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?

@Hop27 The HSE policy about safe work temperatures only mentions minimum temperature, which should give you an inkling of how often most of the UK has temperatures like we're seeing now.

People working in tropical climates know how to handle heat. Think how slowly they walk outdoors, use parasols, stick to shade where possible, stay out of the midday sun, close at lunchtime, have siestas. They keep offices at such arctic temperatures, staff even wear cardies, (been there, done that). The temperatures we are experiencing now is a course for concern because Brits aren't accustomed to it and will have difficulties coping with the unusual heat.

The max temp I'm comfortable in is 25C with a stiff breeze while wearing flip flops, shorts and a strappy top, which isn't exactly office wear. Anything over 18C is too hot if there is no breeze, so YES, it is that hot. I've cancelled Step class today as even the gym's air-con can't cope; it's been like exercising in a sauna these last few days.

I agree

In the last comparable heatwave, in 2003, twenty thousand people died in Europe, of which 10% were in the UK, which reached a max of 38c in one location. That heatwave mainly affected France, where 15,000 people died.

www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/learn-about/weather/case-studies/heatwave

Oh great, another thicko….

The UK isn't built for this heat and we don't have adequate air con.

Even New York when I've been in summer (the worst time to go) when most apartments/shops etc have air con, is stiflingly hot in these and lesser temperatures, partly due to humidity, which we also have in this city (London where I am)/country.

Was speaking to my aunt who lives on south coast last night and it's not as hot there. No shit Sherlock.

You sound a right charmer OP, empathy clearly not your middle name

Thank you for detailing all the ways in which you are better than us op.

When it reaches 37C in my home town today, I will remember your helpful advice and perhaps cook a hot dinner, go for a jog and dig up the back garden.

You have strengthened me.

You realise that the UK has never been 40 degrees before.

no only 38.7

And it still hasn't been 40 yet.

Love how you are equating the UK to AIBU here 😂 you're on AIBU from abroad as well?! Brilliant

You aren't in Britain, you're on Mumsnet.

It's a discussion forum, so we'll be discussing topical things. This is topical. It doesn't mean we're all panicking in the streets (the tarmac will melt before we can), it means you're on a Britain-centric discussion site so you can expect to see a lot of discussion about British news.

If you read individual posts, there's very little hysteria. In fact I don't think I've seen any hysterical individual posts. Some people have concerns because they have health conditions or are facing an hour-long walk to school with small children. They're not just panicking in the abstract.

If you couldn't work that out either, it's not Britain you can't handle, it's the nature of a location-oriented Internet site.

I know it's early. It's only 9am. But I'm not convinced it's going to hit 40. High yes, but I doubt that high.

@Hop27

Have a big shinny medal.

Some older people, vulnerable people etc struggle. Not much air con in this country. Buildings are insulated and carpeted in the main. Build for cold and wet. Some will die and deaths increase during heatwaves here.

Give yourself a great big clap for doing ok.

Well done you. How do you manage to be so brilliant.

Most people are mildly concerned, internet forums are a hive of hyperbole, combine that with the fact that it's London getting hit the worst means our media have gone into overdrive.

Other than not being able to walk our dogs, our day will be remarkably similar to every other day.

My husband (from the South of Spain) proudly left the house the other day stating 'I'm Spanish. I can handle this heat'. He came home later sweating buckets, just looked at me and said 'I've lived here too long'. Acclimatisation is real (though of course it is, OP 🙄)

I lived in South Africa for 23 years. I've been out at midday in 50 degree heat.

Again, like so many people have said: being able to manage that was due to acclimatisation.

It took me a few years to get used to the relative cold here in the UK. With a rapid temperature rise, there is no time to "get used to it", and our systems struggle. Add humidity, and they struggle even more. I'm not concerned for myself or my family, but I am for a couple of elderly neighbours.

Smug expats who come to post about how crap the UK is (or in this case how panicky its residents are over nothing) are so tedious.

Go back to your hammock and concentrate on local issues.

This!
It's so annoying the way now where professionals who are experts in their field , state something and then random people on the Internet, think they have a better opnion just because they have decided and then everything is debated and it seems 'cool' to disagree with experts just because they are experts. We are not a better society because of this , it's going to cause us to be worse as it becomes more and more normal

People shouldn't insult you. But neither is empathy necessary surely, since you're posting from a place of satisfaction with your circumstances. What do you need people to empathise with you about?

Don't mention snowflakes, if she needs a hoodie in 24 degree weather it'll probably send her into hibernation.

"I live in the tropics, we have long periods of hot weather."
And therefore you have acclimatised to that level of heat. Those of us who live in the UK are acclimatised to UK climate, funnily enough. The temperatures expected are well outside normal range.

I think part of the reason why the Met Office et al is making such an issue of it, is that many British people don't really take health warnings seriously unless it's rammed down their throats.

There's still people talking about taking young children to theme parks today or tomorrow. I see people hanging around in the hot sun, no shelter, just chatting. People talking about sunbathing. People talking about going out for the day to make the most of the "good" weather. People (more often men) standing outside pubs in the sun at lunchtime drinking heavily. Men with just shorts on, no tops, wandering around for hours in the direct sun - any sun cream they may have put on will have been washed off with their sweat in minutes,

Because we aren't used to temperatures this high in the UK, people don't take the standard precautions people do in other countries that are used to these conditions.

Last time we had a heatwave in this country, only 3 years ago, over 2,500 people died as a direct result of the heat, and not all of those were the sick or elderly. This time round we have thousands of previously healthy people suffering from long covid, and lung conditions don't play well with extreme heat. 10s of thousands more people clinically obese due to "lockdown weight", another condition which causes more problems in the heat. More people on anti depressants, which can affect temperature regulation.

Without knowing where you went I'm guessing that the people cleaning your room and scooping leaves out of the pool don't have lovely cool air-conditioned homes and don't siesta all afternoon.

The people who insist 'Britain isn't set up for heat' must be comparing it to Dubai, or Florida, or Spanish resorts and not the millions (probably billions) of people in Asia, Africa, Central America who are getting by with hardly any infrastructure at all, let alone naps.

There's plenty of places in southern Australia (Melbourne, Canberra, many inland towns) that will get through frosty subzero mornings in winter and the odd 40 degree spike in summer, so acclimatisation isn't always the case either.

Wherever you are, 40 is fucking hot, uncomfortably so and you'd be wise to to adjust your activities to suit. But it does seem like there's an extra level of panic in the UK, and I blame the media for that, not the people who haven't experienced this before and don't know what to expect.

I didn't say any of these but you started a goady thread. What do you expect?

This is very silly.

The vast majority of people in the UK will be a bit uncomfortable but fine. The publicity over the heatwave is to flag up that some people might need support because they will not be fine and taking steps to help them might prevent hospitalisation and death. Just when we're going through a big covid wave that no one is talking about because they're bored of it.

Also heat like this causes infrastructure problems because we're not built to deal with these temperatures. Eg tower bridge in London has installed a cooling system because last time it got very hot, the chains that hold the bridge started cracking.

The UK is used to heavy rain, there are lots of places where heavy rain would cause major problems. It's not hard to work out, is it?