Bloody weather

[DappledThings]

I'm an unapologetic heat hater. Up till last couple of weeks I was quite happy. I was told off on one thread for not being miserable and claiming it had been a "lovely summer so far". But it had to me, bit wet, a few dry days, some with sunny spell but regular cloud cover and nothing over about 21. Lovely.

Now we are on holiday in a beautiful part of the New Forest and it's roasting. 29 degrees, full sun and we can't even get out to the forest to walk after about 9.30 because it's dangerous for the dog. We went yesterday for about half an hour after 4.30 in full shade the whole time and that felt like too much for her. All the lovely walks we had planned have had to be cancelled. We're spending way more time hanging about the accommodation than we would if it was raining.

I know the forecast can't be trusted but the 10 day one as soon as it was available was saying consistently 22ish and lots of cloud cover which would have been great.

Meant to break and rain tomorrow. Fingers crossed it does and we get the last two days of our week back.

Agreed. 25 is hot but not very hot. Very hot would be over 30...

25 is a normal temp for parts of the UK in July and August. I don't know why it's such a shock to the OP.

Average max and minimum temps for SE England from the Met Office. I don't think that means hoping expecting it to stay <25 is that unreasonable

Was in the new forest on Monday, well started in Lymington and there was a lovely breeze and loads of dogs. So down keyhaven or Hurst castle area may be cooler.

The car parks off the ornamental drive are mostly very shady and at puttles bridge there's a shallow river your dog may like.

But those are just average temperatures. It doesn't take into account the actual minimum and maximum temperatures.

The average temerature for July where I live is 19 degrees, but we often enjoy temperatures higher than that in July. We have had 26 degrees today. I don't think you understand averages.

I do understand that, I also don't think it's that unreasonable to hope that it will be a week where it is far closer to the average than 7-8 degrees above it.

Anything significantly above or below average feels unusual. 25 is reasonably unusual and mercifully brief in my experience. If we get more days at 28 this summer like it has been today that would be both surprising and disappointing.

I love dry heat and sunshine but in UK, down south anyway it is very humid and this can wear you don't, imo

Exactly this. Our average temperatures thus far have been lower than normal - averages are not guarantees.

Thank you. We were off the ornamental drive on Sunday before it all.got superheated and it was very nice. With a can selling dog ice-cream as a bonus.

Of course they aren't guarantees. But not unreasonable to hope for something pretty close to them and be a bit disappointed when they are so high above.

I love the hot weather, and we don't get much in our part of the UK. However, my DM who's 93 has really suffered this week, even with the fan on all day and I'm quite worried about her. So I can see both sides.

What we DON'T have is the infrastructure to cope with heat. Our houses get hot, and there's no way to cool them down. Going outside doesn't help if the sun is blazing down. Many of us don't work in air-conditioned offices/shops etc, so going to work is no respite either. We lie in 30 degree bedrooms that won't cool down even overnight, sleeping naked under thin sheets, except we're not sleeping because IT'S TOO FUCKING HOT. And then we're exhausted, and the next day of oppressive heat is too much to bear.

Do you really think that people in other countries don't have to deal with the same conditions? Houses get hot where I live, we struggle to sleep at night - and we have more hot days than the UK does. I have never in real life heard as much moaning about heat as there is on MN.

It been higher than usual for a very short time - otoh, lower than normal temperatures and higher rainfall than usual have been here for months. Don’t worry, you’ll only have to put up with slightly higher temperatures for a little while longer and then you can look forward to months of darkness, rain, sleet, snow and ice.

One of the reasons I don’t get a dog is because I can’t be bothered with the hassle of having to accommodate their walks at random times of the day due to very hot or other extreme weather (not that 28 degrees is exactly “extreme”) . If your holidays revolve around taking the dog everywhere I probably wouldn’t holiday in the height of summer.

Well (clutches tin hat and expects to get flamed) it was 29.5 degrees when I got home from work at 5pm. So I didn’t take them, plus I went over on my ankle when walking them last night so have been hobbling in pain all day. They won’t die

I have never in real life heard as much moaning about heat as there is on MN
Because it's unusual for it to be this hot!

Although apparently it isn't and 29 is completely normal and expected. I still dispute this.

I don't live in the UK but have several friends there, and over the years I have heard of several 30 degree days. Several posters have already told you this, and yet you still dispute it. Where were you when the temp reached 40 degrees?

I also recall seeing people in the UK on the news here "sweltering" in heatwaves - more than once. These threads pop up on MN every single UK summer btw,

Ok I feel sorry for anyone with health conditions but on a personal level I think it’s bloody lovely.

Oh you can still holiday with a dog - we do - we just stay here in Scotland or we go to Northumberland where it’s cooler by the coast. South of England (where I’m from) only if we want warmer temperatures. We also take waterproofs and fleeces as it’s more likely to be raining and/or cooler than it is to be warmer than about 18-20 degrees.

How do dogs survive on the continent?

Because it's unusual for it to be this hot!

I am 65 and can assure you that it isn't unusual to have a heatwave every summer, even if it is just for a few days.

I remember the scorcher of the summer we had in 1976. In 1995 our reservoirs were running dry and they were tankering water down the A1 from Kielder to fill the reservoirs in the Pennines. 2003, 2006, 2018 and 2022 were all scorchers.

Quite. We had 3 days of 42c last week and our 6 dogs survived. Average temps of 32c from May to the end of Sept - they sleep in the shade during the hottest part of the day (as do I!) but otherwise they run around very happily in the morning and evening.

I was at home when it got to 40. It was headline news and fortunately not repeated.

Yes, this hot is unusual because it only happens for a few days a year. Just bloody unlucky we caught it the week of our holiday when it's been so nice and closer to averages up till now and probably after now judging by the latest forecasts.

Whilst I sympathise if you don't like the heat I'm not entirely sure how you 'don't expect' England to be 'this hot 'in the summer? In 2022 in late July it briefly touched 40 ish degrees, 39 where I live. Upper 20s should not be a surprise. What next, you don't expect it to be cold in Winter??

Because it's still well above average.

And no, I don't expect it to be that cold in winter in SE England ("that cold" obviously being just as a subjective as what is "too hot") because we rarely get snow (no proper stuff for 4 years now round my way) and days where it doesn't get above freezing at any point are rare.

I did also say many posts ago it may well be hope over experience clouding my judgement!

25 is about as hot as seems normal to me anywhere in England. Anything over that feels unusually and unpleasantly hot and I remain somewhat miffed we caught those few days of significantly above average temperatures in the one week I really didn't want them. Unapologetically miffed at that.

I don't like the heat either OP. I never have but being in peri menopause makes it worse. Air conditioning units are my saviour at the moment, our house feels cool.