Are you concerned about the heat

[T181]

Won't lie i think too much news and media coverage of it has got to me im actually quite concerned now about the heat , we're in a red zone with it likely to be 39.c mon+tues , I only have the school runs to do but im not even looking forward to that.

No. We've had these temperatures many times in my lifetime. Specifically remember it reaching 38c when I lived down south. I survived. Will be working 10 hour shifts mon/tue anyway.
Not sure why the media is creating such a fuss this time or why the government are calling it a state of emergency or whatever when it's only predicted to be 1c higher than previous heatwaves.

I'm worried that people aren't taking it seriously.

'Half the world have these temperatures'
'Do you think they have a/c in the slums of dehli?'

Well no half the world don't have these temps. Record for Madrid is 41 degrees and we think of Spain as a hot country. The UK isn't set up for this weather particularly schools.
In the slums of dehli the absolutely don't have a/c but many people including children die due to the heat.

Heat stroke is not nice.

To the pp who said they wished they had option to keep dc off school you do! Just don't send them if you think they'll be cooler at home and you have capacity to do so

No. Dogs won't get their usual walks but I've got my fan and do not have to do anything urgent, other than watering my garden (thinking it's north facing and this is England - damp, cool - I planted a tropical one. Since I did it's been nothing but full sun and dry).
My son has to work and part of his job is using a steamer so poor lad will suffer! Plus he cycles to work.
My daughter was to do a summer course at one of her shortlisted unis this week which we just found out has been cancelled- don't know if that has anything to do with the weather but she's so disappointed.

I'd be fine if I was wfh but unfortunately not an option as will instead be in a classroom with 35 children and no fan. Roll on Wednesday😂

I’m not bothered at all. I have spent a fair bit of time in places where these temperatures are the summer norm and managed to carry on the mundane daily routine… school run, shopping, exercise, house maintenance etc.

No, but we are in the orange zone so it shouldn't get higher than 32c.

DC will both be at school/nursery and tbh it will probably be cooler than our flat. DS1 has been told to go in PE kit and will be doing "relaxing activities", DS2 is at nursery so they will probably do lots of water play.

I will get a bit hot wfh but I'm from Italy so am used to hot weather, will probably have a cool shower and an ice cream on my lunch break.

I'm not too worried about it as I have made the decision to keep the kids at home. In my opinion, no point in them sitting in baking hot classrooms with 30 other kids just to watch end of term movies. They can do that at home. We will stay at home most of the day trying to move as little as possible.

I know not everyone has the luxury of a choice to keep their kids at home though.

I should add that if we were in an amber zone with 30-32 I would send them in. I did last week. But here it's predicted to be 39.

Not worried for myself or my family over the next few days.

Bloody terrified of the bigger picture - climate change and what all of this means for the planet, though.

Not for me. Our house is old and freezing cold 50 weeks of the year, so it comes into its own when it’s hot!
But I am for my horses and outside animals, I am because I have an outdoor café that will have to close if it really gets that hot (clientele are dog walkers and cyclists/horse riders, who just won’t be out).
And also for my elderly parents who aren’t well at the moment (been at A&E already this week with my dad on a trolley for several hours, and don’t think he’d survive a repeat in this heat).

The general problem is not so much the heat (I have MS so it actually is a problem for me) but the fact that our homes aren't set up for it and we aren't very good at being sensible about it. Driving on a chore yesterday, I had to move over for 3 separate ambulances. That is pretty unusual. Either the heat exacerbates something or it causes problems in itself.
And , to my knowledge, we've never had RED WARNING before. I remember 1976 which was "rather hot" too- we simply didn't manage it with a warning system. What I mean is, a warning system is better and we haven't used them before

Not for myself, but I understand why others are worried.

We have a south facing house, but we both wfh, and can keep the necessary rooms sufficiently cool. It's a bit annoying that I can't go to the gym as the air con sucks there, but we can easily hunker down for a few days with a few modifications to our behaviour.

That isn't to say that I don't endorse the worry of climate change, or the difficulties it creates for other people. I've been in offices that would have been foul to work in, under managers who'd have done no more than chuck us an ice lolly.

I’m not worried. I will stay at home with the blinds shut and windows open and the fans on. Plenty of water.

I might keep the children home from school though. They are only little and not used to this heat. We live in a humid environment it’s not the same as other drier countries where the heat is more bearable. So far Ive heard nothing from the school about closing which is shocking.

I wouldn't usually be concerned as I know tat my family would be sensible and not put themselves at risk, stay hydrated etc .....however, on Monday DD has to go to hospital for day surgery which means I will have at least 5 hours to kill in a town miles from home so am wondering what on earth I'm going to do other than find a cafe with aircon and try and stay there as long as possible and then seek out shops with aircon!!

I'm also concerned that DD will ned to hydrate well before and after her op although obviously she will have to be Nil by Mouth for a while.

That sounds tough. Hope it all goes okay and you can find somewhere to wait comfortably.

When my dd was nil by mouth they had her on an IV to keep her hydrated.

Find it funny the, I lived in Spain and it was all normal! In Spain everything shuts at the hottest part of the day so very different to what happens here!!!!

I’m a bit worried for my preschool children as I think I’d probably be able to keep them cooler in our very old house than the classrooms which are fairly greenhouse like!

I was going to go into the office on Tuesday for the air con but I’m starting to worry that at 37 degrees, the good old British infrastructure will melt and I’ll end up stranded on the M1.

Genuinely can’t get over the hysteria about it to be honest!

@Kezzie200 could you book a taxi for your dad?

In Spain everything shuts at the hottest part of the day so very different to what happens here!!!!

It is so very different because these high temperatures are normal in Spain and abnormal here. It would make no sense for everything to shut here when the hottest part of an average summer day is 20 degrees (if you are lucky).

Not so worried about the heat, it's the smoke that is a big problem with Salisbury plain on fire, had to sleep with the windows closed last night so that was fun!

No. The hysteria is getting on my nerves though.

As per pps, no not worried at all.
but the longer term prospects of climate change I find very worrying.

@Fatballs I totally agree. What I'm saying is all those people saying everything carries on in Spain etc are wrong. They are set up for temperatures of 38.

I'm Australia the schools have covered walkways.

With climate change this is something we all need to seriously consider going forward

It's just common sense, stay in the shade, slow down, if you feel hot have a cool shower, and sit near a fan, stay hydrated.

Hmm, if I had the option to ‘have a cool shower’ or ‘slow down’ during the day Monday or Tuesday if I felt hot, I probably wouldn’t be dreading going in to work quite so much.

I will be teaching 30 children in a room with broken blinds that don’t close and windows that only open a couple of inches. We have no field and no shade in the playground either so going outside isn’t a good alternative.

If I wasn’t working and could sit at home in the shade next to a fan reading and having regular showers, it would be a very different matter!