To get really annoyed by people who live in hot countries claiming that the UK is not hot

[CheckingOutTheQuantocks]

I have some relatives who are in Australia and I'm friends with some of them on Facebook. Apart from their finding the whole Boris Johnson/Brexit thing awfully amusing, they're generally nice people, but there's one of them in particular who can't bloody leave it alone if I post anything about the weather. The other day, I posted about how it was supposed to be the hottest day on record, and she was straight onto it with comments about "That's not hot, that's like a winter temperature for us, you Poms are so soft". She thinks 18°C is "freezing", btw

I'm only mildly irritated by this, but I just don't get why people do it. I know it's ridiculously hot over there and all the wildlife is venomous and all that, but what is the actual point of telling people that all the time when they're just trying to have a whinge about being too warm?

Seriously twix. Read through this thread and look for the Aussie Brit bashing.

In Perth I could spend a whole day in 40 degrees and barely notice as my house was air conditioned, my car was air conditioned and my work was air conditioned!.

We spend a fair bit of time in WA during the summer. Most of the people we know don't turn the aircon on until it starts approaching 40 and a surprising number of houses don't have any aircon at all.

I will admit that as an Australian I've been guilty of this. I remember reading a headline that British cirizens were passing out and couldn't handle the heat... on a 23°C day. I snorted and laughed about it with my friends. Sorry (but not really).

Also, single digits in Australia is different to single digits here. Here my house is 17 degrees in winter, not about 10 degrees because of no central heating or insulation!

I think all countries are guilty of this sort of thing- I remember a few years ago when it was 'very cold' in LA, 12C, and everyone on UK twitter etc was taking the piss out of the news reports.

It doesn't seem to be worth getting very annoyed about.

It's not hot in the UK though, is it? There are only about 2 days a year it gets above 30 degrees whereas most countries have that as standard.

I used to live in Hong Kong and yes it got to the mid 40s with ridiculous humidity. BUT everywhere you step foot in is aggressively air conditioned. Even the cheap 10p busses. Makes it really manageable

Thats the point thatmust. Britain doesnt usually get v.hot unlike hot countries. So when its 39 in Britain people arent used to it and it feels very very hot. Does that really need explaining?

Just like some hot countries may feel "cold" 18degrees whereas I would love it.

You aclimatise to the weather where you are living and extremes can be difficult. So right now, many people in Britain are finding the weather incomfortably hot as it out of their comfort zone. Yes we do know other countries are hotter, thar doesnt stop this being hot for us

Some people realky like it. Lots dont.

Sheesh.

It’s interesting this idea of Australia as a hot country. Parts of the continent are tropical and sub-tropical, but where I live the average winter temperature is lower than London in the winter. It’s common to have -1, -2, -3 and often as low as -6. Today’s highest temperature was 8c.

But our summers, while milder than day Perth or Cairns, are much hotter than UK summers and if you live in an environment long enough to adapt to it.

So while the idea of a 28c day as extremely hot does make me laugh, if you don’t experience it very often you won’t have organised your environment to cope with it and it will be a shock.

I bloddy love the heat so im not complaining!

Bloody

I’m Australian. If it’s under 40 it’s not post worthy. However, I do find the hot weather far more difficult to deal with here. Britain simply isn’t designed for people to be outside except is very very mild weather. Nor is it designed for people to be inside expect in really cold weather. Can’t win here. Australia is the same but for cold weather. Most windows are single pane, houses tend to be less insulated, about half don’t have any heating, the ones that do have ducted heating or wood burners. 18 is definitely on the cold side in Australia. I can understand why you’d struggle in this weather, I certainly do! But I can also understand why they find it funny. I know you’re hot and irritable but be reasonable - you’ve just done exactly what they do with your 18 degrees quip.

We have been to Dubai at this time of year and the heat by comparison was oppressive, however you stayed out of it during the day and went out at night where it was cooler. Plus everywhere has aircon. Here we are managing without aircon, in houses not equipped to deal with this heat. For us it is hot, hot and humid is never much fun. That being said I am enjoying the weather as I live in a part of the UK that gets very little. It will likely be over soon.

Britain doesnt usually get v.hot unlike hot countries. So when its 39 in Britain people arent used to it and it feels very very hot. Does that really need explaining?

but the thing is that Brits start moaning about "heatwaves" and how UNBEARABLE and unnatural it is when it's barely 25 in the summer. They would be more credible if they kept their heat complaints for actual hot days.

@Klobluchar ironic given that the British are the most guilty of butchering both!

I live in the UK and yeah it isn't very hot, it's just the truth

Pretty hot today, but that'll be us for the year

Given climate change these kind of temperatures are going to happen more and more in the summer.

So we may as well start getting used to it and probably need to think about how to adapt our homes/gardens/etc.

I'm going to put up a pergola with a shade and some extra trees for shade in the garden and considering a small portable AC unit (in two minds as this will help us deal with the temperatures but then just contributes to the climate change issue!)

@Rottnestferry Well yes, loads of houses don't have A/C, but mine did and I used it, when it was 40 degrees. I wouldn't have turned it on when it was 30 but I literally was talking about 40 degree days in my post and about the fact that Australia is more set up for it.

See this is exactly what the OP is on about, this snarking about how some people don't feel bothered by the heat and get on with it. So tiresome.

@bogglesgoggles totally agree about winters in Australia, I used to find it very cold, even though it didn't drop below freezing.

Fucksake most people living in hot countries don't have air con. Get some perspective.

I'm in the UK and to be honest I think we are all moaning for the wrong reasons. Parts of the world are becoming unbearably hot. We are on the brink of climate disaster. Temperatures are rising everywhere, including the UK. It is only going to get hotter and hotter. We should ALL be concerned about the temperature rising. We should be upset about the planet in general getting hotter. I find weather like this bitter sweet. I really enjoy this temperature in the UK, but I hate the reason for it. I hate all this tit for tat and moaning about who has it worst. The UK and Australia are next to each other on the chart re world's worst emitters. Both in the top 25 countries with highest carbon emissions.

We should be moaning about the fact that our governments are continuing to allow us to destroy our planet. Not bickering about who has it worst!

I draw a line though about Brits moaning about humidity- it never gets that humid in the UK - not by tropical standards where the air outside is literally like that of an indoor swimming pool.

We lived in Australia and didn't have aircon. Fans if it got over 40. Old Victorian terrace, btw, which is pretty standard in old areas of Sydney. Also, felt bloody freezing in the winter as no heating whatsoever.

and to echo "BlamesFartsOnTheNeighbour Most people on hot continents (Africa, Asia, Asian Subcontinent) do not have AC unless they are wealthy or in cities.

Brits love talking about the weather, and here is some outlier weather to talk about! Enjoy it

It does make me laugh when people here complain that it's 'so humid'.

I've lived in places where at certain times of year you could go outside for 5 minutes at 10 pm, and be absolutely dripping. I remember dh literally going to put our suitcases in the car before a night flight - he had to change his shirt when he came back in, it was soaked.

In fact, the standard national temperature recommended for all airconditioners, summer or winter, is 24.c. (meaning it is the recommended default setting for comfort all year round)

In the UK thermostats are typically at 20C and there's a big push to drop them to 19C or 18C to reduce energy usage. I suspect 24C is the max temp that's comfortable for most people and that is why the recommendation is to have aircon that high, to reduce energy usage.