It’s hotter than reported

[Bubblebathbefore8]

Why are the reports of high temperatures being played down?

Gosport is coastal - will be cooler than inland from there, it was 38c not far from there earlier

I was born in the 70's. I remember long warn summers as a child - much warmer and sunnier than nowadays. Summers nowadays pretty rubbish - we get the rare heatwave and everyone goes neurotic.

I also remember hot summers as a 70s child. A ‘hot’ summer’s day was generally about 70 degrees or 21 degrees c. 🙄

If you measure temperature in the sun, you’re not measuring air temperature. You’re measuring the temperature of a piece of glass (or metal) left in the sun, which will obviously be much hotter than the air.

True. The temperature ‘in the sun’ is about 15 million degrees.

You’re having a laugh aren’t you? There’s no comparison, outside of outliers like 1976 and even the peak temperature of 1976 has been beaten already this year and we’re not even in July.

wow I’m so glad you posted this. If some lady hadn’t done a perfectly accurate reading of air temperature in the shade and posted it on Mumsnet, I’d never have known there was a big conspiracy between the met office, government and news outlets to lie to us about it!!

I put the jam thermometer on the back wall - full sun (I know it’s meant to be in the shade but I just wanted to know how hot it really was) - 52C! SE London

Yep i remember growing up in the 80s when 23c was classed as a heatwave

But your car was on a hard surface such as tarmac, and your car is made of metal, so the air around the road and your car will be hotter, won't it?

I grew up in the 70s and I remember headlines in the paper about the "sweltering seventies" meaning the temperature was going to be in the 70s F (20s C).
Apart from 1976 which I remember although I was pretty young, it was never as hot as this.
Summers were more consistently warm and we had proper spring seasons where you were thrilled to play out without a coat on. It then gradually warmed up until we had nice summer days with temps around 25C.

It wasn't as humid and uncomfortable as it gets now & nowhere near as hot.

The weather experts get the temperatures correct. Just because someone measures a different temperature doesn’t mean that was a correct measurement. The thermometer could have been in the sun for some time. It must be in the shade. It might be close to something that attracts heat. If there is any metal at all in the thermometer then that will increase the temperature. Etc etc.
A poster on here a few weeks ago was claiming a ridiculous temperature in Fife. Yes in the sun with a metal thermometer.

I was a slave to tanning in my teens, so well remember watching the weather forecast like a hawk so I could sit in the garden with my suntan oil on and sun-in in my hair.

Those heady days when it was rare for a bank of 70 degree days in succession!

That’s not how hot it really was. That was the temperature of a piece of glass left in the sun.

If it was really 52C you would be dead.

I got in my car earlier and it said 42 degrees. Doesn’t mean it’s actually 42 degrees! It’s a metal box, parked on black tarmac, in the full sun.

^^ This...

FWIW the Heathrow readings often quoted in the MSM have been a source of controversy in recent years due to the proximity to the measuring station of airport buildings and lots of concrete to the south, Bath Road and hotels to the North and a sizeable metal screen attached to the boundary fence very adjacent to the station.

There's no doubt it correctly measures temperature on the airport but some argue it shouldn't be used in national comparisons.

This is why. Few people understand this

That's because your garden has its own micro climate. I have similar readings with my outdoor in the shade thermometer. It's always a few degrees above.

Unlikely unless it was for a sustained period. I spent several hours outside in Death Valley at just over 50 degrees. I doubt an extra degree or two would have killed me unless I was engaged in a particularly strenuous activity.

That said, Death Valley does have a very low humidity level.

I know, of all the 'they're lying to us and covering up the truth' I've heard, this has to be the funniest.

In reality, there's correct ways to measure things, ie the science of metrology, in which I have a professional interest and there's the random numbers you get when untrained people use uncalibrated equipment in uncontrolled environments.

Yeah, I was exaggerating - but 52, especially with the high humidity we have at the moment, can pose a severe danger to life without precautions. It's definitely in the heatstroke zone.

I also don’t think looking day to day is very helpful. It reported highs of 28 on my AccuWeather app yesterday. Today it’s changed to say the high was actually 35! It’s all just an estimate.

Well yea, in a dry desert you can potentially survive indefinitely with enough water and not not being stupid (although obviously bad to try it could still go very wrong).

With our humidity, death within 2 hours is possible, but likely guaranteed within 6-8 hours.

They wouldnt die instantly sure, but it is more the certainty I think is the issue to bring up still with the claim.

Outside is saying 31 indoors its 20.
I'll stay indoors for the next few days.

I have a beach hut there and it was stifling yesterday. The day before you could feel a faint breeze which made it quite pleasant.

How people managed to sit on the beach for hours with no shade I don't know. Xx 🥵

https://weather.metoffice.gov.uk/guides/observations/how-we-measure-temperature

Here is info on how temperature is measured.