Work not taking red alert seriously

[Founderflower]

Why are some people not taking the red weather warning seriously? Where I am it’s 39 degrees on Wed/ Thur but ‘feels like’ 42 according to BBC.

At work they’re expecting everyone in - the office is air conditioned, so fine, but we’re central London so everyone needs to schlep in on public transport.

Red means a danger to life and not just for vulnerable people. Some people who are healthy will die because of the weather. There’s warnings of power outages and transport failures. So what happens if we get stuck on a broken down underground train?

I KNOW other countries see these temps regularly. But they are prepared for dealing with it. England is not and it fucks up. I don’t want a heart attack from sitting in 48 degree heat on a train. I’m really stressed out!

If it were a red warning around severe wind or rain or flooding they wouldn’t be telling everyone to come in! So why is heat seen differently?

We aren’t allowed to use zoom. Anyway, I would always go in, however hot it is. I don’t cancel patients’ appointments as they have waited months to see me. If they can make it to the appointment, so will I. As I imagine will lots of workers, without the luxury of air conditioning at the other end!

If you're that worried book a days holiday or ask if you can work from home.

I work in central london and come in using public transport. It wouldn’t even occur to me not to come in! The mornings are not so hot anyway and as you say, offices have air con. So realistically you are just talking about a journey home, in which case you have options as others have said. I don’t expect to see people collapsing from the heat on Wednesday or Thursday.

If someone has a medical condition and could be adversely affected then perhaps that should be taken into consideration but otherwise for most of the working population it’s just business as usual surely?

Why is it needed to sort out say….a bad back with physio?

But if you lived in pain, you’d say it was needed!

We don’t know what OPs job is, so how do you know it’s needed? Because OP has decided it’s not?

if it’s a risk to life and all those saying OP shouldn’t go to work, it’s across the board.

NHS lives matter also! As do zero hour contract workers, construction workers, delivery drivers etc etc. the country cannot come to a standstill, that’s saved for pandemics.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/may/25/uk-urgently-install-air-conditioning-in-schools-care-homes-climate-campaigners-say

Even in winter they get bloody hot from all the bodies crammed together. And of course, everyone's in winter coats because it's cold...

Ffs. 🤦‍♀️ the idiocy on here is astounding

Because you “dont expect people to be collapsing from heat”, doesn’t mean that there won’t be. There is a red warning for a reason.

You might want to go back and read that PPs comments where she states that Spain literally does just that. For the month of August.

My work is the same. They won’t let us bring a fan into an office that has no air conditioning in case it ‘causes a fire’ because it’s not been PAT tested. A fire would be less hot than it’s been here today ffs!

No, she's not being dramatic. Many of us can't cope with the heat, especially as we get older. In 1976, I spent over three hours standing on the Centre Court at Wimbledon in 38 degree heat - and I do mean "standing". But I was 16, and I could cope with it. I certainly couldn't cope with it now - I'll be staying indoors as much as possible.

The 70’s heatwave was remembered because it was unprecedented. It’s remembered and referred to because it was bloody hot and the highest recorded temp was just under 36c. in my area we are looking at highs of 39c. It was responsible for an increased
death rate and had an ecologically impact. Don’t romanticise it. Learn from it.

Oh and if you haven’t been on the underground in the heat, don’t underestimate how horrid it is.

You need to book AL if you don't want to go in. Yes its hot but doctors, nurses, police, firefighters, train drivers, bus drivers, teachers, midwives, people who work in gas/electricity/water repairs, urgent responders etc. still have to go to work.

No one is asking you to 'risk your life' to get to work, they are warning you to take proper precautions i.e take water, wear sunscreen or a hat, wear loose clothing and don't stay out in it all day.

You know.... like you do on holiday

But that’s fine, they use annual leave, which OP is free to do so!

But enforced holidays are a bind really.

That is incorrect- a red warning is aimed at the fit and healthy:

“Red (emergency response) - a red alert indicates significant risk to life for even the healthy population”

copied and pasted from:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/weather-health-alerting-wha-system

Wot?
The OP has already stated she has to travel home at 5pm - when the temperature will be at its highest - in order to collect her child.

No.
The PP said in Spain businesses close during August.

How does a single NHS worker benefit from OP being forced unnecessarily into the office?

This is just a race to the bottom driven by people trying to show off how macho and stoic they are.

Fuck, that's unbelievable!

I can't even begin to imagine what that must have felt like.

Rotisserie chicken I expect

Much of the Continent shuts down for August.

You might not expect to see people collapsing on public transport in London on Wednesday and Thursday. But clearly the Met Office does - that's why they've issued a very rare red alert, which specifically says that there is a health risk to anyone, not just the vulnerable.

"Met Office Deputy Chief Forecaster Mark Sidaway, said: “Red warnings are reserved for the most severe events and we’re expecting severe and significant impacts from this heatwave, with health impacts likely for many, even beyond those who are normally more vulnerable to the heat."

"Dew points, which indicate how humid the air is, are forecast to reach around 22°C in places on Wednesday and Thursday. For comparison, during the record breaking July 2022 heatwave they were widely lower, highlighting how oppressive this heatwave will be."

https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/about-us/news-and-media/media-centre/weather-and-climate-news/2026/red-extreme-heat-warning-issued-with-june-temperature-records-forecast-to-break

Cooling down from 40C could take until 11 pm, at least where I´m in. I would never get home.

Your logic fails you. It’s hotter in the underground network. It will be 5-11° hotter depending where in the network you are.

They really don't. I work with a lot of Spanish engineering companies who work all year round. Just like the Australian ones, and the ones in Dubai.

Its more to do with summer holidays than it is heat. I mean, doesn't most of the UK descent upon Europe in August for holidays? Its not empty is it