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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To be terrified of the coming summer?

970 replies

screamingbanshees · 10/02/2023 07:49

Last year there were 24,000+ heat-related deaths due to the heatwave, and the temperatures here were astronomical. It was the worst summer I've ever experienced, sweating constantly, sticking to every surface, always dehydrated, warm water coming out the cold tap, and sweating as soon as I stepped out of the bath. I also had a very unhappy, sweaty, screamy 1.5 year old!

AIBU to be absolutely dreading this year? Apparently the Met Office has claimed 2023 will have an even hotter summer. I don't know if I can bear it again. DP and I are thinking of booking a holiday just to be somewhere liveable. This is also the first winter I've actually enjoyed because of the relief from the heat.

OP posts:
Thread gallery
9
GinIronic · 10/02/2023 10:03

The Met Office cannot get the weather right on the day where I live (SW). I wouldn’t take any notice about what they say for the summer.

TiredandLate · 10/02/2023 10:03

I really don't recognise your description of last summer, and I'm only up the road from you, closer to the pennines so maybe we had drastically different weather!

I remember a few nice weekends and meals sat outside, then the mini heatwave of 35° for 3 days ish. I think we used the air conditioning for 5/6 nights.

2DemisSVP · 10/02/2023 10:03

Plant trees !! Even on the hottest days, sitting under our oak tree was fine. It’s not an instant solution, but it’s def an investment in the future.

TarasHarp55 · 10/02/2023 10:04

If it was going to be like the summer of 1976 then maybe, but I don't remember last year being anything like that.

TiredandLate · 10/02/2023 10:05

I do sympathise with sweaty, angry toddlers though, that can't have been nice!

Mumtoahyperchild · 10/02/2023 10:05

I have copied my thread by complete error; sorry new to the group. Can this be deleted?

Doowop1919 · 10/02/2023 10:05

I hear you. I'm Scottish but live in the south of Germany. It gets roasting here. We went back to Scotland for one month last summer to see family and typically it was bloody roasting. I walked around Edinburgh zoo with my friend and our kids while I was also 9 weeks pregnant and it was 30 degrees. That whole week was hell and it was actually cooler in Germany at that time! We're back to Scotland again for a month this summer and this time, I'm hoping it'll be a break from the heat

RampantIvy · 10/02/2023 10:07

This is a genuine question- how much of the drought was caused by bad water management? Poorly maintained systems, broken pipes, etc.?

Some of it was undoubtedly caused by that. The lack of rain caused the ground to dry out and crack, and the movement caused pipes to crack so it was also due to the lack of rain.

RampantIvy · 10/02/2023 10:07

Mumtoahyperchild · 10/02/2023 10:05

I have copied my thread by complete error; sorry new to the group. Can this be deleted?

Just report your post to MN and they will delete it

ArseInTheCoOpWindow · 10/02/2023 10:08

TiredandLate · 10/02/2023 10:03

I really don't recognise your description of last summer, and I'm only up the road from you, closer to the pennines so maybe we had drastically different weather!

I remember a few nice weekends and meals sat outside, then the mini heatwave of 35° for 3 days ish. I think we used the air conditioning for 5/6 nights.

Is this to me?

We are bang in the middle of the country. It’s always hotter than anywhere else. Always snows more too😑

Walterwhiteswifey · 10/02/2023 10:08

It's strange people forget how hot our Summers are. The OP is right it was a hideous Summer in 2022. Down south it was 40c for a good few days and for weeks it was over 30c. It was horrible. I dont think this Summer will be that bad but maybe it's wishful thinking on my part.

Teateaandmoretea · 10/02/2023 10:08

The main issue with water is the concentration of people in the south east where there is the least water. Even in the midlands we haven’t had a hosepipe ban for years, I was a child when it last happened.

Original poster
screamingbanshees · 10/02/2023 10:09

unsureatthispoint · 10/02/2023 09:58

🙄Just go north, also each year is different, Met Office predictions are not bullet proof

I am in the North.

OP posts:
ladygindiva · 10/02/2023 10:09

Yanbu op. I'm in the SW and one of my dc ( in reception) had heat stroke on way home from school, vomiting, floppy, the lot. Quite worrying. Before anyone says it was a bug she was fine as soon as we cooled her down. We ( and the school) will be more vigilant this summer, think it caught everyone by surprise tbh.

Original poster
screamingbanshees · 10/02/2023 10:10

TiredandLate · 10/02/2023 10:03

I really don't recognise your description of last summer, and I'm only up the road from you, closer to the pennines so maybe we had drastically different weather!

I remember a few nice weekends and meals sat outside, then the mini heatwave of 35° for 3 days ish. I think we used the air conditioning for 5/6 nights.

Keyword: air conditioning. Wink

OP posts:
Eyerollcentral · 10/02/2023 10:10

RampantIvy · 10/02/2023 10:07

This is a genuine question- how much of the drought was caused by bad water management? Poorly maintained systems, broken pipes, etc.?

Some of it was undoubtedly caused by that. The lack of rain caused the ground to dry out and crack, and the movement caused pipes to crack so it was also due to the lack of rain.

Of course, but I mean the pipes broken prior to the heat that hadn’t been repaired or replaced. Much of the UK I believe still has Victorian water infrastructure in place. There has been minimal investment in improving infrastructure since privatisation. It’s incorrect to put it all down to lack of rain during hot weather.

Tlolljs · 10/02/2023 10:10

Now I’m not a sun worshipper by any stretch of the imagination, I’m always under a shade or drinking loads of water. But I can’t wait for the weather to warm up a bit. Lighter nights too.
I’d rather be hot than cold.

Ginmonkeyagain · 10/02/2023 10:11

Heatstroke is eay to get if you are not vigilent. Mr Monkey got it at the grand age of 49 in France a few years ago. Mainly becase he did not drink enough water and strupidly sat in the sun at lunch time when those who were more sensible had retreated back under an awning.

007DoubleOSeven · 10/02/2023 10:11

A lot of pages to catch up on but has @ohyoubadkitten seen this thread?

@Walterwhiteswifey you're right - water reservations still haven't recovered. In fact I think some water companies may still have Hosepipe bans in place

PuttingDownRoots · 10/02/2023 10:12

Air conditioning is no good when the substations overheat so you have power cuts (our scenario last summer!)

Sarahjaykay · 10/02/2023 10:12

I remember the summer when my daughter was 18 months being exactly the same. I was constantly drenched and I can't believe it was that hot. You're probably running about more , constantly cleaning, changing nappies etc etc. I put it down to this and hormones and hate to say it baby weight...though this may not be an issue for you. I would be dying for cooler days on the weather forecast. I bet this summers not so bad for you.

ApolloandDaphne · 10/02/2023 10:13

It was indeed immensely hot for a period last summer, even in Scotland. I didn't enjoy is as I am not a fan of the heat. I think this year I will be better prepared if it is very hot again.

Hevasparkle · 10/02/2023 10:13

Op I feel for you as I am also worried.
I really struggle in the heat and the summer is hard for me at the best of times. I have hyperhidrosis and struggle to regulate my temperature so once it goes above 20 degrees I can’t bear it, feel unwell and faint a lot. Had to be off work last summer a few times because of it.
im in the North west it was bad enough here but the south must have been unbearable.

if you can afford it, air con would help. I constantly wear a neck fan in the summer, £10 on Amazon. I also carry a water spray bottle and wet my hair throughout the day and take ice packs out with me to put in the waistband of my work trousers which helps a bit. Lots of water and isotonic drinks.

hopefully it won’t be for the whole summer and we’ll get cooler periods in between the higher temperatures, but it is very hard

Lcb123 · 10/02/2023 10:13

There were only a handful of genuinely hot days. Think of ways you could make your home better for it, eg keep blinds / curtains shut all day makes a big difference. I do think you’re over worrying

doadeer · 10/02/2023 10:13

In London there were lots of very hot days, all of my house is floor to ceiling windows and some days were unbearable until we got an air con unit. That was a saviour. The summers have been much hotter lately for sure. Though if you're up north surely it wasn't as bad?