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.

You need to report your post to MN and ask them to delete it.

I feel an underlying terror at what climate change means for us. It's easier to manage it in the winter but in the summer I feel like it overwhelms me.
I worry about my children's future and I feel guilty I bought them into this world.

I'm not saying she doesn't feel terrified. She's welcome to feel terrified, but I'm also entitled to think that's a bit of an extreme reaction.

I have to agree on the 40c days it was unbearable! Too hot in the garden or house - had to sit in the shade or go to somewhere air con like a shopping centre.
I think it was only incredibly hot for a week.

I hate it and get genuinely depressed during summer months. I am an alcohol addict and had a serious relapse during the last summer due to persistent low mood and feelings of hopelessness and not being able to sleep because of the heat. Fans don't cut it during a heatwave and I want to smack people in the face who say about countries with constant air conditioner, like the US (of course they tolerate it better because restaurants, homes, shopping malls and cars have it, that is NOT coping/living with the heat).

I am in the South West and it was hellish 31/32 for weeks. The scariest time was when I had just finished a meal and suddenly got dizzy, cold to the touch and then was violently sick. I overheated but it wasn't preventable.

I am dreading the Summer as usual. I absolutely adore Autumn/Winter/Spring time. It takes away a bit of sanity each time.

@screamingbanshees

I can honestly say because We shielded our windows it wasn't too bad here.
We put fabric old sheets etc outside and that made an enormous difference.

In the bathroom I hung sheets outside and the difference in the small area of glass the fabric couldn't reach was immense.

But my main fear was fire. I was absolutely terrified of fire.

I also got thermal lined curtains in sale and they were great in summer and winter.

I'm also dreading it and hoping to loose weight for it.

I remember all the tiktoks from last year from migrants saying to those who didn't understand about our summers just how awful they are here. I think it was in response to Americans saying "but it gets to a billionty degrees here and we manage! Quit your complaining"

So to everyone who says other nations have it worse, I direct you to tiktok of last summer

I emigrated to the Netherlands so similar weather to some parts of the UK. I came from a hot country that was just beginning to experience the reality of climate change. I don't think Europeans worry enough. OP, YANBU.

Where I live air con has become quite usual, but a lot of people still don't have it, and while most shops and businesses now do for most of my life it wasn't available anywhere. And yet we managed to cope without all the dramatics from some on this thread - yes, with carpets and insulated houses.

I mean, there are worse things than hot weather....

Like being in an earthquake, dressed only in your nightwear and sleeping in your car surrounded by snow…if you’re lucky enough to survive.

The drama on this thread is ridiculous (and im understanding hot weather isnt for everyone). Even if its a month of extreme heat (thats 30’s in the UK), we’re still lucky to have a normal climate most of the year and no natural disasters. People do need to adapt abit in the heat (hydrate/curtains closed/aircon/fans/cold baths etc - loads of tips on here). Abit of perspective is needed!

It's nice to see a sensible post. Those who live in countries where it does get hot have learned to adapt, but it seems the UK hasn't. I can remember a hot summer in the UK several years ago when tips were given for coping with the heat - but it seems few appeared to take them on board.

We have drought conditions here most summers, we also have watering restrictions and bans on lighting fires. You do what you can to get by.

This advice was clearly given on TV during the heatwave. It works as well. I bet most people just didn't bother with it.

Oh yes. We were in a London flat with three young kids and a nursery commute. I made it bearable by deploying every trick in the book to keep us cool but it was still hugely unpleasant, and having to constantly be thinking about which curtains/windows to open/close when, what was in/out the freezer etc was a bit of admin I could do without. Also going to bed hot and sticky, waking up and opening a window to feel a warm breeze (at 6am...), knowing it's another day basically housebound 9am-4.30pm with young, sticky kids.

DS an architect said modern house design regulations are obsessed with conserving energy/heat. Which makes them uncomfortable ovens in the summer. Orientation of the building is important but neglected to get the maximum plots onto a site. In cities you have a concrete, tarmac jungle absorbing heat during the day and radiating it at night. Acres of glass bifold doors are not conducive to keeping cool. Triple glazing, shutters, thick walls, small windows on the other hand are

YANBU. We used to live in London - in an end terrace, SW facing, 1 brick thick. The outside wall would bake all day and indoors was getting to 35+ upstairs at night. Each summer for three years I took DS (born 2019) to my DPs every time London became virtually too hot to live in.

We’ve moved 1.5 hours west now- a lot cooler for not being in London, and cooler again for being in a properly insulated modern terrace, but moving is not something everyone can do. It’s only going to get worse, with a child or for the elderly it is awful.

It was dangerously hot in the Midlands in 2022. Not "a few days of hot weather" by any means. It was 100% frightening so I can understand what OP is saying. It was all day, all night with no respite whatsoever. Every day the temp in the house got higher and higher. 35 degrees, 38 degrees. The terrifying part was that there was no breeze and it did not cool down at night. At one point I realised we were all in danger, drifting in and out of consciousness and I was definitely not thinking clearly at all. At that point we had no choice to put wet towels on ourselves and the DC and should have done it sooner. Fans were not enough.

If it happens again this year I will be taking us to an air conditioned hotel. It was beyond horrible and into health risk territory. The reason I didn't do that last year is I have never experienced a heatwave like that and didn't really understand how bad it could get. But this year I wouldn't hesitate. It was dangerous.

Move to Scotland this was not an issue I am worrying about! More sun would be nice!

Do you want to swap for my house in Ireland? The summer lasts about two days …

I'm totally with you OP - I could have written this..

As others have said, move to Scotland. We had about six days of sunshine and a LOT of rain. Definitely no drought.

Erm it was hot for a week ? Just move north you will be ok! Just enjoy not spending all your money on gas winter is so depressing now !

We are all different and like it or hate it for different reasons I’m a sun worshipper makes my depression better love drying clothes outside plus saves on heating bills
but I know a lot of people who prefer winter no right or wrong wouldn’t be normal to all be the same

There was only 2 days of extreme 40 degree heat where I am. The rest of it was lovely but those two days weren’t nice at all.