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?

Cycle? It's 10 miles

They've also closed 850 schools

Meanwhile, UK productivity keeps on plummeting.

Correct about some groups being at much greater risk than others. If you are in one of those groups, you need to take extra caution and avoid going out during the day. If you are not, with a bit of common sense, you should be fine.

https://www.cdc.gov/heat-health/risk-factors/index.html

It'll hit 40° at the end of a runway at Heathrow - that's where they seem to measure weather...

You really have drunk the (slightly too warm) businesd first koolaid haven't you. It's an office job. OP can do it from home.

Snap! A balmy 24 here which will be splendid.

If you can work from home OP then I agree it’s a bit nuts to insist on coming to the office

However there are many people who would rather suck up a very hot commute for the sake of a day of A/C

I work in a shop which is in an actual greenhouse, in a uniform which we’ve been told can’t be relaxed. It’s going to brutal 🤪

Its so cold in my NHS clinic which has aircon I've had to put my big jumper on.
Travelling to and from work is another matter The car steering wheel is too hot to touch.
A lot of our patients haven't come in this week.
I wouldn't fancy being in London, Somerset isn't too awful....yet.

AI just keeps on going, whatever the weather.

Some posters on this thread are crazy. I live in Australia where temperatures of 40 aren't uncommon and there is no way I'm walking 2 hours to work at any point, but certainly not in 38+ degrees. And I'll also avoid trains on very hot days and WFH if possible, not because the trains are too bad inside (air conditioned) but because there are higher chances of signal failures etc and delays - even though our trains are officially designed for those kind of temps!. So given the OP is in London I'd expect the trains to be even worse!

All this "in other countries" bullshit.

FFS, this is an issue. It's June and we are getting crazy heat. In this country, coupled with temperatures in the late 30s, we also get high humidity. For example, in Ross on Wye tomorrow, it is forecast to be 35 degrees with 91% humidity. If you are too daft to think that this is a problem, then you need to do some research into the effects that high temperatures PLUS high humidity can have on the body. British buildings are generally designed to maximise warmth, not minimise heat.

Why are people such idiots?

This, just go in early if you can so its cooler in the mornings and less people about on public transport. Or ask if you can work from home?

Underground trains have massive electrical systems, motors and lighting which generate a LOT of heat. They are packed full of people who also generate heat. Underground tunnels and stations are mostly not that well ventilated, so the heat is trapped. There are exceptions like the Elizabeth line, which is nicely cooled, at the cost of large expense to run cooling systems.
Have a go on the Central or Bakerloo lines in hot weather and see how you go!
It's often significantly hotter than the open street outside, even in more moderate weather.

It will be worse for the emergency services if MORE ppl travel to work instead of WFH cos more ppl will be likely to get ill Critical thinking beyond you???

Call in sick or lie and say you’re stuck in transit, which wouldn’t have happened if they had just let you work from home.

Not unreasonable to be concerned, no. But it's a matter of taking sensible precautions - make sure you dress appropriately, have plenty of water with you, maybe a handheld fan, keep in the shade where possible outdoors, plan your journeys etc - than than expecting everything to grind to a halt.

The OP said her employer is expecting them to go in. That's the whole issue.

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 think I'd get the bus rather than the tube if I had to go to London in this heat. The thought of being stuck on a broken down tube train is ghastly at the best of times, never mind in such high temperatures.

As is their right.

I can’t believe how unsympathetic people are around this. I think that any company that can let people WFH in this heat should let people WFH, meaning that there would hopefully be less people on public transportation etc.

39C is brutal: especially if the environment isn’t set up to cope with it: for people on some medication it could be fatal.

im in Scotland so have no skin in the game:
it’s only 25C here this week at its peak

Have you asked to wfh due to heat? If you are in a union ask them to negotiate on this one, it's a serious issue.

Max working temp in Spain is 27 degrees inside. You can withdraw labour if it gets hotter. I wonder why the UK doesn't have a similar law. Because based on attituded in this thread it could certainly use one.

yeah that's why I did mention her going in early 😁