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.

Fields around here are golden, dog is loving the paddling pool and my curtains haven't been opened for weeks. Somerset is tinder dry.
I can cope with heat and love to feel the warmth on my back as I plod to work in council offices with a very dodgy recycled air system!
Few more weeks and no doubt Somerset will be under water again, I know which I prefer 🌞

London and the SE still at 33 today. Another hideous commute and hot office day for me unfortunately

@Paddyshanks it is not the same as going to Greece

when I go to Greece I have nothing to do but swim, read, drink iced coffee

when I am in here J have to walk my dog (so need to get up super early) and commute to work, and my job is not in an air conditioned space

not the same at all

you must live a nice life if you are able to simply enjoy the weather

i would, if I did not have to work, clean my own house, walk dog and look after elderly parents 😬😬😬

I went to Norway for the first time a couple of years ago and loved it. Not good at languages though so Scotland would probably be better!

It’s not over fortunately, as much as I dislike the 30 plus in the south east it moves to mid twenties, which is perfect.

I also cannot wait. I am peri menopausal and have struggled so much in this heat. I take a low dose sri for OCD and that also lowers my tolerance to the extreme heat. It's been pretty unbearable.
I love my garden and have barely been able to get out there except to haul the watering can back and forth. My house is scruffy but I can't bare to clean over and above the basics. I'm going to holiday soon in the UK and I'm so glad it will be cooler.
Summer was always my favourite season but I can't enjoy it in this heat.

You lost me at “home office being too hot.” Try being in a south facing classroom with 30 teenagers and school refusing to provide fans.

43c here in beautiful Salento Italy, we don't have air con, but we are in the countryside. That's my best advice, get away from the city, if you can. The concrete is a heat sink far worse than most realize. Here you can actually feel the heat increase as you walk past buildings.

I feel exactly the same op. I feel like soon I will be able to restart my life again and live instead of just enduring.

I agree. I’m not in London and am fairly rural so have different problems.

We have had the smell of smoke in the air for about the past month from various fires going on. One has been going for about a month. There are helicopters carrying water flying overhead nearly everyday.

i can’t wait for it to rain.

What do you think the PP, or anyone, can do about the weather, you ridiculous individual? I do not like the very hot weather, I wish it were cooler, but I would be ashamed to get ratty with anyone who is enjoying it.

I like the sun, largely because I live near the sea so this summer holidays has been great going to the beach most of the time with my kid. But even my sun-loving self wants rain now, for the environment. It is really concerning.

You talk about the cold but I have found winters to not feel so cold anymore and I live in Yorkshire and have rubbish circulation.

I'm near London and absolutely melting. These heatwaves have lost me a fortune in income. I'm a dog walker and have had to cancel so many walks due to the temperature. There's only so early clients want walks, and not everyone wants to pay to a drop in visit to let their dog into the garden.

I get what you're saying. We do need governments to do more, but while we wait, there are things we can do on a local level - might only be small/simple but if we all play our part, it's worth it. Many of us have been moaning/struggling at times this summer, but it's only going to get worse if we don't stamp down on climate change, it's going to be worse for our children/nieces&nephews/grandchildren.

The peaks haven't been as harsh here in the north west and we've had slightly more relief from the dryness than the south generally but there are also fires burning this way and it's been devastating to see. We drove down for a wedding in Hertfordshire a few weeks ago and seeing how parched the land was was just awful.
We have coped Ok at home although when the hottest days are here it just makes you so tired now. In this present peak I have suddenly become very achey as if coming down with a bad virus, I'm only mid 30s ,😩 It hasn't developed into anything so I think it is just the heat/ maybe something do to with pressure..

And yet, my mother came out with the cracker yesterday "we've always had occasional summers like this, climate change is just overblown"

I despair.

Just had a downpour.

This summer has made me very glad I live in Scotland - as someone who doesn't love the heat, I wouldn't be coping well down south.

We’ve had years of rubbish summers. This one has been great so far. It’ll be wet and grey soon enough!

I can’t wait. It’s been way too hot!

It’s been awful op. I’m pregnant and have been since this nonsense started. Far too hot. Don’t want to do anything “summery”. Garden dead. Haven’t been able to go to the gym as the aircon has been broken and it’s too hot. Struggled to keep up with house chores because of fatigue. Feel completely over it.

I need it to RAIN.

As you mention in your post, it hasn't been like that everywhere. I wish we'd had a bit more of the really hot weather up north.

The heat, I can live with, but please let the forecast of rain in 10 days time stay true!!!

But there’s an element of inconvenient truth in this.

I really feel for you @LaurieFairyCake and others in the same situation.

We were in Rome last week and temps were in the high 30’s every day, 40 while we were at the Colosseum. It was unbearable for most of the day. As tourists we could stop for drinks and nap in the afternoon in the days we didn’t have things booked in. We also had air con in our room, and it was still unbearable. I have never been so glad of Scottish weather when we got home!

I can’t imagine what it would be like to live and work in that heat for months at a time during the summer. We all really genuinely struggled being in a city in those temperatures. We all sweated profusely, even my teens.

Over time people will I assume acclimatise?