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.

As we have a south facing conservatory we also put up a sail shade over it during the two hottest weeks. This stopped it getting to hot and helped reduce the temperature in the house as well.

Why do you want to start at 6am! Round here the kids loved being outside playing in the sun over lunch and then had the cooler light evenings when they got home. Them being at school during it kept them out of the worst of the UV rays. Schools should fundraise for decent fans like the Dyson. The majority of work places are air conditioned.

We spent the summer evenings and off days our in the chav tastic above ground pool which will likely come out again this year!

Hopefully if we get another hot summer it will encourage people to get out in garden, BBQ together and generally have a more cafe culture which is great for moral and stress relief.

Europe has VERY hot weather, Liverpool completely different!

I live in East Central Scotland in an elevated position in a new build home .
Weather was over 30c for about a week or so on 2 separate occasions and then it dropped to a more pleasant temperature.
Luckily house is well insulated so it kept to a fairly reasonable temperature of about 24c in most of the rooms except for the kitchen / dining / family room which has huge bifold doors !
We had no proper curtains or blinds and the sun was absolutely streaming in 🥵for most of the day .
Bedroom was still 28c at 11pm .
We made do with temporary paper blinds stuck up and spent most of our time in the front of the house
Our poor dog only got walked at stupid o’clock in the morning or very late at night , we didn’t go anywhere except the supermarket and also took dog to Pets at Home to loiter in the AC and buy him treats .
Thank heavens this year we have our blinds up now and have built a structure which will have shade in summer and stop the sun streaming in the back of our house !

The climate is changing, getting hotter, and there are more heat related illness and deaths predicted, so I think it's a reasonable thing to think about and prepare for. Maybe make plans about how to keep cool.

Poor OP is getting a roasting on Mumsnet! Pun intended!
I'm in the SE and it felt like the hot weather went on and on. It was hideous and I felt so hot and ill throughout. It wasn't just a few days. I am in menopause and hot anyway and have always struggled in heat and prone to heat stroke. I wish I loved it. I'm currently loving the winter.

YABU and overdramatic

If you are doing the tourist stuff everywhere will have air conditioning. The tube stays cool in parts. Plan your day so you are inside at the hottest points.

Agree

I thought that this was going to be about weight. I'm dropping mine with the summer in mind. I'm by Liverpool and would normally go into town etc while I've got the GC. I couldn't take the youngest out because she couldn't cope. She's a child who loves the park. We are in the park until it goes dark. Come summer we were stuck just going to local shops. If you've got a car the aquariums are kept at a nice temperature. In other years we'd head out to Formby/New Brighton etc to be on the coast, or in woodland. Last year was extreme. The effect of climate change is worrying. There's parts of the world that are going to get inhabitable. We've just seen the consequences in Turkey/Syria. Those people will have to be temporarily rehoused and then the money found to rebuild (to happen again though?). Then there's the forest fires and the further loss of wildlife, which is being eroded by the building of houses because of our population levels.

The environment makes everything worse. In Australia, for example, the heat doesn't seem so bad, because they have lots of space. Once you get outside of the city centres, there is so much more room – the roads are quieter and emptier, the houses have more space between them, etc.

I'm in rural Essex, in a town whose population has trebled during my lifetime. Everywhere you go, developers have squeezed as many horrible new builds together as they can. And, of course, these giant estates retain the heat. Sitting in traffic (which is beyond a joke where I live) is also torture. I remember going into town one Saturday at the height of the heat. Christ, I could have murdered somebody (and I'm sure they felt the same about me!).

it was dangerous for the elderly and vulnerable.

@Ponoka7 as serious as climate change is, the awful situation in Turkey and Syria is the result of an earthquale, not climate change. That area is on a serious faultline and has experienced serious earthquakes for thousands of years.

I can't wait for the summer, I get quite low in the winter

Have you tried using a SAD lamp in the winter? I find using one on a daily basis to be helpful along with getting outside as early as possible for a short period of time.

Was so hot I bought a small paddling pool for granddaughter (6 months) and sat in it with her. It was really cheap and a brilliant buy__

We had a few days that were hit, Aberdeen hit 27° 😵 almost unheard of but we get relief with it, whether it be cooler nights or good old hard to keep the sun at bay 😇🤣🤣

The north of England perhaps? Because if you were in the north of the UK or Scotland (like me) you’d be complaining about how shit last summer was with only a few days about 14degrees.

Clearly the climate in your area is fucked and having a severe impact on your family’s health. You have to options 1) adapt your home & behaviours 2) Move.

How peculiar, I am presuming yer further south than I am (Aberdeen) and its almost tropical here a solid 10° 🤣🤣🤣

It is really depressing to read so many people saying get an ac unit. We need to take climate change seriously.

40° was unpleasant 😵‍💫🥴😳 25 without a pool and permament cocktail in my hand leaves me looking and felling like a melted wellies 😅😅😅

Aberdeen was a balmy 27 🥵

This is a very pertinent thread. We should all be expecting hotter summers in the future.
I went to a talk given by a retired meteorologist “Surviving a heatwave”, it was very interesting and actually moved into societal breakdown as everyone turned on their air conditioning, used more water etc.
Statistically women over 70 are more at risk in heatwaves, he didn’t know the reason, but older ladies will know that after menopause our body thermostats never return to normal. We all agreed this was probably the reason.
He recommended leaving a bath full of cold water to dip into (not renewing daily), which would also be handy should the water suddenly be cut off or rationed.
Covering your windows if south facing or when the sun is shining ie pulling curtains, blinds or taping up newspaper .
Plants growing against your house also help keep the temperature lower, as does leaving your lawn longer.

I live in the south east. Our house is south facing it did get very hot, we have invested in a canopy over part of the rear to keep the sun off. We are lucky to have a small cellar, it is dark and dank, but we did go and sit in it to cool down! We also have access to a paddock down our lane, which in the summer has very long grass - we would stroll up there and sit in it, the temperature was definitely lower, which supported his theory about growing plants against the house and long grass.

I am also dreading the heat of summer after the temperatures of last year. I suffered so badly with heat exhaustion, swollen ankles and dehydration. I was so bad my boss even took me home from work. The only thing I found helpful was to wrap myself in a wet towel. I even tied a wet scarf around my middle (under my clothes) when at work. I suffered so badly that I am wondering if to buy an ice coat for work this year (waistcoat that has pockets to put ice packs in) Most people seemed to enjoy the heat but nope not for me either.
If you are lucky enough to afford to book time away then I would say do it

@Timetoretire there are some useful tips I'm your post, thank you.

Re plants- if you can establish some drought-tolerant ones really well, it helps. I've been suprised at how it's been significantly cooler in the middle of large shrubs or under ferns. Its really important for pets to have spots which are properly cool and if you can create a small sitting area encased by climbers and tall plants it'll be much cooler.

Incidentally- climbers grown on the walls of buildings also help moderate temperatures keeping them warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer. Recent studies have shown that climbers like ivy don't damage brickwork as previously thought but do work as brilliant temperature moderators. Living walls would be another option.

If you can afford it, in addition to water butts you can also have water storage tanks buried in the garden which give a valuable source of water for plants in times of drought and hosepipe bans.