Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
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
sorrynotathome · 10/02/2023 08:49

alwayscheery · 10/02/2023 08:48

Lots of folk are currently struggling to pay energy bills at the moment, many people are living in extremely cold houses and not even maintaining their homes at 12 degrees it seems a bit insensitive to complain about sunshine . The thought of balmy weather is all that is keeping many people going at the moment.

There are lots of ways to cope with the warmer weather and the changing Seasons help make the UK special.

Very well said.

Rainbowclimbinghigh · 10/02/2023 08:49

Tirednest · 10/02/2023 08:30

I'm not a climate change denier. But it was really hot for about a week.

Ha ha. If by "really hot", you mean breaking daily temperature records by unprecedented amounts, then yes, it was "really hot" for a week in July. If however you live in the real world, then you'll find that pretty much the whole summer had much higher than average temperatures, no rain for weeks on end and regular official heatwaves.. And for a country that is not designed for heat, many many normal people, who will regardless have to go about their normal lives, will find that "really hot".

sorrynotathome · 10/02/2023 08:50

JessicaFletcherscrewnecksweater · 10/02/2023 08:49

I absolutely fucking despise the heat too. It’s alarming how it’s suddenly become so hot over in the summers. I’m south facing and in the south and it was unbearable, and that’s with air con and solar film on the windows.

I like winter. Summer can go fuck itself.

Why so angry?!

JustHereWithMyPopcorn · 10/02/2023 08:50

Where were you last summer?? There was a mini heatwave for a week but other than that it was a fairly typical summer.

TinaYouFatLard · 10/02/2023 08:50

Can’t wait for it.

MegaClutterSlut · 10/02/2023 08:50

People can get SAD over summer just like people do over winter so no need to take the piss

I'm in the S.E and those saying it was only a few days of very hot weather last year are talking out of their arse. It was HELL

mmi · 10/02/2023 08:51

I find cold much harder to manage

Layering up doesn't work. It doesn't warm me.

Cold sets off my arthritis and I ache. Every movement hurts

I'm awaiting hip replacements and I'm terrified of falling in the ice

I'd rather have heat.

stepkidscopingstrategy · 10/02/2023 08:51

@screamingbanshees
Couple of tips from me:
Re dehydration:

Make sure you are eating food which will rehydrate you:
Cold watermelon - or any melon is a great one. A few slices of that will make you feel a lot better. Have that instead of - or with a glass of water. You will feel the difference.

Stop drinking warm drinks.

Your baths need to be luke warm- and finish with some colder water around your ankles / feet or even more of your body if that feels ok.

Move slower. Don't get wound up about anything.
Do stuff as early as possible in the morning (when it's not boiling) and chill out in the afternoon where possible.

Purplepeopleeaterz · 10/02/2023 08:52

I completely understand OP, the heat really gets to me, my heart races constantly, I feel faint, sick & panicky every time it gets above 27/28c so more recent summers have been something to just get through rather than enjoy as you can't just hide away for 2 months. Without air con (unaffordable) the fan, cold shower, drinking lots make no real difference for more than a few minutes.

Great that many enjoy summer but many people don't, it is strange how its acceptable to not enjoy the cold but a travesty to dislike feeling awful in the heat?

LakieLady · 10/02/2023 08:52

dollybird · 10/02/2023 08:44

This. All those saying 'move north', that's exactly what will happen in the world, but there won't be room for everyone. And air conditioning just exacerbates the problem.

Show quote history

There'll be even less room than there is now, @dollybird , because the rise in sea levels caused by the melting polar ice caps will mean more of the land will be under water.

Someone sent me a link to an online flood map, where you can see how areas will be flooded as you increase sea levels. It doesn't take a huge increase for most of my town to be under water, and the hill where I live to become an island.

ValerieDoonican · 10/02/2023 08:52

OP I sympathise. In the years leading up to meno we had some very hot summers (a few years ago now 😉) and I really struggled - luckily now I'm ancient I quite like it, but that's no help to you..

What I do advise with an insulated house is to cool it down as much as you can overnight - if you can leave downstairs windows open a crack on secure openings do that, if you can't - invest in some secure window latches, and open as much as you can upstairs. Then when it warms up outside - close everything to keep in the cool. Open up again when its cooler outside than in.

Also, if you can hang sheets outside the windows to keep the sun off during the day, this makes a massive difference. Its why Mediterranean countries have external shutters and awnings. Failing that draw curtains, but if outside, the heat is reflected before it even gets in.

If you can't get AC, a freezer block in a dish of water, in front of a fan, does a good job. There are also little mini acs you can put on the bedside table - one of my relatives has one and she loves it.

Hedjwitch · 10/02/2023 08:52

I'm in Scotland so didnt get the sort of heat OP is talking about. It was a glorious summer and I cant wait for some warm weather after this dreary winter.

WiIson · 10/02/2023 08:53

I'm looking forward to the hotter weather.

Get an air con unit or a fan if you're worrying about it.

TiaraBoo · 10/02/2023 08:54

I don’t like the heat, but I am looking forward to not needing the heating on.

HairyKitty · 10/02/2023 08:54

Dread is a perfectly appropriate word to use in anticipation of 40 degree heat depending on your physiological response to heat (WHICH IS OUTSIDE OP’S CONTROL!)

I am dreading the nausea, headaches and mental health consequences of the associated 10 days of sleep deprivation.
I am dreading the utter brain fog that prevents me from working or properly caring for my children.
I am dreading the extreme physical sluggishness and literal inability to complete simple tasks.
Sadly I can’t afford a/c, tiling the floors, moving to Scotland, booking 2 week hols in Iceland.
If your body’s response to extreme heat is like mine then I expect you would dread it too!

CherriesSpring · 10/02/2023 08:55

Try Ireland? Boost the summer economy over there?

RafaellaOrDella · 10/02/2023 08:55

It depends whether the average temperature will be a bit higher (not a huge problem for most individuals in this country) or whether we will have a spike of 35+ temperatures for a couple of weeks (pretty horrible). I do kind of dread the latter and there are limits to what you can do. Home a/c is expensive. Fans don't help massively. Hard to have your feet in a bucket of water if you're working at a computer and don't want to be electrocuted.

derelicte · 10/02/2023 08:56

screamingbanshees · 10/02/2023 08:27

It certainly doesn't help that a lot of the MN community is comfortable or well off in terms of finances, so can afford to just up and move about. Our house is fully insulated and very old, which traps the heat in as we have no cool air circulation. We had multiple fans running in our bedroom, doors open, ice in front of/behind fans etc, and nothing worked for us. Definitely going to be getting AC if we can afford it.

Show quote history

You don't have to be well off to move to Scotland 🤷. We weren't when we moved. We moved from the south east because we hated how crowded, rushed, and "unfriendly" it was (aggressive drivers, crowds of miserable, harassed-looking people etc). I was as unhappy as you sound (albeit for different reasons) so decided to do something about it, and I'm much happier living here. I can't imagine persevering through the misery when there are options to move somewhere that suits you better.

PuttingDownRoots · 10/02/2023 08:57

I am slightly worried about a repeat of the heatwave...

  • we had so many wildfires the fire brigade couldn't attend them all... just the risk of life ones. Friends were evacuated.
  • we had power cuts and no mobile signal for parts of the day
  • we only recently came off a hosepipe ban... Will shortages be worse this year?

This was Yorkshire one of the few places to go 40+.

But ots not a certainty.

cilary · 10/02/2023 08:57

People being so disingenuous on this thread. It’s funny how you don’t like being shut down by certain groups about other topics but you’re doing the same here just because it suits you all.

www.preventionweb.net/news/met-office-review-uks-record-breaking-summer-2022

RampantIvy · 10/02/2023 08:58

It absolutely wasn't a typical summer last year. I remember driving over Woodhead Pass to Manchester in June and the first reservoir you get to in Longdendale was like the Sahara Desert - a sight I have never seen before.

The reservoirs by Ladybower were the lowest I have ever seen them, with the ruins of the drowned village well above the water level. The plug hole in Ladybower was completely dry and well above the water level.

Userusing1 · 10/02/2023 08:59

If you are that worried probably get an air con unit now while you can easily get them, we got one last year in the heatwave and it wasn't easy and not much choice but it did make a big difference for the bedroom which was hotter because all the heat seemed trapped in there. Although they are expensive to run it will only be for a few days, so no different to having your heating on a lot during a cold snap.

JessicaFletcherscrewnecksweater · 10/02/2023 08:59

alwayscheery · 10/02/2023 08:48

Lots of folk are currently struggling to pay energy bills at the moment, many people are living in extremely cold houses and not even maintaining their homes at 12 degrees it seems a bit insensitive to complain about sunshine . The thought of balmy weather is all that is keeping many people going at the moment.

There are lots of ways to cope with the warmer weather and the changing Seasons help make the UK special.

Do it hear that, folks? Don’t complain about anything that makes you unhappy, it’ll be insensitive to someone somewhere!

Ludicrous.

jessycake · 10/02/2023 08:59

I am not good in the heat either , we put greenhouse shading netting on the outside of some of our windows and patio doors and it kept the house a little bit cooler .

Applesandcarrots · 10/02/2023 08:59

I can't find anything confirming 24k deaths due to heatwave.

Just act like anyone else with hot summers🤷🏻