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.

Omg sorry you are concerned but I honestly cannot wait for the summer! This winter has been the worst so so cold, not to mention the rise in gas prices which has meant not using my heating to keep warm and on the odd occasion I have used the heating it’s wiped out nearly all of my money on the meter. I’ve been so cold and ill constantly from the cold I can’t wait for the warmer weather. Being able to have doors and windows open, everything brighter and happier, being able to hang clothes out on the washing line and them drying in no time! No more grey depressing mornings. I’m honestly so excited for it lol.

I think what was most frightening about the intense heat we had was the effect it had - fields and woodland catching fire, houses catching fire plus the effects it had on the infra structure, transport, etc. The heat some of us experienced was much more than we are used to - the thought of that again this year doesn’t fill me with pleasure. However, we are going to have to get used to it as the effects of climate change continue to take hold.

We’re in the south east, but I only remember a few very hot days. And lots of lovely balmy warm evenings enjoying sitting in the garden. It was hardly unbearable heat.

We bloody loved it. I appreciate some don’t like hot weather, but it’s a short, sharp burst if we get it.

I am in the south and although I love the sun the relentless extreme heat last summer was too much . Spent the whole time managing my
dogs in the heat . I was longing for winter tbh .

@Wafflington we are not equipped for it in UK
no air con in my car
in my house
and actually air con is one of the causes of climate change.
so go ahead and laugh

Your right, they can't.

They're chucking out predictions such as this, which I guess is fair enough:

www.metoffice.gov.uk/about-us/press-office/news/weather-and-climate/2022/2023-global-temperature-forecast

But that's not the same as being able, right now, in February, being able to predict a Heatwave for the UK this summer....

Clearly there WERE places in the UK that were crazy hot, even if it doesn't tally with your personal experience. I think that temperatures of 42 are pretty extreme, yes, and that's what we experienced over a few days in Oxfordshire. London too. It was mad. Maybe 2-3 weeks of absurdly high temps (mostly mid 30s) with a few high 30s/low 40s spikes. I had card taped over those windows that didn't have curtains, we kept windows closed until the sun was practically down. And I've lived/worked in much hotter parts of Europe. It was surreally hot here last summer.

now we cannot even swim in the sea unless we are prepared to come face to face with sewage

This.
I’m in the Midlands and it was relentless for weeks on end. Then I went to London and it felt the same, so all the people on this thread saying it wasn’t bad must live in Scotland.

Soak a tshirt in water wring out and put it on, nice and chilli

People just have a different tolerance to heat, the same way people do to cold. The lack of empathy on here though is staggering.

I feel the same as you OP, just cannot deal with extreme weather and doesn't matter if it's for one day or five - some of us find it really hard to tolerate. I remember the hottest day ever last year in July, going into the garden and even the air was uncomfortable to breathe, everything felt strange and wrong, like the heat was unnatural. Fills me with anxiety thinking about it so you have my sympathy.

Yes your are AIBU. Talk about dramatic! I live in the same city and it was not that hot! Jeez.

TBH I'd be more terrified of hunger riots in May and June. The climate is fucked anyway..... I'm not worried about it. At least I won't have to pay BP/Shell exorbitant amounts of money to be warm when the temperature outside is hot!!

To be hones the Met Office are pretty poor at predicting any weather beyond the next few days. They didn't predict the severe recent cold snaps so I take any predictions with a large pinch of salt.

I’m fair skinned and I found the extreme heat we had last year intolerable.

I agree wholeheartedly with you, as a menopausal woman who works in a bakery I
found it hell.

When in the UK people talk about heat waves of 29 to 31°C it just makes me laugh.
You should see Spain’s 45°C in the height of summer. That is unbearable, similar to sticking your face in an oven when you open the door to check your chicken nuggets.

I understand though that you may not be used to these high temperatures so anything over 20ºC might be too hot.

In my honest opinion I am just happy to get more use out of my summer dresses.

Thanks notimagain! I’m no expert but as that’s a global forecast I assume there’s quite a bit of scope for regional variation 😃😃

Having said that, I remember the boiling hot summer of ‘76 and as I recall ‘77 was quite hot, but not as hot, so you never know! <hedging bets>

I hated last summer so much that I've actually enjoyed the winter. Normally, I whinge about the rain and cold, but this year I've savored it. I'm in rural Essex, and July and August were utter torture. It wasn't just the heat. The population of my town has trebled since I moved here, and greedy developers have jammed as many rabbit hutch new builds together as they can. When it's boiling hot, the overcrowding really gets me down. I remember literally sobbing at one point – just overwhelmed with the heat and noise and traffic.

It was 42 degrees here in the midlands, may even have been 43 one day. Admittedly it was only that hot for about a week, maybe slightly more but it was really bad. I guess in Spain you have more buildings with air conditioning? Or maybe just better designed buildings with smaller windows and thicker walls?

Have you considered you may be going through the menopause?

I just checked and the official highest temp was recorded at an raf base not far from me and was 40.3. But my thermometer definitely recorded 42, guess I lived near the hottest part of the U.K. in that heatwave.

Well I remember how hot it was last summer. I remember taking a wet sheet to go over me at night, with three fans in the bedroom. I remember putting ice packs in the dogs beds. I really hope it's not like that again this year

picnics, splash parks, late evening meals in the garden, splashing in the sea.
Just get prepped: shades for windows, fans, ice packs for everyone at bedtime (really…in a pillow case and put under your feet..lush) Iced water to hand, face wipes or cold flannels stored in the fridge , ice pops, salads. Create a shady area in your garden, get a small paddling pool ( easy to empty and clean and more environmentally friendly then a big pool). It can get too much when there are too many super hot days and nights in a row …head to the coast ( for breeze) or local woodland park (shady and cool) loads of free splash parks around. Evening walks by the river. Tire everyone out and the sleep will come, even to the most irritable of beings.