To think this heatwave is a bad as the last?

[PrincessOfPreschool]

Last time it got really hot, a couple of weeks ago, schools closed early, there was different uniform, all sorts of safety restrictions.

This time it's just 'get on with it'. I work with young children and we closed at midday last time... This time the kids are so hot and bothered in the afternoon. We have a couple of fans in a huge space which only work for one person if they're almost sitting on top of them, let alone a room of kids. It's too hot to go outside - no breeze.

So AIBU to expect some consistency? If it was unsafe before, it is unsafe now. It's already so hot today.

35C here (Midlands.) Well, it is going to be that later (maybe even hotter! I have noticed that the temperature is often 2-3 degrees C hotter than predicted!)

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How hard is it to put in air conditioning? Is there some mysterious rocket science to it? Why were new buses commissioned in London without any air con?

We have to get on with it now, its the new normal i think every year is gonna be the same.

I had A/C fitted a few year back when we hit the 40 mark, noway was i going through that again.

It’s slightly cooler, by 2-3 degrees. They never last either, it’s been a few days and I think starts to cool from tomorrow again. We need to get a grip.

Things like this are weird. It's like the covid virus. Everyone behaved as though the world was ending and we were stuck inside our houses and climate change is killing the planet, but huge data centres are being built everywhere which are heating the local atmosphere (and presumably contributing to climate change). Not to mention the world ending water consumption.

Changeable narratives.

It's horrible in the classroom and drinking more means needing the loo, which you can't go to until break time. Awful!

Today is flippin roasting. Central Scotland - 26 degrees in my bedroom when I woke up. Dog went out for 10 mins and it was too hot for him already.
Planning to do what I did yesterday. Awake in morning. Sleep in the afternoon with fans or AC on. Awake in the evening. Scottish siesta. Not too words I ever thought would go together. Thankfully cooling off tonight and expecting some rain (hooray). I wonder if traditionally hot countries will see a reduction in their tourist numbers as more people stay at home because their own country is getting hotter.

It's not just the heat, it's the humidity. No wind at all today. Thank god I bought two AC units several years ago. They are really effective although noisy to run.

P.S. Can't get anything done in this heat. I'm too groggy and tired.

It's very hot where I am (just north of London). It was 34 degrees in the living room yesterday afternoon, it was 30 degrees in the bedroom at 11pm and 29 degrees this morning at 6.30am. We just cannot cool the house down, despite it actually being quite cool outside last night. I was watering the garden until it got dark and it was lovely and fresh out there - but the house just held onto the heat

My dc school have been early pick up if needed/ wanted all week, no uniform and no hot dinners just picnic style boxes.

It may technically be cooler (hit 34 here in London yesterday, it was up to 37 before) but once it’s over 30 it’s uncomfortable no matter what. Actually anything over 24 feels uncomfortable! I’m only surviving as I have a portable fan which follows me around the house.
Watching the tennis and with the shape of the courts it’s several degrees hotter for the players - I don’t know how they do it!

It depends on your home, its size, the number of rooms with outside walls, etc. The best time to put in aircon is when you build the home, because retrofitting it is both destructive (you have to make holes in walls) and expensive. You can have portable units, as long as you have suitable windows, but these are expensive to run and cost several hundred pounds each to buy and you need one in each room. So if you live in studio flat with appropriate windows you can get away with one unit, but if you have a 3-bed house with a large kitchen/diner/living room and a home office, you're going to need probably 6-7 portable units to cool the home. Add in the cost of energy to run them all and it's £££.

My DD has gone in PE kit like last time. Her (secondary) school has said uniform with no tie and blazer or PE kit. I’m not sure what else they can do. Parts of the school have AC and they said they will try and use as much of that as possible. She said they’re not lol

I dont think schools needed to close. The risk was to infrastructure in the red warning so things like electric or trains etc.
our school has air con in 4 rooms but still closed all classes…
Last time the temps in the house were stuck above 30 despite fans etc because it wasnt dropping overnight.

I'm up in the Midlands on the east coast. Sitting in my home office, 27 degrees in here and 30 outside, staring stupidly at my screen trying to make my brain function. I have a little fan on me but it blows hair around my face which drives me insane.

I'm so over it and so are the dogs! They are getting a 45 min off-lead walk in early morning shade when it's 17-18, but when I get back the sweat pours off me. It's dropping here tomorrow to a perfect 22-23, but we are heading south to visit family where it's still 30 or so - no AC at hotel. 😒

I know we moan about all varieties of weather but it's our national pastime.

I’m not in the UK but I can’t believe you have school uniforms in 2026. And especially in this weather.

What is the point? Even our principal is wearing shorts and t-shirt, like everyone else.

It’s like you can’t seem to cope with anything but rain (and even then the streets are flooded in London). Not snow, not heat..

And yes, I do love the UK and just got home from spending two wonderful weeks there.

To be fair I don't see how it would be so much more unsafe at school- high ceilings and large rooms, than at home where rooms are small and ceilings lower.

They then went and pretty much ignored how many thousands of children end up with long covid each year.

Im on the south coast and this is nowhere near as hot as the last one. There is a bit of a breeze now which there wasn't before & the humidity isn't anywhere near to high now. The evenings are also cooler than before so at least where we are it isn't comparable & school can keep going with mitigations in place (pe kit not uniform, water play in the PM, use of the outdoor swimming pool etc). Leaving at lunchtime isn't necessary here right now but it was completely the right call 2 weeks ago.

Depending on where you are will depend on whether more needs to be done but where we are right now its fine

I looked up the temperature in my town for the last one and it was identical to today. The school closed for the first one but is open as usual now. I'm so pissed off with the inconsistency, it's incredibly hard to rationalise it to my autistic kids who question the logic of all the rules at school. If you have ND kids then you'll know what I mean, they need to understand the reasoning behind EVERYTHING. I honestly can't defend school on their flip-flopping!

SE here. The days are slightly more bearable as it is a drier heat and there is a breeze. I really struggled to breathe several times last night though and had to sit up quick to catch my breath. Awful hope next week is cooler at night, I really feel for the kids and the elderly!

I really feel for you Blockfruity. Three Neurodiverse adults here and two of us have real problems regulating our temperature at the best of times.

I suspect the schools regret closing last time. It seemed pretty exceptional and it spread like a wave here - we had an email confirming they were remaining open then loads of local schools closed so the next day they offered early pick up. Essentially peer pressure.

Then it became apparent it might continue for weeks and they can’t really keep doing that for weeks so they’re just not doing anything.

to be fair, I’m finding it no where near as bad as last time in the south east. 4-6 degrees cooler and the nights much more tolerable, and a lovely breeze.

I'm south coast too and it's already 30 here, feels like 32, no breeze. I am so, so fed up with it, and I've always loved hot weather up until now! I had to get some shopping this morning and when I got back in the car, I just burst into tears as I am so washed out and uncomfortable.

NW here. Much easier to deal with this time. It's currently 32 degrees but more mangeable, less humid and the evenings are cooling quicker and lower. I thoroughly struggle too with autoimmune conditions.

I think it depends where you are in the country. Last time there was more variation in temperatures across the country, this time it's more universal.