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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
isthismylifenow · 10/02/2023 08:11

Go and buy an aircon, cheaper than moving or an extended holiday away, also less dramatic.

Blip · 10/02/2023 08:11

I feel the same OP. I really struggle with heat.

Ifailed · 10/02/2023 08:11

I see your 24k heat-related deaths and raise it to 30k cold-related deaths.

DogInATent · 10/02/2023 08:12

AIBU to be absolutely dreading this year? Apparently the Met Office has claimed 2023 will have an even hotter summer
The Met Office has forecast global temperatures for the year, not specifically a summer heatwave for the UK and Europe.
www.metoffice.gov.uk/about-us/press-office/news/weather-and-climate/2022/2023-global-temperature-forecast

Iwillhavealargeone · 10/02/2023 08:12

Seriously
I think you need to seek help
Yours is not a normal reaction to a few days in summer

Rosio · 10/02/2023 08:15

There were some hot days but it didn't last months or anything like that. That one 40 degree day was a shocker I'll never forget that but that was a one off. Saying that it will become a common occurrence I suppose with climate change

Tayegete · 10/02/2023 08:16

I’m absolutely dreading it too. Last year was miserable and I was seriously considering moving to Scotland to escape it. Maybe I just need to book a holiday there in August.

ThreeFeetTall · 10/02/2023 08:18

I'm not worried about a few hot days (although 40 was unpleasant) but it scares me because of what it shows is happening. The seasons have gone weird, the weather is changing. I'm worried for the future.

rainbowstardrops · 10/02/2023 08:19

I don't manage well with the heat either and I found the hot days absolutely unbearable as well. South-east too. It was way too hot to enjoy in my opinion.

Mittens1717 · 10/02/2023 08:19

Move to Ireland, rain and drizzle all summer!

Nolosomi · 10/02/2023 08:20

If you can afford to go away just to avoid the U.K. heat then why not invest in decent aircon for your home instead? Wish I could just pop abroad to avoid problems when I chose. Do you always worry so much? Maybe see your GP, it might help?

FineThings · 10/02/2023 08:20

For people trying to tell the Op she is misremembering, it absolutely was incredibly and unusually hot. I mean, schools were closed where we are in Essex - I have never seen that before due to heat. Our outdoor pool closed, it was too hot for the lifeguards.

TakemedowntoPotatoCity · 10/02/2023 08:20

I can handle it, but worried about my elderly mother.

UpYaJumper · 10/02/2023 08:21

There was one unusually hot week in London last summer. It wasn’t pleasant, but in the bigger scheme of things, it was minor. It will be nice not to have astronomical heating bills for a few months to ge honest!

Stuffynosetime · 10/02/2023 08:21

Gosh this is a bit extreme. I’m in the south and yes it was very hot, but this sounds like some form of phobia.

if it is so bad for you. I’d invest in proper air conditioning op over a holiday.

ThatshallotBaby · 10/02/2023 08:21

It was unbelievably hot last summer, and I live on the east coast. Too hot. YANBU @screamingbanshees

Swiftswatch · 10/02/2023 08:22

Can’t say I had the same experience. Lots of balmy days and nights and a few very hot days as there has been every year recently but really not that dramatic.

Original poster
screamingbanshees · 10/02/2023 08:22

Tayegete · 10/02/2023 08:16

I’m absolutely dreading it too. Last year was miserable and I was seriously considering moving to Scotland to escape it. Maybe I just need to book a holiday there in August.

Good to know it isn't just me! Everyone on this thread seems to believe I'm mentally unwell for dreading it.

I'm not in the South, I'm actually in Liverpool, which can get horribly hot for where we are. I think people are forgetting that while the temperatures were not "extreme" most of the time, the humidity made it a lot worse and the "feels like" temperature was a lot higher. And it was not just five days. Hmm

OP posts:
EnterFunnyNameHere · 10/02/2023 08:22

I'm shocked people are being so dismissive. It was bloody hot last year, and more than that, some parts of the country had next to no rain. It was something like the eighth driest July since the early 1800s? We're still in drought now, which is predicted to go on beyond spring 2023 due to lower than average rainfall in winter across many parts of England. Multiple towns in England had periods of no water supplies, for days at a time!

Yes, other places have it worse. Yes, there are things we can do to keep cool. But it's not crazy to be concerned that a lot of extra people in the UK died due to the heatwave and that our "green and pleasant land" was turning more and more into a dustbowl.

Just because you might personally like the heat, or live somewhere it wasn't too bad, doesn't negate the fact that the 2022 weather was pretty disastrous for a lot of people, communities and ecology. And also doesn't negate that things generally are getting more and more extreme, both in terms of hot dry summers, and cold stormy winters, that our ecology and infrastructure is simply not designed to cope with.

Tayegete · 10/02/2023 08:22

I think some posters have a lack of empathy. I hear a lot of people talking about the cold and SAD yet personally I quite enjoy colder weather. Doesn't mean I would tell them they are overreacting for hating winter.

PigTableManners · 10/02/2023 08:22

Honestly, I'm in London and I HATED last summer. Make sure you get your fans or AC early as they sell out or get a huge mark up. I bought clothes in the sales for London's summer that you would guess I was buying for a sunny holiday. The heat was absolutely vile and I'm dreading this year.

Justcallmebebes · 10/02/2023 08:23

Well having just spent 10 min defrosting my car, I personally can't wait for summer

MajorCarolDanvers · 10/02/2023 08:23

derelicte · 10/02/2023 07:52

Roughly where do you live? Move to Scotland! It definitely wasn't that hot here.

Same here. We had a few nice days but overall not the best summer.

P3N · 10/02/2023 08:23

The level of empathy is lovely on here. "Move to Scotland", "Move North", "Buy aircon", "Well buy a fan", "wasn't that bad in the UK".... like people can up and leave their lives and we all have endless amounts of money.
I was in NE England in the summer last year and it was fucking awful. I get really poorly with the heat. I'm probably going to be worse this year due to recovering from a brain injury. Some people don't do well in the warmer weather. My DH actually fits and his blood pressure drops dramatically when he becomes too hot.
OP fins the threads about tips and tricks to help during the summer. They really helped me out.

P3N · 10/02/2023 08:24

*find

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