To think it can't be that hot?

[Hop27]

I live in the tropics, we have long periods of hot weather. It's winter with us and it's 24 degrees. I'm in bed at the moment with long PJ's on. (At home sick) and will probably spend the day in leggings and a hoodie. Browsing through mumsnet, thread upon thread about how it's too hot to eat, to sleep, people canceling plans because of the heat! Even in the height of our summer (mid to high 30's) I don't think I've ever not made dinner or cancelled plans. AIBU to think it can't be that hot, or have I been away from the British summer for too long?

Oh yawn. A nation with buildings, population and infrastructure not designed for high temperatures struggles in high temperatures. HTH.

"The UK isn't built for it" is the new "there's a pandemic on you know"

Best just to not mention it OP.

I don’t think you’re being unreasonable.
I’ve lived and worked in rural Asia where in the hottest season the temperature was regularly going up to 42/44 for weeks at a time. There was no air con unless you went to the mall and the power supply was not reliable so although there were fans you couldn’t always use them. It was uncomfortable when it was that hot but because it went on for weeks there was no option to just cancel everything, you just cracked on in the heat.

Everybody is using the excuse that the infrastructure is different there but in many of the hottest parts of the world it’s really not, many houses do not have reliable electricity or running water so definitely no air con and no cool showers for example. I’d like some of the users here to try getting on a bus in India where there will literally be four to a seat and people standing on every inch of floor space and hanging out the doors and tell me that kind of transport is made for the hot weather! Many people in the UK at least have their own car to get to and from work and public transport, even when busy, is not overcrowded like it is in many parts of the world.

Yes, there is an extent to which people acclimatise but 40 degrees is hot wherever you are. It’s not worse for us in the UK than it is for people in places where it’s more regular, I feel like that kind of thinking comes from a place of privilege. In much of the world where these temperatures are seen people have no choice but to continue to work in the baking heat because they are literally living hand to mouth, it’s not because it’s not hot and uncomfortable to be working in that heat elsewhere, it’s because being able to cancel all plans including work and shield from the weather is a luxury most of the world don’t have.

We are fortunate in the UK that people can choose to cancel all plans and sit at home doing nothing for a couple of days each years because of ‘extreme’ weather (snow, heat etc) and don’t have to put up with being hot and uncomfortable and that’s fine, but it is frustrating when people are acting like the heat is ‘different’ for us in the UK or like every hot country has air con (outside of the richer areas most really don’t) instead of recognising the difference is the privilege to be able to avoid the heat by staying at home because it’s only two days and most people on Mumsnet can afford to miss a couple of days of work and keep the kids at home.

@Hop27 does everyone where you live get care and attention , you have no idea clearly and who are you to judge what people can cope with ? What illnesses people have and who they have around
You have aircon that you do use , if its so easy why do you use it at all ? You only only turn it off when its brought the temp down
The upstairs if my house is like ly to reach the high 40's tonight,
People will die during this heatspell so where is your compassion and
Understanding
You know spain and most of europe a few weeks ago had warnings when they went to 40 etc and they are more built for hot weather than the uk
Sounds like more like a uk bashing thread than anything else

I’d like some of the users here to try getting on a bus in India where there will literally be four to a seat and people standing on every inch of floor space and hanging out the doors and tell me that kind of transport is made for the hot weather! Many people in the UK at least have their own car to get to and from work and public transport, even when busy, is not overcrowded like it is in many parts of the world .

But but but but ... We're British, we shouldn't have to deal with anything outside of our comfort zone or a bit abnormal wah wah wah.

Literally just landed back from a tropical country to hot sticky UK. The heat was way more manageable there than here.

Aircon is a major factor. In every shop, restaurant and in our accommodation. We didn’t have it in every room but wow, it was fantastic to be able to sit in a cool room for an hour.

We’ve got fans going here but they’re not doing much. Our offices are old and don’t have any aircon so we’ve closed the offices and everyone is working from home. Of course, many sectors can’t do this but we can so we will.

Yes, it’s two days and we’ll manage but we’re simply not set up for heat here.

Fwiw I'm still in leggings and hoodie and dog and I are both under the 13.5 tog duvet in my well insulated home. It's only 7am here though so a similar temperature to you. Not boiling yet People clearly do cope with heat differently though as most people appear to be arguing over fans just to get through the night, also I've lived abroad where these temps are the norm for months on end (and no I didn't use air con) so that probably helps. I have a condition that means being cold is miserable and in the UK that's most of the year for me so this is a welcome break

All of this. Well said.

@Hop27
I agree with you inferences tbh. We have become a country of snowflakes in every context that seems to think that the government should be mothering them when it suits and are too involved when it doesn't!

When there was similar weather over the years, albeit not a 40 degrees, but nonetheless high by averages, life continued and people were responsible for themselves. We've lost that.

Though as with all things, I think that the www, social media and the 24 hour TV has impacted people as they get this continuous dripping of info, in this case it will be so hot etc that it incites this escalation in people's minds and then the idea they'll never manage etc. Self fulfilling prophecy. Whereas before the advent of the www and 24 hour tv, you'd maybe have heard about it once or twice over a few days that it was going to be hot, but they wouldn't beat things up into this frenzy.

@Monoandsix clearly never been on the underground then and many people on mumsnet cannot afford to take the time off work , very judgemental. Acclimatisation is a fact yet you dispute that .
The met office know more than any poster on here so maybe if they issue a warning people need to take notice of it and follow the guidelines etc
People will die unfortunately in this weather so maybe have some compassion as well

You're right, it isn't that hot. We're still having to cook our eggs in a frying pan because the darn pavement isn't hot enough yet.

As others have said, the fact that you're wearing a hoodie and leggings at 24C shows that you've acclimatised to a warmer climate. In the UK, 24C is shorts and t shirt weather.

You really haven't thought this through OP.

All of you making fun almost , you do realise people will loose their lifes in this heat , hence why we have a warning issued , risks of fires in certain grounds etc , power cuts , water outages possibly
Maybe show a little compassion for those that it could be life or death for
Mumsnet is not a comparison of the whole uk where people are all panicked most are just saying its going to be uncomfortable and making adjustments l, sleeping downstairs like us as upstairs temps will be unbearable in our house , its close on 30 upstairs now and not hugely warm outside yet
Or if in a job like mine looking out for those that may be vulnerable so being aware of what to look out for

This.

We have lived in extremely hot countries around the world and managed.

Both DH and I are struggling here this week.

I presume you also have aircon and everywhere you go does too. Not the case in the UK.

Instead of being smug, prehaps you could have a bit of empathy. There will be people that are either extremely ill or may lose their life because of the heat over the next few days.

Tbf I haven't had shorts on yet this year. I'll probably put them on later but for now (whilst it's around 24c) I'll stick to my leggings and duvet

Long pyjamas on at 24 degrees? Bloody snowflakes, get a grip, call that cold? Pathetic.

Hope this helps.

But most people aren’t panicking, they’ll be hot but manage it. Lots of people are talking about it purely because it’s extreme for us. Even if they’re cancelling plans, it’s not necessarily panic, just choosing to not do something like a beach trip as it’s not the advised thing to do in those temperatures. We were due to travel somewhere in the U.K yesterday, we are going next week instead, that’s just sensible as we’ll enjoy it more in cooler weather.

It’s also quite funny to do a search on some posters that are laughing at others for worrying about the heat, I wouldn’t worry about most of the stuff they’re posting about. It’s almost like different people are bothered by different stuff. 😂

If you want to question how hot it is in the UK, you can just Google the temperature surely?
If you want to know if it's a lot hotter than you recall, you can look at comparisons on line too.
If you want to know how people are experiencing the heat here, you could have started a thread asking. Perhaps unsurprisingly you might have then discovered that:
Most people find it uncomfortable.
Most people If they are able will take sensible steps to reduce their discomfort, which may include avoiding unnecessary activities that will make them hotter.
Not a lot to see (or judge) here really for most of us.

what a goady post. And follow up posts. I'm glad you are so good at coping with the heat, but it's so completely unnecessary and seems to be written solely to justify your own smugness at leaving.

Yes, there is hysteria. But even people who aren't hysteric are probably not looking forward to the really uncomfortable days ahead.

It's ridiculous to compare it with your situation. Where you live is presumably designed to faciliate the heat, and even if not you will be acclimatised to it. It's all well and good mocking people for being worried about the heat, when people from wamer climates show up in a puffa coat and wooly hat in about 15 degrees (which is also, frankly, ridiculous).

[before I get accused of being a hysterical Brit who has no clue - I am not British, and have lived both in tropical climates and the Nordics, so have a fair bit of experience to draw on here]

Im been abroad to enough hot european countries and there houses are built very different tO us , they don't all have aircon but they often have stone walls , tiled floors , shutters on winddows , ceiling fans , very very different to the uk

I'm getting a bit tired of all these threads about "abroad". Anyone would think there are only three types of climate in the world - very hot, very cold, and the UK!!! Plenty of people live in countries with fairly average temps, but now and again it gets very hot. Those people deal with it, they use a bit of common sense, they just get on with life, they don't think they are so "special" that they are going to be affected so much more than others. We don't have stone walls, tiled floors, shutters or ceiling fans- what we do have is a more pragmatic nature.

I've clearly hit a nerve with how rude most people have been!

No people are responding in the same way your OP was written.

Clearly hit a nerve with you.

A nation with buildings, population and infrastructure not designed for high temperatures struggles in high temperatures.

Okay - we've all known about global warming for a very long time, so why hasn't this nation done anything to prepare for it??

This thread has really made me feel so much better about my choice live overseas.

On the downside it's affected your ability to use "you're" and "your" correctly, so not all positive.

Absolutely this.

To paraphrase something that's doing the rounds on FB

The government, the NHS and the Met Office are all advising people to stay at home if possible, to keep hydrated and to watch out for signs of heatstroke, but Bob has posted on Twitter that it's all a load of bollocks, and now I don't know who to believe