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.

We rent and due to our previous landlord selling had a limited time to find a half decent place, now rents have gone up and we can’t move without completely relocating. Having said that I didn’t think about heat, but then I saw this place online and had viewed in and paid the deposit within about 90 mins.

I told DD to buy her house because it has a north facing living room and kitchen, it’s fabulous in summer because the sun doesn’t hit the windows till early evening, it’s far cooler than our SE/NW facing house which is blasted on the back in the morning from 5am and the front from lunchtime- sunset. My conservatory can hit 40° by 11am.

Surely conservatories are built to catch sunlight/warmth?

Everyone has a budget and a shortlist at their price point.

Installing and running aircon or triple glazing is expensive.

Global Warming wasn't a thing? Of course it was! Scientists have known about it for decades. The Big Oil companies have tried their best to shut down the talk about the problem because - obviously - they make lots of dosh from selling the oil and gas that are heating up the planet. (Same as the tobacco companies did about cigarettes)
Now the planet is really messed up. I fear for my children.

@SnipSnapMe I think what the PP meant was it wasn't really in the public consciousness in the same way, rather than it wasn't actually occurring.

I didn’t say it wasn’t a thing, I said wasn’t really a thing.

That is not saying it didn’t exist, it just didn’t have the focus that is does now. Look at how housing has changed in the last 40 plus years. Back then, how efficient a house was didn’t come into purchasing decisions and there was no information about how energy efficient a house was. We still drove cars with leaded fuel, 0-60 was important rather than how many miles to the gallon etc etc.

There was nowhere near the same emphasis on global warming, or the environmental impact of human actions from scientists let alone the person on the street, hence it wasn’t really a thing.

Yeah, I guess, though global warming was known about by lots of people interested in nature / environment, there's been lots of talk about it. But not enough in the news and on tv - until it's too late, and even now...
Don't Look Up!!

I've been thinking about this lately and I both agree and disagree. I've been watching some old programmes and sitcoms from the 80s/90s over the last couple of years and the knowledge of global warming taking us to the cliff edge - all the stuff that is at the forefront of consciousness and reality now - was definitely in the general public sphere at the time. But, it seems to have resided mostly within the youth and alternative demographics rather than the mainstream middle and the mainstream media and government, as it is now.

Talking about global warming became much more prominent in the 90s than when we bought our property in the 80s. Concerns about the ozone layer didn’t come to prominence until the late 80s and it was the 90s before global warming really started to gain traction with the general public.

YANBU, I longed for autumn and winter too last year

I am looking forward to spring, and the weather getting warmer but dreading another extremely hot summer and drought. I think people have short memories about how bad it was last year.

Im a typical Brit, where to me the perfect weather is 25 degrees, with a little dusting of clouds and a light breeze 😆

Hands up who's ordered fans,AC units, blinds, parasols etc. Get in the prices will rise as the 🌡️ does

Summer was horrendous last year. I am in London and it was just unbearable.
Low 20's is nice, anything above that I find uncomfortable.

I have been planning Justasking. Blinds, fans and natural shading. I don't want to just make artificial adaptations but to adapt our small garden into something that is both climate resilient, but also will help keep the house more comfortable. I've also been making it more resilient to surface flash flooding which is a problem where we live.

Last summer I used blinds and curtains for the sitting room and conservatory in fact in every room but eventually every brick meant our house was 29c at midnight. I was so glad when the weather broke.

I curse the previous owners who cut down the mature trees and planted shrubs.

I'm not good in overly warm or hot weather. Even with fans on and wearing the minimum of clothes at home. I'm on the 1st and 2nd floors of a building which faces west and gets the sun full on from noon onwards at the front and dawn to noon sun at the back, which is lovely in the kitchen and bathroom but not lovely in my bedroom and sitting room if the temperature is over 20c.
At the moment it's a perfect 17c with the window open halfway which helps me to sleep better.
I try to visit places near water if it's really hot but I must cover up and use SPF 30-50 as I burn easily.
Last year I spent a few days July in Eastbourne visiting a relative and it was very hot but there were palm trees and flowery planters in some areas where the cafes gave a very continental vibe. There was also a strong breeze on the pier and promenade which provided much relief.

Our living room faces east but the morning sun is enough to heat our flat to unbearable levels and we are on the top floor so the flat concrete roof holds heat, as does our balcony.

We've installed an awning which we put out as soon as the sun comes out on hot days but nothing really keeps it cool which is why we got the A/C towards the end of the hot weather. I'm planning to hang sheets on the outside of the big glass doors this year, but don't think it will make a huge difference - also I don't particularly want to live in gloom for long.
I'm still hoping that, despite global warming, last summer could have been a temporary hike in the gradual rise.

Our bedroom only gets early morning sun. We had blinds and curtains but each day the room got hotter and hotter. The fabric of the bungalow was basically turned into a night storage heater so emitted the heat.

I found that hanging a white sheet over a sprung pole in the bedroom window right against the glass helped enormously last summer as we get the sun from 5am- before that the blackout blind would be like a radiator.
I also made an awning that goes in the roof space of the conservatory which keeps a lot of sun out but it can still get up to 40° in there in the morning.

Sitting in my summerhouse watching the hailstones bouncing off the sodden grass, and desperate to get washing dry and seedlings planted,summer cant come bloody soon enough!