Met office RED WARNING for extreme heat.

[OhYouBadBadKitten]

General discussion is www.mumsnet.com/talk/weather/4583720-we-need-to-talk-about-the-weather-and-the-potential-for-extreme-heat but I wanted this to be seen by as many people as possible.
www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/warnings-and-advice/uk-warnings#?date=2022-07-18

Thanks so much as always OYBBK!

We live on the edge of the Pennines and I have never, ever seen a forecast for 37 degrees for our village before.

I shall go to the air conditioned office in my air conditioned car on Tuesday.

My sympathies to anyone who doesn't have this option, and to people who live in flats in cities.

Oh no 😔 forecast 35 for me on Tuesday. Anyone have any tips for coping in the heat? Fans in the every room? Curtains all shut?

So glad it’s only 2 days and we’ll be crashing back into normal on Wednesday!

Thanks for the heads-up, OYBBK

Windows open at night then closed all day here, curtains closed too on sunny side, & multiple fans.
Open windows again as soon as outside feels cooler than inside.
Obv it depends a lot on aspect and house construction.
Some people have bought pet cooling mats!

Lots and lots of tips on the giant thread, but if they get replicated here too, that doesn't matter, the important thing is that people see this and heed it.

Ive just said on the other thread, if you live in or are near the red warning area, charge up devices and have a plan on what you would do should you lose power for a day or more.

Use water sparingly.

Read this
www.nhs.uk/conditions/heat-exhaustion-heatstroke/

Check on vulnerable neighbours. Studies show that social isolation is one of the biggest factors in heat related deaths.

Don't plan to use public transport.

Schools should close (in my opinion)

Thanks for this, we’re just outside red, but dh planning on travelling in to London, I think trains will be cancelled and M3 be super congested. Apparently he can’t just cancel stuff because it’s hot! I think schools should take decisions individually as some modern buildings will be much better able to cope than older ones. Maybe shift school day to start and finish earlier?

My friend is taking her young children to a theme park on Tuesday, forecast 39! I’ve tried to tell her to cancel/re-book but she’s still going. Absolute madness

Thanks @OhYouBadBadKitten i’m on your other thread, and just popping in here.

i’m waiting for communication from school & nursery for next week.
I planned to go in the office on Tuesday, by train. I’m on the edge of the red, one app is showing us as under the red warning, one showing the amber.

i usually love the sunshine, but I am very concerned about this.

I’m dreading it (London) and my elderly aunt and uncle live in a high rise flat w/o air conditioning and and enclosed balcony. They’re actually planning to be away in their caravan which might be worse.

We’re in the red zone and losing power is something I’d never have thought of - why would we lose power because of heat?

It's 15 degrees here today and we have had rain for almost 24 hours off and on- some absolute downpours. Heavy cloud. Not a jot of summer. 😂 Whitley Bay.

National emergency declared.

Will answer questions shortly.

@wonderstuff you’d be surprised! A lot of the new school buildings have whole walls made of glass and are extremely well insulated. My school has underfloor heat

Because some equipment is heat sensitive and might fail.

It’s good, if people can, to put bowls of water out for wildlife in this heat. I put it out the front for the foxes and hedgehogs and birds. We have a pond in the garden but not everything can get into our garden, so out the front is good too.

@StressfulBedtimes Over use of the electric grid/surges with many people using air con/fans etc

I really hope they close schools now. It's insane to keep them open.

There are a number of factors - demand for electricity soars in hot weather, the power network becomes less efficient in higher temperatures (physics)

wind and solar generation will be down (solar panels become less efficient the higher the panel temperature is above 25c),

This creates an energy imbalance.

There may be heat failures of equipment.

If cooling water becomes too warm then power plants (including nuclear) have to shut down.

Oh no ! I don’t know how I’m going to cope I’m 65 with high bp, work in a busy factory doing a manual job on a machine that gets very hot anyway. With no air con. Are there any rules, for working with such high temperatures?

Depends if the rooms get the sun or not, plus how your home is built.

Half my home gets the sun in the morning and the other half in the afternoon. So in the morning the rooms that get the sun have their curtains closed and windows open a crack. There at the back the curtains are drawn and the windows are open. I then swap around midday when the sun moves.

On extremely hot nights I have stayed cool by wetting a sheet in cold water then putting it over me. It sort of steams dry by the morning.

Something I have read frequently but have never done myself is to point the fan at the open window because this allows the cooler air from outside to come in.

Unfortunately there are no maximum temperatures you are allowed to work in.

However your boss has a legal duty not to cause you serious harm/injury or kill you at work.

If you are interested in the heatwave plan it is here.
assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1074023/Heatwave_Plan_for_Engand_2022_May-2022-v2.pdf

Im going to duplicate my posts for a bit in both topics. Apologies for giving people deja vu.

Starting to worry a bit as (very fair) kids supposed to be going on a School trip to Drayton Manor on Monday.....