It’s over tomorrow, the heat is over for another year

[LaurieFairyCake]

Firstly I appreciate this is not the same for the rest of the country

but we’ve had it horrific here (London). I’ve never felt so shit in my life as I have for the last 10 weeks. I’ve spent between £250-350 a month on electricity (portable air conditioners). I’ve felt anxious, headachy, it’s FUCKED with my peri menopause (brain fog, no words, cognitive decline). I’ve felt tearful and as if it would go on forever. There are moments where I’ve thought I can’t take another moment of this. My sleep is proper fucked.

this has to change. I’ve done everything on a personsl
level I can. Air conditioners only when necessary, above 26 inside (DH has long Covid so literally throws up in heat). His asthma is exacerbated. The dogs have had the shittest summer. I’ve had a couple of rescues that can’t go out about 22 degrees. I reckon they’ve been walked briefly 3 times a week. We deliberately went away on a cheap caravan holiday twice just so they could smile. There were endless days I couldn’t work as too hot in my home office and clients cancelled.

I cannot wait til Saturday.

I hope for solidarity from others. I want to wear a fucking hoodie again. I’ve spent every day sat around in my underwear inside for vast stretches of the day. This is not sexy.

@OnlyUsername You must live somewhere near me, there’s the Bradford on Avon fire too 🥺

Also in south wales, vehemently hating on climate change deniers. Too hot, can't have the windows open because the air is thick with smoke that smells really chemically and not good at all.

I don't claim to have any real understanding of the science, but from what I've learnt looking into it, British people (and those from similarly cold countries elsewhere) ARE in fact "biologically incapable", or at least biologically "challenged" in managing such temperatures.

I grew up in a hot country and moved to the UK as an adult, so I started looking into this as I've found this summer perfectly pleasant and don't understand what everyone's complaining about. It's something to do with how your sweat glands adapt during childhood to the temperatures you grow up in, with some becoming permanently functional while others stay dormant. So I probably have more functioning sweat glands keeping me cool than you lot (although I don't seem particularly sweaty, not sure how that works).

Flip side is that I still damn well hate the winters here.

I'm sure there's something in this. Having grown up in a high-altitude, rainy and often snowy part of Yorkshire I just exist without thinking about the weather when it's about 3-20 degrees. I'm comfortable when all my colleagues are freezing.

I am from a hot country originally and spend time there every year or so. I am suffering deeply in London, when I managed 40 C there.

Hot countries have better ventilation, houses designed to keep heat out, ceiling fans and aircon everywhere.
In contrast, the Tube is like the Black Hole of Cacutta!

look on gumtree and buy in winter, lots for sale each year for as little as £30...i bought one years ago super cheap !!

I don’t want hoodie and coat weather but I am very ready for this heat to be over!!

Woken by a mercifully cool breeze through all the open windows this morning. I felt so rubbish when I got home from work yesterday-being able to lie comfortably in bed without feeling like I’m
going to combust is a luxury.

Bingo!

I adore the heat. I grew up in Scotland so not sure about the sweat gland chat. I have loved sitting out until 2200. I just cope well with it - even on holiday, I love it.

i don’t live in London.

my dogs cope well too. We run in the heat up our local hills.

i loathe the grey and the rain and dread the Scottish winter.

genuinely would like to move south and can recommend the Scottish weather to everyone on here.

I have found the constant heat to be completely dysregulating - solidarity here too!

I saw someone post about how we should no longer be calling it 'climate change', it is now 'climate crisis' because we are already slap bang in it. We shouldn't be getting comfortable with temperatures we are finding it hard to live in, and we should be terrified that we are surrounded by fires, talks of food shortages, national security threats, etc.

If you haven't already, go to a People's Emergency Briefing, then get organised. We have to save our home!

A question not enough people are asking!!!

• family of 4
• vegan (me) and plant based (family) diets
• have installed solar panels and bought an EV (panels cheaper than we were expecting, def worth checking out)
• consciously trying to shift from 'water is free' to 'water is precious'... reusing kids bath water to use on my plants, investing in a water butt, cutting down time in the shower
• toddler wears reusable nappies when at home
• shopping more carefully - i have deleted Amazon, no fast fashion and the huge majority of mine and kid's clothes come from Vinted or charity shops
• resisting bloody AI!!!!!!! We don't need it, we have never needed it.

🌏

Phenotypic plasticity.

Interesting theory. I lived in a tropical climate for the first two years of my life, and love the heat. Husband and kids are British to the core, and hate it. Coincidence, or biological response?

Could you get a heat pump?

Would be interesting to know what percentage of posters on this thread have flown off on holiday this year...

I woke up to cool breeze- the sun has now come out again. It was supposed to be cloudy today! Cloudy! Sun just seems to burn it off at the moment.

I'm 53 and haven't been abroad since my early 20's but I'm definitely in the minority amongst virtually everyone I know, most fly several times a year and don't give it a second thought.

I doubt that many do, even on here.

We need to collectively make a massive fuss about this and get the water companies under control

Oh, I do fly. Not always on holiday but because I have family overseas. But not several times a year.

Fully agree, OP, praying for normal service to resume and a regular English summer of rain, clouds, mild temperatures and a green and pleasant landscape🙏

Yes, @5MinuteArgument "you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone"

From the Joni Mitchell song. It's never rang so true.

London here, no sign of let up, I am so sweaty after watering garden, sweeping kitchen and bathroom
And mopping those rooms. Housework has become a struggle, doing the care minimum. There is no real sign of rain, it was breezy outside this morning but feels like an inferno inside..

It’s definitely still hot here today.

I’ve had every window and door in the house wide open sine 6.30am. It’s now just after 10am and the inside temperature is still 25 downstairs and 27 upstairs. South east London. Really had enough of this now.

I think you missed the point.

There was a tiny bit of rain last night. I stuck my head out the window and the petrichor was intense. But no sign of it at all this morning and I'm now almost wondering if I dreamt it.

Still disappointingly hot.