To think people don’t seem to understand how hot it is predicted to be next week?

[Toohot22]

On threads expressing concern re the heat, people keep saying ‘what do you think they do in hotter countries’?

According to my BBC weather app, next Monday and Tuesdays predictions are:

35 in Lahore, Pakistan
32/33 degrees in Miami, Florida
33 and 32 degrees in Kingston, Jamaica
29 degrees in Mali (which is the worlds hottest country, apparently!)
30 in the Maldives
38 and 35 in Spain.

The current predictions for me are 36 and 37 degrees.

AIBU to think some posters don’t realise we are talking about temperatures hotter than some of the hottest countries in the world!?

The one on the right is from 2018 ...

Hot countries typically have their homes laid out to take advantage of airflows,or they create it with courtyards.,multiple doors etc,also smaller windows, shutters thicker walls, tilling on the outside of buildings. air con and don't forget siestas. Granted our temperatures don't stay this high for long, but we are I'll equipped to deal with it are unnacustomed to it .ultimately it can be and will be deadly for some .

Exactly. Countries like Spain are changing because life is changing. Kids used to come home for lunch and go back to school, woman stayed at home while the men worked, so were there to look after the kids and cook lunch for the long break. Those days are gone. Both parents work and office hours have changed to get inline with that. My DD is at high school and some years finish at 3. It’s baking hot and they have to make their way home in that heat. It’s not ideal and the schools should have AC, but there just isn’t the money. The houses here are set up better for the summer than U.K. houses, but are so cold in the winter. I’m colder here than I ever felt in the U.K. Electricity prices have always been astronomical here, I couldn’t believe how much more expensive my bills were here than the U.K. and how much lower salaries are! It can get quite humid where I am too, so your house feels almost damp in the winter and the summer is stifling. It was 88% humidity here the other day. We also had the wettest spring on record and the infrastructure here isn’t set up for rain at all. The roads were flooded, our neighbours ceiling collapsed and now thanks to the unusually wet spring we are having real problems with mosquitos and cockroaches, more than I’ve ever seen before. The crazy weather affects us all, it’s just people on the continent are slightly less dramatic about it, but they still complain 😂

Well don't be such a bloody drama queen then.

@LaDamaDeElche yes I'm surprised at people saying it's more humid here - I remember having to wipe actual pools of water off chairs to sit down outside the evening, skin having a layer of water over it and it's not sweat. I've never experienced anything close to that in the UK.

I think the big issue is acclimatisation. It takes 10 days to fully acclimatise, if you have steadily rising temperatures and a fairly constant heat of 30+ for weeks on end people get used to it. The trouble here is usually it is very erratic, ranging from 30+ one day to 15 the next, that's what our bodies can't cope with. Also countries where it is consistently hot in summer are adapted so that life is easier - shaded walkways between buildings, large verandas, air conditioning, good insulation, shutters, light coloured paintwork, swimming pools etc.
They also adapt lifestyles with siestas etc to avoid being outdoors when it is hot. Perhaps all these companies complaining about it being too hot to work could adjust their hours for a week or so, start earlier and finish earlier or have a siesta and open back up in the evening.

I realise. I just don't care 🤷🏻‍♀️

I understand people's concerns when there's a reason - tiny baby, heavily pregnant, ill or disabled or especially vulnerable to heat in some way.

But the amount of hysteria from those to whom none of this apply is nonsense.

It's hot weather. That's all. Take as much care as you can to stay cool and shaded, limit exercise during the hottest times, put your lotion and hats on and drink a shit load of water. Then carry on with your life.

I don’t know why people in the U.K. think this. In Spain, where the word siesta originated, the vast majority of us work the same office hours you do. Only small shops close these days. Civil servants and banks shut early, but they don’t go back to work.

I don’t think there is any need to panic - but a need for caution is needed and people should be sensible. My local FB has just highlighted to me how thick and irresponsible many people actually are. The council has sensibly decided to close the local splash pad for the afternoon on Monday. Queue outrage from loads of parents who thought 2 O’clock in the afternoon was the perfect time to have it open to ‘cool the children down’. There is no shade cover, children on the splash pad will running around exerting themselves in the heat and suncream will quickly loose it’s full effect when washed off… people are beyond stupid.
At the same time everyone is quick to hound anyone on social media if they take their dog out midday when it’s 20 degrees 😂 but children and toddlers are immune to the sun and heat apparently.

I don’t know why people in the U.K. think this. In Spain, where the word siesta originated, the vast majority of us work the same office hours you do. Only small shops close these days. Civil servants and banks shut early, but they don’t go back to work.

My BIL works in scaffolding and construction- they are meant to down tools when it hits 40c. In reality this has never happened (and it's not actually unusual to hit those temps or above). They certainly don't have siestas either

I just don’t understand this panic. Stay inside as much as possible, sun cream, hats, drink plenty. It’s a couple of days not an entire summer. Do people just enjoy the prospect of a good panic?

I haven't seen anyone panicking yet . Lots of talk about record breaking temperatures and how to manage this.

Having read this thread,I think people love a good bunfight even more than they love a good panic!

There is nothing wrong with warning people to take care in heat that the UK rarely sees, but the media blows everything up into hyperbole.

Ahhh most people in hot countries don't have aircon. I've just been working out in the park with 5 people and only one of us has aircon- and we're all quite wealthy by local standards. Most people in cities are in tiny boiling apartments. It is about 38 today (or will be later).

We don't siesta here either but people stay out late- I just got a note about a family theatre performance which starts at 10pm- which means the days are slower.

But we are acclimatized which makes a difference (also if you do have a pool and it's in full sun that's not that great either).

London especially is deeply unpleasant over about 30 though. It's the Thames Valley fug. So close and polluted.

There is nothing wrong with warning people to take care in heat that the UK rarely sees, but the media blows everything up into hyperbole.*

But why assume most of us need warned? The OP isn't significantly smarter than the majority of use or the only one who understands what hot feels like. The stupid people that do need warned won't listen anyway and will still go onto and drink cider all day on the beach regardless. I'd argue we are beginning to acclimatise. Summers have generally been warm and we've had pretty consistent warm weather this month bar the odd day - it's only few degrees hotter than other heatwaves we've had in recent years, it's not going to be THAT much different. Not really any different acclimatisation wise to leaving the UK to go to a cheap self catering apartment block with no air con etc and finding you arrive in a heat wave.

Sorry, this made me laugh - love a good old Mumsnet bun fight!

We don't siesta here either but people stay out late- I just got a note about a family theatre performance which starts at 10pm- which means the days are slower.

When I lived abroad the local soft play didn't open til 6pm but most local families didn't arrive til 8. You'd often get childrens parties starting at that time on a Sunday night. 😆

😆

It's become a lazy stereotype, but it's just so far removed from modern Spanish life. Also, British people would be up in arms if they had to go home for two hours and then a normal working day finish at 8. Who's going to look after the kids? Do people want to be eating dinner at 9/10? The throwback from the days of siesta is still ingrained in Spanish culture and although most people finish earlier now, they still eat lunch at around 14:30, dinner at 9/10 and kids go to bed really late by British standards. Prime time TV programmes are on as late as 11, 10 at the absolute earliest. Adults are rarely in bed before 12 and have to be in work for 8. People are permanently tired. In my opinion, the British way is better in that respect - eating earlier and sleeping earlier and most people starting at 9am. The siesta really wouldn't suit UK lifestyle, even for a short period in the summer.

Nobody is panicking in real life, only on MN!

Primary school end of year parties finish here around 1am 😂. DD does gymnastics and she finishes at 9pm. It's definitely a "stay up way too late" lifestyle in hot countries!

Not seen it on MN yet

I think people are worried in real life. Son 1's school has switched to online learning and sons 2's school has closed. I work in a school and several parents have said they arent sending their children in. We have aircon and a lovely shaded area outside and the children dont even have to go outside as we keep the classrooms open at break . (I do accept that some might have a longish walk at 3pm they wish to avoid but most come in cars or have teeny walks)

Ah I'm from Extremadura, not a million miles away then, but my town is quite rural. I remember the morning lessons/lectures at uni were between 8am-2pm, then it was 5pm-8pm if you had them in the evening. I can't remember anywhere at all being open between 2pm-5pm, although I left years ago so maybe pharmacies stayed open and I've forgotten.

The thing is really we are spoiled by average weather 95% of the time in the UK. If we were a weather emoji we would be a pale grey cloud. So the 5% of the time we get heat, cold, snow, wind, excessive rain, ice or any combination we feel we need to a)discuss it at length and b) some lose their collective shit.

I am worried enough to take precautions for my children, not worried enough to panic buy toilet roll