To feel really worried about climate change in this heatwave

[Fulbe]

This heatwave has been caused by climate change but there seems to be hardly any discussion about this at all. It seems that people are focused so much on getting air con or massive paddling/ swimming pools without thinking how that might be actually contributing to the problem. People outside the school gates idling their engines to keep their air con turned on whilst creating more pollution.

I think I remember reading somewhere that we've released 6 million years' worth of CO2 in the past 150 years. Something needs to stop but consumption and car use seem to be increasing.

Am I the only one to be concerned about this and that we're just slipping into a future of more dangerous heatwaves?

People are angry that schools might shut but will still be flying on mini breaks and driving huge cars.

I’m worried about it, but there’s no point because anything our country does it a drop in the vast ocean. When the time comes, humans will either adapt or be taken care of permanently by Mother Nature.

I was ranting to my children about this tonight. We’ve known it was coming for decades and yet still nothing much has been done. Now we’re really paying the price (or probably hardly even getting started tbh).

We have a portable AC that I bought during lockdown. It has rarely been used since but I’m going to set it up tomorrow - I have chemo this week and I don’t want to be nauseous and boiling at the same time. I may well not need it but I want to have the option.

It will then pump hot air out into the street. But what else am I supposed to do?

So fed up.

We need to just face up to it now - we’re fucked. The climate cataclysm is going to happen and it’s ultimately going to end the human race as we know it. Nothing will change and we’ve gone past the point of no return.

I agree. The Met Office did a briefing today predicting summer weather if we continue at the current trajectory. They estimated that by 2056 our summers will consistently reach 40-45 degrees in the UK. It’s incredibly scary and I agree it’s not being talked about enough. That said, until governments around the world continue to be in the pockets of big companies, whether that’s oil and gas, AI data centres or fast fashion, retail etc, it’s pretty bleak. Companies making huge profits with little to no regard for the long term impact are the problem here, as well as the governments failing to hold them to account.

You're not the only one. I cant say I've enjoyed previous heatwaves but this time round its like somethings clicked and I feel a real sense of sadness for what the future holds for my children (obv not just them of course but humanity in general).
I listened to a programme today about how temperatures will rise over the entire 30 years and it was grim - they had someone on talking about 'cool spaces ' for people and air conditioning and i sort of thought - but that doesnt help the planet or our wildlife, our countryside....

This is what I was referring to as well. It's kind of unimaginable but becoming less so as we experience these annual heatwaves

What @PlumGiraffe said! Stupid governments argue about how many Watts our vacuum cleaners can have, while ignoring the massive companies who are chopping down the rainforests, planting monocultures and mass producing "food" which makes us unwell.

You read every second thread on here and people feel hard done by if they dont have the latest tech, car, ensuite, big garden, children couldnt possibly share rooms, holidays abroad and its akin to neglect if they or their kids dont have any of the above and you're accused of a 'race to the bottom' or regressing the country or peoples living standards if you dare suggest people can go without, or eat less or eat cheaper food etc

On the other hand I believe humans will die out just like other species have over time, we're not that special, we just got lucky at a particular point in evolution, there'll be another version of us in millions and billions of years too.

I worry about it too and what the world will look like for my DS who is 9.
But as a PP said, until huge companies want to tackle it, little will be done. The AI servers and all the water they use will not help.

It is very frightening. The future will have far more extremes - extreme heat followed by extreme storms & flooding, unreliable crops resulting in food costs rising.

I think I read somewhere that the current spike in deaths in winter will be overtaken with a bigger spike in deaths due to heat.

Instead of dying of flu or COVID on winter our great grandchildren will be dying of heat related stress eg heart attacks, strokes so overall people will die younger in poorer health.

It's frightening how much the weather has changed in just 40 years & the UK isn't one of the nations most at risk

@TaupeJoker cant imagine going through chemo in this. All the best to you... - if anyone deserves some air con, its you. Tru not to feel too bad about it!

you are right to worry OP
you might be interested in this film
https://www.nebriefing.org/the-film
its being shown all over the country- https://www.nebriefing.org/screening-map

it consists of top experts explaining the various threats we face but also what can be done about them

I think YABU but only because this is exactly what’s been predicted for decades. There’s a tipping point and we’re pretty much there. But no one will believe it until it’s affecting their everyday day lives. It’ll be far too late then and it’s too late now. Unfortunately once it cools down in September people will forget.

It is awful seeing ones worst fears come true.

The number of planes flying over Europe at this exact minute really makes me truly feel like my paddling pool this afternoon isn’t the biggest issue here.

Exactly. I suspect that humanity will meet its (self-inflicted) demise in the next few hundred years. The only people able to survive will be the super rich living into climate controlled bunkers or on the moon. I hope they’re all miserable! All that power and money and what will it all have been for?!

I feel so sad for my DC, not just for them living through what worse climate is to come, but also for them having having to worry about whether they should bring their own children into an ever worsening climate.

Thank you ☺️ I will cope! And no, I won’t feel guilty if I need the airco, it’s just a frustrating situation. At least I have the unit and no financial worries about using it… plenty have it worse x

We've known for decades, decades

Thanks for your thoughtful responses. Horrible to think that 40degree plus summers could be coming our way. I do wonder if we all emailed our MPs to say that we're concerned, whether that would change anything. I think at the moment they're so focused on immigration that climate change doesn't come into it.

I probably sound like a DM columnist (or reader, or both) but I suspect many of them are braced for riots this summer if the weather goes on like this.

That said, you’re right, of course we need to lobby them. We have very little to lose by firing off a few emails etc. Nothing ventured and all that.

I mean it’s almost certainly futile but we can’t just give up.

I absolutely love the sun and usually can't get enough of it. This is the first time I am thinking very deeply about it. The weather so far this summer is alarming, it's not a one off, it feels like this is our new norm. It makes me feel quite sad. My local area has planned nearly 100 trees recently but it's not enough. I agree with you OP, I am worried too and will start to do a lot more. It's a wake up call.

@Fulbe it's not just our government either - we need global cooperation to sort this, and right now that looks almost impossible!

Yes absolutely you need everything you can do to feel comfortable. Wishing you the best of luck.

I just really hate people saying it needs to be installed in all schools and offices rather than considering lower energy adaptations to buildings like shutters. Someone said to me it's like robbing from Peter to pay Paul.

I worry too. Although my dad told me tonight about a summer in the 70’s when it was scorching hot and didn’t rain from May- September. He said he’d worked all summer long, then went to Cornwall on holiday and it started to rain. My mum went on to say it was an awful winter, and once it started raining it literally never stopped for months. Made me feel a little better.