To be terrified of the coming summer?

[screamingbanshees]

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.

Yep, barely needed other than during the few days heatwave, that's why I'm surprised how different you felt last year. I took it to mean weeks on end of hot weather, if you did just mean those few days then yes I can imagine it was hard without an air con unit.

I got mine off amazon during lockdown, under £300, with the option to spread payments 0% interest. If that might be an option you could pay for one over time before any warm weather hits.

Summer lovers or people who aren’t drama llamas about a bit of heat?

Unfortunately it’s nothing to do with popular mood. Well there’s a correlation but the popular mood stems from the fact that temperatures are increasing. I’m not sure you can have your own unique opinion about facts.

Same. It was horrible in London. July and August were grim with a few days of it being Sahara like. I'm planning a holiday in August somewhere cool.
Ireland escaped most of it as did Scotland.

I wouldn't worry about it. It will probably be a shit, wet summer like usual. I loved the hot days we had last year. I am hoping it happens again.

I think you are being a bit dramatic OP. There was maybe a fortnight last summer where it was exceptionally hot but no hotter than it is in other countries, and when you go on holiday. Drink water, pop the fan on and maybe put a paddling pool in a shady spot of the garden.

Oh and open your loft hatch!

I agree with you OP, I live in a first story flat with no shade on either side and I have no garden so couldn't just "get the paddling pool out in the shade". My flat was over 40c in the day and over 30c in the night. Heat can also triggers my epilepsy which is extremely unpleasant. Even if its just for a few days it cam make me extremely miserable and vulnerable like myself for those few days which is enough to worry about.

People saying this is over dramatic have missed an obvious point, which is that people have very different physical responses to the heat. If the summer generally, let alone heatwaves, leaves you incapacitated then it’s not an overreaction to fear it.

I am absolutely dreading it too OP. It has been weighing on my mind. I can guarantee that anyone who thinks that is silly would actually feel the same as me if their body reacted as mine does.

We also all have different environments, I live in a city in an upper floor flat with large south facing windows and no outside space.

I truly cannot stand the insane heat of the last few summers. We’re on the south coast, have a lot of livestock and animals and a south facing glazed house. We have solar film, solar curtains and aircon, but the house was regularly 40 degrees from the sun just beating in. Just awful.

Keeping the animals alive and not suffering horribly is a big, big job.

I absolutely loved last summer (obviously not the issues that came with it) but we had so much family time, it was the best, I hate the cold so I can't wait for the heat.

I agree with you. I am in south east, in a new build house which is very well insulated (a dream in winter, cheap to heat), and I suffered A LOT last summer. Also had a newborn so that was fun.

no idea how we will cope this summer. I am reluctant to fit aircon because a)it’s making the problem worse !! (Increased emissions, more climate change, more heatwaves), and b) well it’s expensive

@Inyournewdress @Maria1982 Both nailing it. No wonder people don’t give a shit about climate change if 40 degree temperatures and forest fires in the UK “isn’t that hot, I loved it”. Christ.

I really feel the heat and did not find it extreme ... in southern Scotland at least. Fan in the bedroom at night when necessary.

Was definitely more than a couple of days in the south east. It was an absolutely misery all summer for those that dont like the heat. I would invest in an aircon unit now if you can before prices rise in summer.

I am in Geneva where it is ferociously hot in the summer. Advice here:
Open windows after 11pm
Keep them open until the outside temperature begins to rise above the inside temperature of your house
Then close all windows and curtains. Forget trying to create a cross breeze during the day. Shut it all down.
Do not allow any sun to shine directly into your home. Do not cook on your stovetop (oven or microwave only).
Replace ceiling lights with lights + fans where possible.

Prepare and it'll be more manageable. Lots of people have no clue about how to keep their homes cool in a heatwave here because we don't have that many of them really- and I don't mean expensive changes but just knowing when to open and shut curtains and windows etc.

I for one would love another heatwave. But then, I live in NE Scotland, so your heatwave is my fabulous summer.

I hate summer at the best of times (I burn easily and it is no fun at all) but the hot weather of last summer is seared into my memory. DS was 3 months and it was an absolute battle trying to get the house down to a reasonable temperature - regardless of what we did, our bedroom hovered around 30 degrees and we ended up sleeping in the living room where it was slightly cooler.

Very much hoping we won't have more of the same this year.

i found when I slimmed down a few years ago I could bear the heat, it’s when menopause hit and I found I couldn’t easily shift weight that I was uncomfortable. Drink plenty of ice cold drinks, buy a cooling pet mat, and keep your head cool, helps a bit.

I think the East coast was much warmer. Here in the Western Isles, it was wet and cool except for a couple of weeks in May and the odd nicer day.

Good point about ceiling fans. Have one in the conservatory and don't usually use it but my word the difference it made! I think as climate change progresses ceiling fans will become much more common and it's a good idea to install one if you struggle with the heat waves.

It was almost unbearable here in Oxfordshire. I was a sweaty, inert lump for days on end. Really unpleasant.

It's predicted that London is going to be like Barcelona by 2050. So be prepared and don't be so dramatic. Billions of people live and cope with lot worse.

www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jul/10/global-heating-london-similar-climate-barcelona-2050

However, I am always stunned how Brits cannot use their common sense when it comes to heat.

Don't go out in the middle of the day.
Close windows and curtains during the day, open them during the night.
Start to install outside shutters so that the light cannot come into the rooms far more effective.
Do not wear plastic clothes.
Plant trees around your house - for a cooler microclimate. A forest garden.
Do not cut your lawn too short (or do not cut at all), keep it at leas 5 cm or longer - it helps to keep it alive and cooler.
Plant trees in your towns. Look at what Vienna does.

Do not use air nots - it will make climate crisis worse.
Housing estates are still being built seemingly without any adaptation to a hotter climate.

Just try and adapt.

By cooling tech now. Portable ACs etc.

@Mackonadragos

I am always stunned by people who presume other people sit at home all day 😂. Fab tips but not helpful in a sweaty comprehensive where you’re not allowed a fan.