Why is everyone losing their mind about 28 degrees?

[Vipersgonnavipe]

All I have seen online today are calls for schools to shut, activities to be called off, and some sort of national emergency to be declared over a few hot days.

3 years ago we got to 40 degrees where I am, and nothing closed. What’s the madness about this time?

I agree that schools should not be mithering on about blazers, and water should be available, and sports day in full sun is probably foolish. But really, closing?

I hate the heat. Always have. I don't have inbuilt climate control and don't deal well with the hot or the cold. At least in the cold I can layer up.
I will complain and moan to anyone who will listen.
It's June, summer, I've come to expect the heat and accept its here for a bit.
I walk my dog late evening. He's happy to chase his ball in the garden but I wouldn't make him walk in it during the day.

If you love the heat and sun- enjoy.

It'll soon be autumn

I wonder since this heat is getting a bit more common we do need to think of ways to make this country better at coping with the heat. Though obviously there is a huge environmental impact (and cost) for air con.

I’d love to see more lidos! Hopefully people can be a bit more flexible with working from home these days.

Schools do need some thought. Poor DS has Yr10 mocks but he seems to be coping ok.

I would be very unimpressed if they ever shut schools! Completely unnecessary and I dislike hot weather! We just have to get on with it.

This island just isn't suited to heatwaves. The roads are narrow and choked with traffic, and our houses are small and jammed on top of one another. All that increases the heat. You often hear people say "yeah, when I was in Spain or Australia or Dubai (or wherever) it hit such and such a temperature but, I dunno, somehow it didn't feel so stifling as it does in the UK". There are too many people, too many cars and too many houses squeezed onto this little island. I remember during the 40 degree nightmare coming home and literally sobbing I hated it so much.

Britain loses its mind every time there is unusual weather. 28C isn’t particularly hot. -2C isn’t particularly cold. Other countries which actually do experience extreme weather understand this and they laugh at us.

I remember a few years ago it snowed in the south of England. Result : Total chaos. Motorways gridlocked. Trains not running. Heathrow closed. Swedish TV news did a disbelieving report in which a baffled reporter described how Britain was at a standstill due to a meagre 4cm of snow.

I think school infrastructure does need some consideration. We’re lucky in that our primary has woods attached so they can get outside and be shaded. Private schools seem to have aircon when the state schools near me don’t. This has always been a factor for me in picking locations for summer camps. It’s quite a different experience going to a school with a pool and air con.

Man's not hot, innit

I really struggle with heat, I technically have an allergy to it (and exercise) but I’m on a biologic. It stops the hives and itching but still very uncomfortable

My building was already hideously hot in the communal meeting spaces when I got in at 7.30. Fortunately I was spending the day in a computer room with excellent air-con. Pretty sure half of the team would have walked out if that wasn't on.

Because it’s hot, HTH.

I grew up in the Caribbean and higher temperatures and humidity were easier to manage due to island breeze, house design and lack of aversion to air conditioning.

The lack of critical thinking on this site never fails to astound me. Or just basic engagement of the brain.

I’m in the SE, the summer of 2022 we hit 40 degrees here, and school was still in as I remember going to collect ds and it was like walking in a hairdryer. It wasn’t nice, and I agree that much of our infrastructure is poorly designed for extremes of weather, but shutting everything isn’t the answer, especially schools. I still have to go to work and we don’t have air con, we have fans and hope for the best.
We have to learn to adapt, not shut everything down over weather that is hardly unusual now. Adjust the uniform rules, take the dogs out when it is cooler, learn the best way to cool your home depending on which way any windows face, that sort of thing. It’s going to be cooler by next week anyway.
It’s fine to complain if you don’t like the heat though, that’s fair enough. I’m not that keen either.

No the south of England! It's rare for it to only last a few days here. Weeks usually.

I am however off to Tuscany for holidays this year. It's 35+ and I can't bloody wait. Warm bones. Lying in the shade by the pool with a book. Heaven.

Us Brits like to have something to moan about and it's usually the weather, too hot, too cold, snow, rain, winds and the media makes it worse with their warnings.

We never used to have people telling us how to stay cool in summer or wrap up warm in winter. It's common sense which disappeared all of a sudden.

Ds' school doesn't have aircon. The building is Georgian so it has big windows and high ceilings. They create a through draught, closed blinds, plenty of drinking water, and summer uniform (shorts, no blazers or ties). Seems to work well.

I haven’t seen anything on line about closing schools due to the heat. My son’s school didn’t close in June 2022 when it hit 40c in our area, however they did take sensible precautions such as relaxing the school uniform code and conducted several lessons outside under the shade of the trees.

My neighbour commented to me on Monday that he couldn’t believe the Met office was issuing an Amber weather alert for the end of the week. He felt the country had completely lost its common sense. I responded that he clearly had never visited an A&E on and after a sunny period of time. Hospitals become inundated with people suffering with everything from heatstroke, skin burns, alcohol induced clinical dehydration, through to heart attacks.

Today I was returning home at 2pm and spotted this same neighbour half a mile from home and struggling in the heat. I pulled over in the car, he clearly had the symptoms of heat exhaustion, so I took him home (I was debating hospital for a brief moment). He had been walking in peak sunshine. He enjoys a weekly ramble with fellow retirees and despite the temperature here (26.5c) he told his wife that he wasn’t going to be a ‘snowflake’ (his words) and not attend due to a bit of sunshine. I have just checked on him and no lasting damage done but I suspect his wife will be reminding him of his comments in a few days time once fully recovered.

As his wife said to me, Mad dogs and English men go out in the midday sun…

If anything’s guaranteed to get people all hot under the collar it’s the English weather.

Why argue though? The weather isn’t listening and people are entitled to their opinions.

We moved to England 4 years ago and I have to say I find it so baffling how schools close (or people call for it) in anything that isn’t mild weather. A bit of snow - close school. A windy day - close school. Hot for a few days - close school. It’s so weird.

In my case, because someone in this house has nicked my tower fan!

Because for many people it’s incredibly difficult to cop: I’m very red in the face, feel horribly lethargic, abc sweating like a pig and feel nauseous.

It’s hideous

The heat we get here is nothing to the summers in South Korea - 100% humidity on top.

Because in this country things are not set up to deal with the heat.

Public transport, offices: many environments still don't have proper air ventilation and air conditioning.

The London public transport is hell in high temperatures...

Thankfully I live by the sea now and in an old house, but I used to have a new-built flat in London with one of these stupid heat network system and we used to boil in the summer because there is always really hot water circulating in the pipes & poor building ventilation.

@StarDolphins unfortunately many classrooms get far hotter because they don't have proper opening Windows

Well, looking at the next two weeks' forecast, it doesn't seem to be only lasting 3 or 5 days in the SE... It's literally constant heat. The latest day it shows on BBC weather (Mon 30 June) is showing as 27 degrees.

And looking further ahead on AccuWeather, it looks set to continue until at least the end of July (though I appreciate more long range is obviously not as accurate), with the temps not going below 23.

I was heavily that pregnant summer and my thighs chafed so much one day that I could actually smell burning 🙈

Punt some of the heat up to Scotland - I'm sitting here with a hot water bottle!