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?

See what happens to OP's productivity if she's hospitalised with heatstroke

Yes My DM is Italian and she cant bear this.

How on earth do you think those who live in hot countries survive?

This cannot be a serious question, can it? Even the dimmest of people must have some idea of how and why it might be a even a teensiest bit different for people who have lived all their lives in a country that has always had extremes of heat.

I think I will go to the gym on my bicycle today. If you do go cycling on Wednesday, beware pumping your tyres up when it's 20c because they may then explode at 40c due to the air expanding.

For those who haven’t tried it, buy a really good quality cooling towel.

The absolute maximum temperature reached during the 1976 heatwave was 35 degrees.

And, from Wikipedia:

”The 1976 heatwave is understood to have been the cause of 20% excess deaths and there was a significant increase in hospital emergency admissions from 24 June to 8 July 1976 compared with the same period in 1975 or 1974.[12] This compares to 59% excess deaths for the 2003 heatwave.[13]”

You can go in on the tube early. My guess it is cooler at 6 in the morning and less people around.

Speak to your manager / union rep / HR - anyone who can make a call on this.

What are you parameters to be able to WFH? You mention you 'can' but not if you are officially allowed to at present?

I'm in a state of perpetual amazement at the number of people on Mumsnet who remember both the heatwave of '76 and paid 33% basic rate income taxes in the late 70s too.

In recent days it feels like 50% of posters.

I feel like a spring chicken... and I'm not.

I spent 20+ years in the Gulf, where it’s hot and humid, before the days of aircon. Had two children there, went to school and worked. 40 degrees was a normal summer temperature. It’s perfectly possible to function with a bit of common sense.

The people saying "just get on with it" are probably the same people telling us global warming is a con.

I can't understand this attitude either.

This isnt true. The employee is responsible for their own h&s travelling to and from work. Where it becomes an employer issue would be an employee refuses to go to work citing they believe there is a serious concern for their immediate safety and the employer still insists they travel in, and something does happen to the employee (thus providing proof the employees concerns were legitimate)

5pm will be the hottest part of the day.

It’s so obvious that many people on this thread have never commuted on the tube in a heat wave. A hand fan or a cold drink will not do anything if you are stuck on a packed tube train with no air con.

the temperatures exceed what is legal for cattle. But apparently humans don’t count.

it’s an unnecessary risk for the emergency services as another PP rightly pointed out.

I don’t think you are over reacting if you have the ability to work from home. It’s common sense.

I would, but I have a meeting in and am expected to be there in person for it. It could easily be on Teams though.

I’m actually pretty senior - but not senior enough to dictate our wfh policy unfortunately.

The hilarious thing is they’ve put lunchtime pub drinks in as a ‘treat’ to enjoy the warm weather.

Also - not just PP but those saying get up earlier and walk. Really ? Ever heard of children and childcare ?

And how did you commute ?

I'm ancient, so I can remember the winter of 62/63, when we had snow on the ground from Boxing Day to a couple of days before Easter, too. The water in the cistern of our outdoor (and only) toilet froze.

When I first knew what the basic income tax rate was, it was 42.5% (well, 8s 6d in the pound, as it was pre-decimal currency).

😂You've not been on a Tube on a normal summer's day then? Let alone in a heatwave! Yes the Lizzie Line might be okay, possibly the Jubilee, but trying getting on the Bakerloo, Central, or Northern lines in this heat.

People endlessly bang on about 1976 because they need to convince themselves, for political reasons, that the current climate situation is normal and it has always been like this. We remember 1976 because it was a freakish outlier; we now get temperatures higher than that most years. It is not normal and harking back to 1976, calling others ‘snowflakes’ or accusing them of ‘drama’ is not going to change that.

But your office is air conditioned, what is the problem?? Many people have to work in places with no air-conditioning, I do, and the business won't close because of the heat.

You must be either be travelling to the very closest part of the city, or you are an exceptionally fast walker. To get to the bottom of fenchurch st is over 2 miles .. so a pace of 6mph?!

Britain was not built to deal with heat. Radiant heat from tarmac, cement, brick, keeps it hot. It's also a humid heat, which is obviously harder to deal with than dry heat. All in all....it is dangerous, so OP do what you have to do to keep yourself safe.
If anyone is in doubt about heat's dangers, look up disseminated intravascular coagulation. DIC. Death Is Coming. 😳