AIBU to be fed up with the heatwave hysteria?

I kind of love a bit of heatwave hysteria. It feels kind of mad and British, like our usual weather fascination, on steroids.

There's 2 types of post at the moment.

#1 - I'm refusing to work because of the heat.
#2 - I'm furious because someone else is refusing to work because of the heat.

I'd be interested to see the Venn diagram of who has made these two types of post.

Saying that its nothing to be worried about seems to very much an 'Im alright!' attitude. Sure, if you can stay hydrated, not go out in it and are healthy then it isnt a big concern.
But people will be having to work in overheated environments, elderly and infirm people will suffer....it will be a serious problem for alot of people. Also animals will be suffering both in farms and wildlife.

Also I know 2022 was hotter (40C) but it was also very dry. This heatwave comes with alot of humidity which can be serious health problem if you have any respiratory disorders.

Well..good for you...?

I apologise for reposting this as I’ve already said it, but, globally, around half a million people each year die from heat related causes.

Unfortunately whenever there are extremes of weather in the UK (rain, snow and ice) people lose their lives as our infrastructure and mindset is not geared up to deal with it.

Moving forward perhaps we need lots of info on the telly in the form of adverts to educate us as a population.

As for aircon, yes unfortunately it is not environmentally friendly. There are other thing you can do e.g. if you have a heat pump you can easily add on an extra to send cold water through your pipes and radiators, get ceiling fans, day curtains (full length shear net that keeps out the sun).

However, I don't see any other hot countries limiting people getting air-con, so once again I don't see why it falls to us again to save the planet.

I think the warnings are smart because you will still get some silly people who will push it too far and end up in A&E

Ah! Sorry. Missed that! There have been a few posts complaining that train drivers refuse to work in heat.

it was a week last month and a week again this month.
With love from,
The Red Alert Zone

(was it last month or earlier this month? very recently anyway, both spells lasting a week or more)

Mate....I was being sarcastic 'OP moaning people are being hysterical - me saying - SWR are being hysterical'. Obviously the heat is a severe safety issue for them.

It’s not just the electricity used for air conditioning that impacts environment it gives off emissions that do too

It's the River Rhine valley. Long summer, stifling heat that builds up as air flow trapps it between 3 mountain ranges. No air con in schools in the 80s/ 90's and it's still not a regular thing. We used to cycle to the lake in the heat as teenagers, DC still do to this day.

And let's face it, people in the UK need to get used to it- climate change is real!

My dream is to get solar panels installed so the electricity generated can be used for air con.

And even if we sit in our air conditioned houses that’s not going to help the farmers. Extremes of climate do not help crops, animals etc

I’m so glad you’re able to cope so well with the heat! Many people can’t and a red weather warning is a danger to life even for fit and healthy people! There will be many extra deaths over the next few days, lets hope it’s non of your family or friends!!

I know some see air con as the answer, but doesn't air con contribute to climate change - isn't it basically refrigeration? Happy to be corrected on this.

You are absolutely CORRECT. The suggestion by the fool above that the answer is simply to install AC would just speed up the whole problem. Like trying to put out a fire by spraying petrol on it - its wet after all isn't it! 🙄

I think that a lot of the reason people (with half a brain) don't like it is because it is a reminder that the climate is changing. In 1976 people just saw it as a hot summer and as most people couldn't afford to go abroad for holidays they were quite pleased about it in a lot of ways.

As has been explained on MN steel track can get up to 20 degrees hotter than the ambient temperature. It expands which impacts the sensors keeping trains a safe distance apart.

Also overhead lines can sag which is why speed restrictions are introduced.

I hear people all around me panicking about the weather. Even when I go abroad in the summer I am told that it is going to be too hot, I'll hate it etc.

I think the truth is that Brits just have it in their genes, they are cold weather people.

I used to live in Singapore and HK. In the former, it regularly got up to 40/ 42 degrees with 90-95% humidity. It was literally like being in a sauna with someone chucking water on the coals. Yes, there was air con in buildings.

Mostly I'll be enjoying the sun, but this is what I will also be doing/ have done.

I just got up and closed all the blinds in any rooms the the sun is now shining through. I'll do that around the house as it moves. Keep the sun out of the room.

Any fans that I have, I've set them up and they are gently blowing away.

Make sure my dog has 2 bowls of topped up water and has a cool place to sit. I won't be taking him out.

Eat light. A salad. A glass of water on the go the whole time.

I'm going out later so hat, SPF and keep out of the sun. Wear something light coloured and cool. Linen or cotton.

Apart from that I will be enjoying the sun and I won't be getting hysterical about spontaneously combusting.

Hopefully I will still be alive later.

I know some see air con as the answer, but doesn't air con contribute to climate change - isn't it basically refrigeration? Happy to be corrected on this.

And OP - 'crap British weather' is vital. Without regular rainfall how are we going to grow crops?

I roll my eyes when, during a really baking summer with plants struggling, people moan when a bit of rain is forecast.

Are they so self-obsessed and stupid as to not realise how important summer rainfall is?

What country?

Millions of people around the world endure hot temperatures and yes it's uncomfortable for these few days but the crap British weather will be back soon, fear not.

But OP, the increasing temperatures we're experiencing are unpleasant for some, including me - but that's as nothing compared to the predicament of say, people in India - especially farmers who will have to work in unprecedented temperatures. Yes, they might be used to heat, but if it increases beyond 40 degrees that's getting to the limits of what human beings can tolerate.

We're so lucky in the West - we have so much to make the heatwave bearable - even enjoyable - but people living in corrugated iron hovels or who have to work at exhausting physical jobs, it will be hellish.

Personally I can't function beyond 30 degrees so I'm incredibly grateful I don't have to commute into London any more. It's not 'moaning about a heatwave' - we can cope at the moment - but it's the scary prospect of things getting more and more extreme over the next few decades, with water supply being threatened in some parts of the world and the mass migrations etc which climate change will cause.

Nobody said all the elderly are going to get heatstroke and die nor did anyone say all elderly people sit at home all day.

But there were around1500 heat-related deaths in the UK in 2025, mostly elderly people. I'd imagine there'll be more this year.

People die. It's not funny nor is it hysteria to be concerned about that.

Omg will someone tell the whole South Western Rail network to stop being hysterical?? Cancellations across the whole network - it's just a bit of heat.

But I am constantly reading how all the elderly are going to get heatstroke and die on here! She was most likely sitting outside on her terrace, but believe it or not she did actually do things like shop, go to meetings etc. Not all the elderly sit at home all day every day.