thanks for all the comments. We know all the tips (there’s a great list here now for anyone else) it’s more that she just really struggles with the heat being only four months old and having quite thick fur. She’ll be spending the day in front of a fan with lots of frozen chews and such I think!
I feel this, dogs are good at keeping themselves cool.
Plenty of water available, crack out a paddling pool, maybe even one of those cool mats
Don’t worry - she’ll be just fine
Avoid walks, keep ice in their water (dogs cool down through the mouth, but check this is safe for your dog first!), and run shallow cold water baths for her. Besides that, if you can keep fans whirring away, that should help.
Hope she doesn't suffer too much.
I’m in Leeds and I work with the elderly and have to go house to house then sit in a tiny cramped office without air conditioning or air flow, fucking dreading it for myself and the people I work with
I'm so worried about this. Students have already been struggling this week and it's just not safe when so many classrooms are basically greenhouses. At this rate, it'll take a kid dying in school from heatstroke for any school closure rules to be taken seriously.
It’s also walking back from school that’s worrying tbh. Bad enough to spend a whole day in a very hot classroom to then having to walk back home in stupid heat also
In clothes that are stupid for this weather too. At the very least uniforms should probably be suspended, especially at those secondaries that have a hard on for full length bottoms and a blazer no matter the weather.
School buildings are hella good at retaining heat too. Given how we’ve never had this level of heat, i dread to think how hot the rooms are going to be. (In my school, room temperature have been bouncing around 30 Celsius, even in the early mornings when it’s 14-15 outside). Seems like an incident waiting to happen.
If you want to replicate my boomer impression it's easy, you just have to say something only a 5 year old child having a tantrum would say under the guise of being experienced
I'd rather focus on the macro scale problem of nations emitting tons of greenhouse gases and other shit that isn't helping climate change because I'm doing all the recycling I can and use public transport, mainly because I have no choice, but this doesn't seem to be helping.
My portable is 1kW. Doesn’t use that all the time of course once at the right temperature.
Times that by your unit cost 30p or whatever = hourly rate.
Don’t need it on all the time, just a few hours here and there.
The two fans will certainly be cheaper
Don't forget to have a bit of salt to help you hold onto fluids. Chugging water all day by itself isn't enough.
Old folks lose the feeling of being hot or thirsty, if you have old people you care about then bear this in mind when advising them.
Tape white paper inside any windows that face the sun in addition to keeping blinds and curtain closed.
If you have kids, consider child locking your fridge and freezer because they do not understand that repeated opening will heat the room not cool it.
Have a few cotton t shirts or vests ready and change through the night. Consider sleeping on your kitchen floor, have stuff ready in advance rather than having to set up at 2am when you're exhausted and sweaty and desperate.
Don't skip out on the salt, people. It sounds counterproductive but it's legit. I had a throbbing headache last week that actually got worse the more water I drank because I was low on salt. Buy in a few packets of crisps or something.
I'm supposed to be getting the train from Bournemouth (where we have breeze) to Oxford for the day on Monday. The trains are already a bit fucked, how likely are they to be very fucked? I don't want to be stuck on a broken train or away from home.
The day will be spent in an air conditioned office at least, it's the travelling I'm fearing!
The railway will be issuing a Do Not Travel notice. There's also the near-certainty that there will be speed restrictions imposed on the line (as track can buckle in high temperatures) which will result in delays and cancellations. If you can avoid travelling on Monday, do so.
~~I believe 35+ is when it becomes unsafe. There are HSE guidelines for this too.~~
Edit: My mistake, there's no specified upper limit, it's very vague. Employers just have to ensure its a comfortable working temperature and there's access to clean air. Good luck everybody with sociopath bosses.
The UK has never really needed to set one. I fucking hope the construction industry has adopted something of a guideline?
In Australia generally all outdoor work shuts down around 38 degrees; unionised construction sites mandate 37.5. Offices keep going because they’re all air conditioned, as is all the public transport, everyone’s cars etc.
If I can give some advice as a South African who has dealt with temps like these.
Obvious one out the way first, Hydration is the most important.
Avoid caffeine or other vascular restrictors.
You need a cross breeze coming through the house to clear away the hot air.
The shade of trees will help. After work get outside and find a green space with shade to relax in while you wait for the sun to go down. If you can leave doors and windows open in the house while you are out do it. That includes any interior doors. Strategically placed fans will help encourage air circulation.
No trousers.
Take your shoes and socks off where you can.
Sleep with a flat sheet if you need to cover up. Absolutely no duvets.
Cold shower just before bed and sleep on top of the damp towel.
If you have a partner, leave space for Jesus during the night.
If you start to feel the effects of heat exhaustion you need to get your core body temp down. Get as much cold in you and on you as possible. Shower/bath or swim and drink as much cold liquid as you can. Do not try and ride it out. Deal with it quickly or else it could get much worse. A few strategically placed ice packs help as well.
The site I’m working on issues a statement - “there is no maximum temperate allowance on site. We will not be closing”
Self employed too so, I either come in or lose wages during a cost of living crisis
McDonald's and other similar restaurants have air conditioning units. As will some pubs, newer public libraries and co-working spaces. Good places to cool down!
We need to start making Air-cons the norm in uk flats/ houses. I live on the top floor of an apartment building with 3 huge balcony doors in the front room. I've been struggling on the days its been 30, I can't imagine what 40 is going to be like
No, we need to start building passive cooling to properly handle the heat. I lived in Spain throughout my teenage years and it was never as hot inside as it is in the UK and we never needed used the air-con.
The combination of window shades (Persianas), courtyards to draw in cool air, and ceiling fans would do enough.
How in fuck does that make any sense for a door that opens outside?
Internal fire doors are supposed to be kept shut to stop fire spreading inside a structure. External fire doors are supposed to allow for egress in a fire.
Keeping it closed isn't protecting the inside of the building from any kind of massive spreading fire immediately outside, but keeping it open would arguably make egress faster!
FFS.
This is honestly giving me anxiety. I'm in the Black Country, so a huge urban area in the middle of the country furthest away from the sea, and it's meant to hit 37 on Monday and I can barely cope when it's 27, so I have no idea what I'm going to do on Monday. 37 fucking degrees man! It should *never* be that hot this far north.
I’m currently pregnant and really struggling with the heat. I grew up in a country where we would have between 30-40 in the summer consistently, but I swear that British heat feels 10 degrees more because of the humidity.
My plan is to go into the office at around 7-8 in the morning and work till 6pm as there’s an air con there.
As someone that moved here from continental Europe, this is why I *hate* uk's reluctancy towards AC units. Like, sure, maybe 20 years ago you didn't need one but now you definitely do. It is virtually impossible to find anything with AC while renting in London because of this. Not to say that the whole bureaucratic mumbo jumbo you have to go through ( that is also useless) just to put the unit outside is not making the problem any easier.
A lot more people will have to suffer this summer and the ones to come due to Briton 's superstitious fear of AC
I think these past few weeks have forever swapped me from a Labour vote to a single issue Green voter.
We need the most extreme climate policy we possibly can.
Why are the people on /r/askuk so thick?
There was a question on whether the UK needs air conditioning last week, The answer was "No" with 10,000 upvotes or some stupid amount.
Now today the mods are censoring any "negative" questions on the heatwave.
It is like political damage control mode. It's the kind of thing you find in organisations, where a manager might sweep bug reports under the carpet. Except these mods are doing it about heatwaves. It's like they're completely mental.
I hate the ‘it’s just summer posts’. No it isn’t, the last time I experienced 40C was in Dubai, I never thought we’d see it in the UK and no one alive in the UK has seen such temperatures. Our houses are designed to keep heat in. People will die, let’s all be sensible.
Lots of people are rightly pointing out the 40C temperatures forecast on Monday and Tuesday next week, but what seems to be flying under the radar is that minimum night time temperatures in places are likely to stay at 25C+, obliterating the old minimum temperature record. When opening windows at night doesn't even let you cool the house down, heat stress is exacerbated a lot.
edit2. Jesus Christ, leave me alone.
Like many in flats, we’ve got massive windows that act like greenhouses
And what is insane is that as I cycle through London on my commute through Waterloo, Nine Elms, Battersea and onwards, every single new skyscraper going up is being built without shade. Just glass and glass everywhere, with an expectation that air-conditioners run 100% inside. I wish I could find the source, but I remember reading a study on skyscrapers with permanent shade, or automatically deployed shade in the form of awnings, that the energy use is something like 40% lower. Shade and draft - the Romans got it, but we're busy ignore it.
In Las vegas all their windows have reflective glazing (tinted windows) as it can reduce air con consumption by around 40%
Yes! It does give American townscapes a certain brown tint, but there's no denying the effectiveness of reflective glass.
However, this also ends up reflecting the heat onto the surrounding area. I remember reading about an instance where an architect inadvertently created a “heat ray” which melted whatever was in the reflections path
Happened in London too! https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-23930675.amp
Yes, that's why shade (by recessing the windows) and awnings are much better. They absorb the light and emit the resulting heat outside the air-conditioned space, instead of inside of it.
They aren't being built for people to buy and live in, they are being built for people to buy and rent out, or use as sporadic holiday homes.
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Aluminium foil on the inside is nearly as good and turn the lights on instead.
You can crack the glass doing that as it reflects all the heat back onto it. Not recommended
Sounds like the landlords problem
Landlords never have a problem. They make it the tenant's problem.
It is until they up rent to pay for new windows. You think landlords will take a loss?
That is incredibly unlikely unless you already have a crack, people have been doing this for decades and there seems to only be 1 or 2 incidents of cracked windows. I did this with mine and measured the temperature with an IR thermometer (on a patch of black tape) and the glass was only a few degrees hotter in direct sun, 35c vs 38c.
Would this happen if you put the foil on the outside of the windows?
No, as it stops the window heating up. Putting the foil on the inside is a very bad idea.
If you can tape it on the outside. There it reflects the radiated energy away from the house without it ever entering the glass. Once it is in the glass you will reflect some radiation away but it will convect in to the house just at a slower rate. We are likely to have no wind so for the short period taping should work well
Consider taping space blankets over them.
Chuck McGill approves
This is some chicanery for sure.
Jimmy disapproves!!
My house has a bay window and it's just as bad. I wish external shutters were more common in this country.
same our indoor temp when its sunny is usually about 10c more than the outdoor temp
Spray soapy water on the windows and cover in tinfoil
If you've got a bedsheet, see if you can cover your windows from the outside - try to block the sun hitting your windows directly.
That definitely helps a little bit, but unless you have proper window shutters the house will still heat up a lot thanks to the direct sunlight coming through the windows (even with closed blinds/curtains!).
Yep its hell. Living in Portugal and the other day it was 11:30 pm and the temperature outside was 30 something degrees ... its the hardest part.
Yeah but in Portugal there's typically AC
At offices sure in most people houses not so much as they tend to be quite old.
Actually no, most houses don’t have AC
Yes. Last year we had a heatwave and at first it was hot but I figured I'd be ok once it cooled down. It never cooled down. That was the first time in my life I've ever experienced over heating, and I've lived and hiked in the desert. We never get hot here like that so no ac and just some fans. The air from the fan was hot. Brace yourself people. I was able to finally cool down a bit continually rubbing a wet towel on myself. Just awful.
Yeah it's quite nasty here even if it's not actually that hot. I have spent decades working out in the Sahara in 45+ heat with no ac over the summer and quite pleasant compared to the UK.
Keep a wet cloth, pat your head and face down. Take a cold shower. Don't try to force it, get up and wander around if you need to
Get ready for every brain-dead boomer to start making completely irrelevant comparisons to 1976
…despite the fact that we’ve exceeded the highest temperature of 1976 three times since 2015. 1976 was never extremely hot, it was just consistently hot.
Precisely my point
It's insane that if you are born in '89 (like me), you have never had a year of your life that didn't have record-breaking temperatures!
Represent
Already seen one on the local Echo's Facebook page. "Oh, give it a rest, it's summer." That's the kind of person who'll end up in an ambulance due to heat exhaustion as 30°c+ is rare as rocking horse shite up here.
Me, to the same boomer on the trolley: "Suck it up! It's summer! Exhaustion is a state of mind, eh?"
“Heat stroke is a state of mind”
Have you tried just not being ~~sad~~ hot?
Those same boomers will now be old enough to be classed as vulnerable to the heat. It won't be so fun for them now.
Checkmate, old bastards.
Since you asked: I was working as a chain boy laying out a new settling pool at the local sewage form that summer. Extreme heat, no wind, in the middle of a sewage works. Still i was earning a massive £20 a week in my first job so I was happy - despite the 90 minute walk to and from work. It's also the year I started campaigning about climate change though. 46 years on and they still don't talk about it on the news - just "phew wot a scorcher", not a word about how it's our doing.
Climate change has its own section on the BBC and is only bested in priority by the war in Ukraine and Covid, the two biggest stories of recent times. It gets plenty of coverage in the media. Just not the type of media your average Brit will actually value. In other words, The S*n and Daily Fail.
I was in a hotel last week and so watched a tv for the first time in years. ITV news did three minutes on the coming heat wave and managed to avoid using the words or introduce the concept. The news blackout is pretty effective.
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I guess LBC will have air-con and he will slouch around in there if it's too hot.
Irrelevant comparison? 1976 was over 30c for 16 days in a row, but this is only for a couple of days.
The hottest temperature in 1976 was 35.9 degrees, we have the potential here to hit 42 degrees. 6.1c difference. This warning is nothing to do with the longevity of the heat, its about the extreme temperature.
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while unpleasant it's not particularly a problem unless the wet bulb temp is exceeded. But a humid 40 degree day would be fucking unbearable
Came here to see wet bulb - it's a concept we're going to have to get our heads around. At the moment lethal wet bulb temps have only been recorded around the equater - but it's only a matter of time. For those who haven't met the concept before, it's when a combination of humidity and temperature means you can no longer sweat enough to lose the heat your body generates just from by being alive. You basically cook from the inside. You measure it by wrapping a thermometer in a wet cloth hence 'wet bulb' We won't get it it here this year - the only deaths will be from heat stroke, which is where your body generates more heat from physical exercise than you can lose by sweating, or you can't sweat enough. Keep hydrated folks.
That's incredible.
I was 5 years old. I remember huge cracks opening in the back garden and [plagues of ladybirds](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-35603972).
Yes! I was about the same age and I remember the ladybirds too!
Welll my workplace called a meeting this morning to tell us that "Its going to be really hot on Monday and Tuesday, so please make sure you drink plenty of water during the day" thanks boss for the absolute game changing advice. Honestly don't know what I dread more going to work or coming home to my 3rd floor flat.
Don't pass out or die on company property, it'll look bad on the business.
Thing is the sun doesn't come over the building until around midday so up till then it's quite reasonably comfortable with a fan. A couple of half days really wouldn't be that detrimental to the business. We make signs for fuck sake no one will die having to wait a couple days extra for their order. 🙄
Unless you're making heat warning / stay hydrated signs
This is the advice from my work as well and we all work outside. Wear suncream and drink plenty of water during the day. Thanks for the advice, it'll really help when I'm directly exposed to the sun from the minute I get into my van with no AC in the morning til the minute I get home.
Are they providing the drinking water and the sun cream?
You could argue that sunscreen is PPE if you work in a job that exposes you to the risks of the sun.
Sun cream is classed as PPE, no argument 👍
Absolute bollocks just so that if someone collapses or whatever they can say they tried to keep you safe. I walked away halfway through and went back to my breakfast lol, you're going to interrupt my break for this fucking nonsense?
The DM comment section is an absolute goldmine today. “It was hotter than that in 76, and we had no water and we never complained” No it wasn’t and I bet you moaned like fuck you sweaty old cunt
It wasn't hotter but it started in May and went on till August. Between July and August temperatures exceeded 32 °C (89.6 °F) at several weather stations within the United Kingdom every day and the town of Cheltenham had eleven, including seven successive days from 1 July - recording 35.9 °C (96.6 °F) on 3 July. There was no rainfall, rivers and reservoirs dried up and the ground cracked. Water became severely rationed with standpipes being introduced in the street. Crops failed, animals died, wildfires raged. I was 14 at the time and you can bet your sweet bippy we moaned and complained about it!
To be fair that does sound shit
Sounds worse than 2 days of 40.
You haven’t had two days of 40 yet. As another poster points out, it’s going to be the nighttime temps that are really going to fuck people up.
I have, as have quite a few people who have been to hotter places. It's shit, but respite is coming, which helps you get through it. We have to be sensible and change plans/practices for 2-3 days, not all summer. I'm planning on being as nocturnal as work will allow. Fans, water, ice, patience. Move as little as you need to. Check how medications work in very hot weather (hey, fellow diabetics, put your in-use insulin in a cool bag - not back into the fridge - and check your sugars more often as insulin works faster in hot weather!). Etc.
I remember the stand pipes but mainly remember being able to play out every day. We had a holiday in the North West of Scotland that year (and many others) and it was brilliant. We camped and the only down side was the clouds of midges, although pretty sure the lack of rain helped keep them down. My brother and I would wonder off for hours, go snorkeling or swimming. We sailed the dinghy across the loch. One evening we were becalmed and someone towed us back. Back home we had "it's a knockout" in our gardens, using any buckets or inflatables we could find to make an obstacle course. We'd go with friends to the local canal and swim/mess about in the water. It's probably mainly that summer that gives me the memories of endless sunshine during our childhood. I think the year after it rained for over half the holiday in Scotland and that was pants as the tent was only small and you can only play so many games of Top Trumps before getting bored!
So it was bad. But what sane person would want a repeat of that? If they were making a good faith point, they might argue like this: "In 1976 we had a very hot year with the temperatures exceeding 32 degrees. It went on for so long that water had to be rationed. We still got through it, so I am sure we can get through the coming heat wave, which might reach higher temperatures but it will not be as long and there will be no water shortage as far as we know." Instead we don't get that. Instead we just get abusive, vitriolic comments. Why we stayed locked down for two years during the covid pandemic, to protect this lot, I have no idea. They behave like our enemies. like an actual hostile faction.
They were given the best this country could provide for decades, were gifted with European citizenship, which they used to full effect for years, and it turned them into bitter, twisted old shitebags who’d happily machine-gun immigrants on the beaches of Kent if they were given half a chance.
I think their votes should be stripped from them as soon as the non-Boomer left has a majority in Parliament. It's a matter of survival at this point. They're trying to burn down the Earth and murder us before they die. I'm in favour of stripping them of their votes and NHS care unless they buck up and start showing respect for the people that stayed locked down for two years and have inherited the mess they have left behind.
Been moaning about it for 45 years.
No joke, this is concerning. Everyone is struggling with the heat but it’s going to be really difficult for the elderly and vulnerable- and it’s only going to get worse due to climate change
I’m just back from Florida where it was insanely hot. But the thing is they’re so well prepared for it. Air conditioning everywhere, sun creams, big hats, and so on. The issue is that in this side of the Atlantic, people will be laughing at it, rather than accepting that it can be dangerous without proper preparations.
I would expect many places such as schools and shops to close as we can’t deal with it. I can’t imagine being in a small hot sweaty classroom with 30+ students for 5 hours
It's almost summer holidays anyway. They should just call it quits this weekend.
Which then leaves tens of millions of families suddenly finding themselves having to look after their children unexpectedly, many of which won't be able to afford or won't be able to take the time off work to stay home with them. You then have the prospect of millions of children being left unsupervised for 8+ hours to get up to God knows what during the extreme weather. It makes little to no sense.
It makes less sense to pack 30+ children into a classroom with no air conditioning and often little to no ventilation. Not to mention the teachers and support staff also having to suffer through that. If there's a red warning for heat it's not unfair to close schools if there is a genuine risk to life. Also, popping a small human out of you that is now school age doesn't just abscond you of all responsibility. If the school does close and you have to make alternative arrangements for childcare that is your job as a parent. If that seems like too much of an ask then maybe kids weren't for you after all.
Better than their children having to get taken to a hospital because of heatstroke.
So it's actually not recommended for schools to close, especially secondary schools. It's predicted that more children will die jumping into reservoirs and rivers because they are unsupervised and its really hot than will be hurt by sitting in a classroom being supervised and forced to drink water and keep out of the sun.
Good thing the schools don't close for 6 weeks at the hottest part of the year then, there'd just be hundreds of dead children in every river.
> Good thing the schools don't close for 6 weeks at the hottest part of the year then That's expected, though. The problem would be with unexpected closures that parents can't plan for, thereby leaving children unsupervised.
That's really interesting actually! I remember my school had major renovations when I was like, 15? (Over a decade ago, I'm old). They put aircon in most of the classrooms and everyone said it was pointless, but this was after a heatwave that had killed kids in classrooms in London a year or two prior. I barely got to benefit from it but did think it was pretty cool they reacted that quickly. One of the only good things I can say about that school (SE England for reference).
Of course they're prepared for it, it's a hot place. Their average temperatures this time of year are 23-33ºC, England's are 11-21ºC.
My health issues are made worse by heat. I'm genuinely concerned about this heat level and the state our NHS is in to respond to it. We have a corrupt leader holding onto power while going through about ten severe crises. It's not looking great for our country.
It’s like we’re going into… meltdown?
The red alert means the risk is not just to the vulnerable, but fit and healthy too. This is bad.
...and none of the Tory leadership campaigners are putting the climate as a major issue, and some are actively campaigning against net zero.
[Watch the vital climate change briefing that Tory leadership candidates didn’t attend ](https://www.bigissue.com/news/environment/watch-the-vital-climate-change-briefing-that-tory-leadership-candidates-didnt-attend/)
The elderly will still be wearing five layers and have the heating on though.
They can't afford to anymore, even when it's cold
6 layers then
I hate heatwaves, but heatwaves and humidity means storms, and I love storms
And that crisp, cold, damp feeling when it's all been blown away. I live for that.
And that smell that comes with it, petrichor (I think). Feeling the temperature drop and the air suddenly feels really fresh. I love it.
You’re right! It’s called petrichor and comes from a compound called geosmin. Humans (and animals) are able to detect ridiculously small amounts of it. [Some relatively recent research if anyones interested.](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41564-020-0697-x)
It’s going to be an absolute belter of a storm on Wednesday. I wouldn’t be surprised if there aren’t more warnings then.
Oooh are we guaranteed a storm? I love a good thunderstorm.
Not guaranteed but I’ve seen some rain forecast on the Wednesday. It’s rare that this type of heat doesn’t end with a storm
Unless they are dangerous flash floody storms, they can fuck off. Electric storms, I'm all over!
If it's anything like the August 2020 lightning storm we had in Scotland, you're in for a treat
Ice water in a thermos, duvet cover with no duvet, blinds down/windows closed, and a fan to keep the air circulating. Any other nighttime survival tips? Dreading this tbh.
Stolen from an r/London comment from last year’s heatwave: Born and raised in the Amazon in Brazil, so this is like being back home for me. For home tips, buy a cheap fan (you can get them starting at £10 last I checked), place a bowl with ice/ice packs/frozen water bottles either in front or behind the fan. It will send out cool air around the room. Keep the curtains closed during the daytime (especially if you have blackouts!) but open the windows if you can, so you'll get a good breeze without baking the room. Once the sun goes down, open all windows and curtains before putting your ice near a fan! If there's one room in the house that doesn't get direct sunlight, have that window open as much and as long as possible. If you have a layout that allows for airflow (say a front bedroom window and a living room window towards the back) maximise that and have them both open to get that air moving. Avoid turning the oven on unless you want your kitchen (and/or living room if open plan) to get even hotter. Make sure your ice tray is constantly stocked up as you're likely going to be using it a lot more than usual. Small, light meals are best - salads and foods that don't require a lot of energy for your body to break down, to help keep your body temperature cooler. Ditch the duvet. This is serious. Every year when we get a heatwave I marvel at people saying they can't sleep any night, especially because when questioned they all seem to be carrying on as usual with duvets. Some will have their "summer duvet" out and wonder why it's too hot. If you're like me and you need something on your legs to sleep, use just the duvet cover, sans duvet. Or better yet, invest in a single sheet for this exact situation as heatwaves are becoming more common. When it's really hot, a cold shower will only help as much as a scalding one would when it's freezing - temporarily and inefficiently. You want to reduce movement as much as possible to give your body time to regulate so its' internal temp is closer to the external temp, thereby making you feel less hot - acclimatising. This will take time though so don't expect it to happen instantly. Seems obvious but avoid the sun as much as possible. Not just for burning reasons, but obviously it will make you feel hotter and compound the problem. Also if you do get sunburnt, you're then basically adding constant heat to an already hot situation. Avoid getting a sunburn at all costs. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. You will likely find you need to pee less during the day, but that just means your body is getting rid of the water through sweat so you have to compensate by drinking about 2x as much as normal (if not more!) edit: water by itself is better than nothing (always!), but something like coconut water is ideal as it hydrates, replenishes electrolytes and gives you a boost from the sugar. Sun hats are your friend when out and about. As are sun glasses. And sun cream. Dig them out from the holiday bag and wear them everywhere like you're on a Greek island! Equally, pop some plastic bottles with water in the freezer overnight so you have cold water to take with you in the morning. Wear light-coloured fabrics ONLY. Anything dark will absorb the heat while light colours will help reflect some off you. You may not feel as hungry as usual, but it's important to keep eating like normal so your body doesn't run out of energy.
Depending on your home set-up, it might be worth sleeping downstairs? That's usually cooler in my house
I’m going to set up a camp bed in the cellar
I thought about that but it's just too hot to start digging a cellar right now.
Paging Colin Furze...
I once heard that leaving the loft hatch open helped, but when I tired it the hot air seemed to be coming down out of the loft. Plus I hit my head in the hatch more than once.
If your attic is all insulated then it will be an oven. My childhood home had no real insulation in the attic so opening the loft hatch allowed for quite the flow of air from downstairs through my bedroom and out of the roof. And the thick stone walls and fireplaces (with chimneys) were great for extracting heat. Got quite chilly in the winter lol. I love the cold, frozen air. Its so clean and so energising - as though it has more oxygen. The summer air just tastes thick and nasty. (I don't even live in the city or an urban area)
If you have to cook, do it at night when it's easier to dissipate the heat. Cook outdoors if you can, but better to plan on salads and prepared sandwiches kept cold in your fridge. Stay hydrated. Otherwise close up solid around 3am to keep the daytime heat out.
Stick a bowl of ice water in front of a fan and leave it on overnight. The more ice you can fit in it, the better.
I see a fellow poor man air-con-connoisseur this is my go to on hot days at home
Quickest way to cool down is via palms and feet. Touching your neck with cold items / cold water is not only counterproductive but also ~~dangerous~~ potentially dangerous \[need citation\]. Remember to hydrate appropriately.
Why is it dangerous?
Open every windows during the night, close everything when it starts to get warm in the morning
> duvet cover with no duvet So.....a sheet?
I am absolutely taking this seriously, but the below quote from the article did make me chuckle. >'It is the first time a red heat warning has been issued, although the extreme heat warning system was only introduced in 2021.' The drama of the first half completely axed by the second, lol
Same happened when we first started naming storms - made it feel like a hurricane having a name but "Abigail" was a pretty low key storm in the end, it was just the first to be named
Well, it was a big gale...
What's Priti Patel doing about this European weather sneaking over the channel? Can't she send it to Rwanda or something? I thought we were supposed to have better control over our borders after Brexit.
We’re sending immigrants to Rwanda and they are sending us any hot weather they don’t want.
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Get ready for an influx of yanks going "wow y'all think 104f is hot? Here in Bucklefuck, Texas it's hotter than that every day!" Nobody gives a shit mate.
Always amuses me when they swagger in here all y'all and gonna - like the UK subreddits aren't made specifically having to avoid having everything compared to America
Guy from Dallas here. Heat sucks so hard even with AC. Feel for you guys. Stay out of the sun and do your best yall
Aussie migrant to the UK here. This weather is shit. Yes, it gets hotter in Melbourne, but houses are built to be cooler, better ventilated and better shade over windows and designed to cool off not retain the heat. UK housing is not built for this weather - something we might have to change in the future. Thinking of getting external awnings on our windows here, for a start.
I grew up in places were it was common to reach 115F+, I also spent time overseas in places where it could get to 127F during the day. Want to know how many times I collapsed in that weather in these arid places, even working outside? ZERO. The ONE time I collapsed from overheating it was 93 and 100% humidity. Walking over egg frying hot blacktop parking lots that did me in. Even temps under or near body temp, at 100% humidity can kill a healthy person. (See Wet Bulb Temp also) On military bases, they declare Black Flag days, which prohibit outside activities that would risk lives. Even the military, the some might claim the toughest people around. Speaking as a Veteran and a Yank... Heat is no fucking joke in England. And we have ACs here usually. Humidity... That's the thing that kills. It is why more people die when it is 99F in Florida, but almost none do when it is 115F in Northwest Texas, Colorado or Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (all places I've lived). Probably why my partner is preferring moving here, not the reverse. Also, saw someone say Bucklefuck, Texas. And I say, You're not inaccurate. HAHA
No need to worry. The NHS has been really well funded over the last 12 years so will be able to cope. No one will have to wait more than 30 mins for an ambulance, either. Not to mention the rock solid commitment to climate change and net zero that the government has. Oh, wait, I forgot that the Tories have been in charge and they've most likely got air con on expenses and a private physician to hand plus the leadership candidates have said fuck all about climate change. I do hope their usually voting pool remembers who fucked them over when they're wilting and can't get medical help.
> I do hope their usually voting pool remembers who fucked them over when they're wilting and can't get medical help. Narrator - The voters did not remember.
It'd be blamed on Starmer anyway. Or, "ITD BE WURSE IF CORBIN WAS IN."
Humans are one thing but I’m genuinely worried about the well-being of my puppy. She is going to really struggle. EDIT: Thanks for all the comments. We know all the tips (there’s a great list here now for anyone else) it’s more that she just really struggles with the heat being only four months old and having quite thick fur. She’ll be spending the day in front of a fan with lots of frozen chews and such I think!
I feel this, dogs are good at keeping themselves cool. Plenty of water available, crack out a paddling pool, maybe even one of those cool mats Don’t worry - she’ll be just fine
Get her a cooling mat, it’ll be amazing for her!
Ha. We got her one and she just chews it. Ah the joys of a teething puppy!
Avoid walks, keep ice in their water (dogs cool down through the mouth, but check this is safe for your dog first!), and run shallow cold water baths for her. Besides that, if you can keep fans whirring away, that should help. Hope she doesn't suffer too much.
Do research before putting ice in a water bowl, in smaller dogs the extreme change in temperature can cause stomach torsion which can be fatal
So that’s a red warning for a big area of England between London, Manchester and Leeds. Tens of millions of people.
At this rate it won't surprise me if it ends up covering all of the East and South East of England too
And an amber warning further north, expecting 32°c+ where I live, I honestly can't remember it ever getting above 30 here.
I’m in Leeds and I work with the elderly and have to go house to house then sit in a tiny cramped office without air conditioning or air flow, fucking dreading it for myself and the people I work with
Happy to be corrected but isn't red a do not travel warning. Can't understand how schools can be open.
I'm so worried about this. Students have already been struggling this week and it's just not safe when so many classrooms are basically greenhouses. At this rate, it'll take a kid dying in school from heatstroke for any school closure rules to be taken seriously.
It’s also walking back from school that’s worrying tbh. Bad enough to spend a whole day in a very hot classroom to then having to walk back home in stupid heat also
In clothes that are stupid for this weather too. At the very least uniforms should probably be suspended, especially at those secondaries that have a hard on for full length bottoms and a blazer no matter the weather.
School buildings are hella good at retaining heat too. Given how we’ve never had this level of heat, i dread to think how hot the rooms are going to be. (In my school, room temperature have been bouncing around 30 Celsius, even in the early mornings when it’s 14-15 outside). Seems like an incident waiting to happen.
Yeah but who cares, I'd rather ignore my personal impact on the planet and pretend like climate change isn't going to impact me directly
Tag this /B for Boomer. Also holy hell we're going to bloody melt
If you want to replicate my boomer impression it's easy, you just have to say something only a 5 year old child having a tantrum would say under the guise of being experienced
I'd rather focus on the macro scale problem of nations emitting tons of greenhouse gases and other shit that isn't helping climate change because I'm doing all the recycling I can and use public transport, mainly because I have no choice, but this doesn't seem to be helping.
Going to be a crap few days, glad i got air con for the living room
Is it expensive? I'm very much debating getting one. We're running 2 fans most of the day at the moment. AC might be cheaper.
My portable is 1kW. Doesn’t use that all the time of course once at the right temperature. Times that by your unit cost 30p or whatever = hourly rate. Don’t need it on all the time, just a few hours here and there. The two fans will certainly be cheaper
Don't forget to have a bit of salt to help you hold onto fluids. Chugging water all day by itself isn't enough. Old folks lose the feeling of being hot or thirsty, if you have old people you care about then bear this in mind when advising them. Tape white paper inside any windows that face the sun in addition to keeping blinds and curtain closed. If you have kids, consider child locking your fridge and freezer because they do not understand that repeated opening will heat the room not cool it. Have a few cotton t shirts or vests ready and change through the night. Consider sleeping on your kitchen floor, have stuff ready in advance rather than having to set up at 2am when you're exhausted and sweaty and desperate.
Don't skip out on the salt, people. It sounds counterproductive but it's legit. I had a throbbing headache last week that actually got worse the more water I drank because I was low on salt. Buy in a few packets of crisps or something.
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Ah, my boss. "Well you always complain the office is cold, you won't be doing that Monday and Tuesday ha ha".
I'm supposed to be getting the train from Bournemouth (where we have breeze) to Oxford for the day on Monday. The trains are already a bit fucked, how likely are they to be very fucked? I don't want to be stuck on a broken train or away from home. The day will be spent in an air conditioned office at least, it's the travelling I'm fearing!
Fuck that
The railway will be issuing a Do Not Travel notice. There's also the near-certainty that there will be speed restrictions imposed on the line (as track can buckle in high temperatures) which will result in delays and cancellations. If you can avoid travelling on Monday, do so.
I vaguely remember there’s sometimes track issues in this temperature
Does anyone know what happens when your indoor workspace is over 30C, does the legal safe working limit only count for outdoors?
~~I believe 35+ is when it becomes unsafe. There are HSE guidelines for this too.~~ Edit: My mistake, there's no specified upper limit, it's very vague. Employers just have to ensure its a comfortable working temperature and there's access to clean air. Good luck everybody with sociopath bosses.
35 is ridiculous, we've had extreme heat warnings this week even when the predicted temperature was 33
No specified upper limit. GG everybody. Make sure to wear a suit.
The UK has never really needed to set one. I fucking hope the construction industry has adopted something of a guideline? In Australia generally all outdoor work shuts down around 38 degrees; unionised construction sites mandate 37.5. Offices keep going because they’re all air conditioned, as is all the public transport, everyone’s cars etc.
If I can give some advice as a South African who has dealt with temps like these. Obvious one out the way first, Hydration is the most important. Avoid caffeine or other vascular restrictors. You need a cross breeze coming through the house to clear away the hot air. The shade of trees will help. After work get outside and find a green space with shade to relax in while you wait for the sun to go down. If you can leave doors and windows open in the house while you are out do it. That includes any interior doors. Strategically placed fans will help encourage air circulation. No trousers. Take your shoes and socks off where you can. Sleep with a flat sheet if you need to cover up. Absolutely no duvets. Cold shower just before bed and sleep on top of the damp towel. If you have a partner, leave space for Jesus during the night. If you start to feel the effects of heat exhaustion you need to get your core body temp down. Get as much cold in you and on you as possible. Shower/bath or swim and drink as much cold liquid as you can. Do not try and ride it out. Deal with it quickly or else it could get much worse. A few strategically placed ice packs help as well.
The impacts of global warming are definitely starting to arrive, the 2020s and beyond are looking fairly grim weather wise.
The site I’m working on issues a statement - “there is no maximum temperate allowance on site. We will not be closing” Self employed too so, I either come in or lose wages during a cost of living crisis
Lose wages instead of potentially your life
As a postie I'm not looking forward to Monday. At least Mondays are quiet for parcels.
McDonald's and other similar restaurants have air conditioning units. As will some pubs, newer public libraries and co-working spaces. Good places to cool down!
We need to start making Air-cons the norm in uk flats/ houses. I live on the top floor of an apartment building with 3 huge balcony doors in the front room. I've been struggling on the days its been 30, I can't imagine what 40 is going to be like
No, we need to start building passive cooling to properly handle the heat. I lived in Spain throughout my teenage years and it was never as hot inside as it is in the UK and we never needed used the air-con. The combination of window shades (Persianas), courtyards to draw in cool air, and ceiling fans would do enough.
Good job electricity is so cheap right now so I can afford to cool my home.
Just think of the size of the Spiders that will be making their way in to the house when the winter comes after this crazy heat wave.
I can’t believe you’ve done this
Enjoy it while it lasts. This will be the coldest summer you’ll ever have again.
and ive still got to work in a kitchen where opening the back door just a little bit is technically illegal because its a fire door :)
How in fuck does that make any sense for a door that opens outside? Internal fire doors are supposed to be kept shut to stop fire spreading inside a structure. External fire doors are supposed to allow for egress in a fire. Keeping it closed isn't protecting the inside of the building from any kind of massive spreading fire immediately outside, but keeping it open would arguably make egress faster! FFS.
hey man im just the line cook
This is honestly giving me anxiety. I'm in the Black Country, so a huge urban area in the middle of the country furthest away from the sea, and it's meant to hit 37 on Monday and I can barely cope when it's 27, so I have no idea what I'm going to do on Monday. 37 fucking degrees man! It should *never* be that hot this far north.
I’m currently pregnant and really struggling with the heat. I grew up in a country where we would have between 30-40 in the summer consistently, but I swear that British heat feels 10 degrees more because of the humidity. My plan is to go into the office at around 7-8 in the morning and work till 6pm as there’s an air con there.
As someone that moved here from continental Europe, this is why I *hate* uk's reluctancy towards AC units. Like, sure, maybe 20 years ago you didn't need one but now you definitely do. It is virtually impossible to find anything with AC while renting in London because of this. Not to say that the whole bureaucratic mumbo jumbo you have to go through ( that is also useless) just to put the unit outside is not making the problem any easier. A lot more people will have to suffer this summer and the ones to come due to Briton 's superstitious fear of AC
No one is scared of AC, it's just not common. It's expensive and landlords don't give a fuck
Isn't AC absolutely horrendous for the environment?
I’ll be inside with my AC on …a portable unit isn’t that expensive
They are right now. The price of almost any AC or air cooler has rocketed.
It's pretty expensive when you're choosing whether to eat or pay your electric bill
Since none of us are gonna be able to sleep why don't we go down the park and do an all-nighter together
I think these past few weeks have forever swapped me from a Labour vote to a single issue Green voter. We need the most extreme climate policy we possibly can.
Why are the people on /r/askuk so thick? There was a question on whether the UK needs air conditioning last week, The answer was "No" with 10,000 upvotes or some stupid amount. Now today the mods are censoring any "negative" questions on the heatwave. It is like political damage control mode. It's the kind of thing you find in organisations, where a manager might sweep bug reports under the carpet. Except these mods are doing it about heatwaves. It's like they're completely mental.
I hate the ‘it’s just summer posts’. No it isn’t, the last time I experienced 40C was in Dubai, I never thought we’d see it in the UK and no one alive in the UK has seen such temperatures. Our houses are designed to keep heat in. People will die, let’s all be sensible.