Heatwave in Southern England

[Shaun69]

Yes I know that 34 degrees for 6 days is not even hot in certain parts of the US and Mexico but my mother sowed a jumper into my torso when I was young just to prevent me getting cold!  I am now about 62 ( I forget regularly) and I cannot remember heat like this in Sussex for such a long period of time. True I have never fitted A/C to any of my lodges (because I have never needed it) but last week we went out and bought some fans (unheard of) but to be fair our guests needed them.

When I have read about climate change and its potential effect on our lives it always seemed a long way away from me, but this last six days has certainly rattled my cage and maybe reality has finally come home to roost!!!

Be Safe and Happy Shaun.

[Trevor243]

We're just not used to this kind of heat over here - and it's not just the heat, it's the humidity too. It might be this hot in places like Greece and Spain, but not as humid.

A few years ago, I bought a portable air-con unit on Ebay - absolute bargain. 3 days later we had a sudden and long heatwave. It made a massive difference.

Maybe it won't be long before we're all fitting air-con units into our properties ......

[Sarah977]

@Shaun69  Pretty much exactly the same temperature here where I am outside Puerto Vallarta, Mexico- kinda weird, huh? 92% humidity. It's rainy season, and it usually rains primarily in the late afternoon or night, so that actually cools thing down considerably for sleeping. I don't have AC, (I dislike it) but I have good fans, which I keep on pretty much all the hot rainy season so things don't get mildewed or moldy. I actually had to get up and grab a blanket last night to use over the top sheet.

[Colleen253]

@Shaun69 “my mother sowed a jumper into my torso when I was young just to prevent me getting cold”! Lol 

Sudden and drastic changes in weather are a shock to the system for sure. It’s always very dry where I live but this summer we’ve been experiencing SUPER high humidity. I’ve always hated the dry air and imagined I’d love to live somewhere humid. Until now. Haha. It only took two months for my imaginary love affair to crash and burn.

[Sarah977]

@Colleen253  Hot and humid is way different than cool and humid. I lived on Vancouver Island for 40 years where it is definitely humid, what with all the rain, but seldom gets very hot. I loved the green lushness and never really noticed the humidity. When I moved to a tropical area of Mexico, I couldn't figure out why things got so moldy in the summer if you didn't air them out and keep the fans running, as that never happened in coastal B.C. The I realized that the temperature has everything to do with it and also with the comfort level.

[Anonymous]

@Shaun69  I originally come from a much warmer place, but even so - this past week in Berlin has been quite intense with temperatures up to 37 degrees and humidity high enough to keep the heat lingering well into the night. 

Each summer feels a little more extreme than the last, so I've had to build up an arsenal of home heatproofing solutions. Heavy blackout curtains for the living room and bedrooms, reflective thermal film for the south-facing windows, ventilator fans positioned to create a wind-tunnel effect, and most recently a small dehumidifier that we can move around to the room that needs it most. This year, with all those elements in place I've been able to keep the flat down to a comfortably dry 26 degrees on the hottest days, but at the expense of sunlight and fresh air. I'm not hosting at the moment, but in the past it's always been a struggle persuading guests that leaving their window and curtains open all day when it's blazing hot outside will not cool the house down. (Mansplaining thermodynamics is not the best route to 5 star reviews)

[Kelly149]

106 here today, and the heat index says 112... of course here we all have Ac BUT Ac is designed to pull about 20 degrees temp out of air and if guests don't understand how Ac works then, yes, even with it you can end up in a pickle. Wishing cool breezes for you all!

[Sandra126]

As an emergency cheapie, put car window reflectors inside your worst hit windows, then draw curtains. It's incredible. Not attractive, but cool...

[Huma0]

@Shaun69 

It's funny to me because no one I speak to seems to remember that it was hotter than this last August. Yes, that's right. It got up to 38 degrees C (our hottest recorded temperature apparently) and was close to that mark for many days. That was London, but I assume it was not so different in Sussex. Yet no one I have mentioned this to here has any recollection of it.

I, on the other hand, remember it VERY well. I had two guests staying, one from Egypt and one from Saudi Arabia. Well, you would have thought they would be used to much more heat than that, but they were also used to air conditioning. They camped out in my kitchen/diner, which is the coolest place in the house (bit of a problem as that's where I work) and would did not leave the premises for days. They were also used to servants, so not housetrained at all. They went through every piece of crockery and cutlery (and I have a lot) every day but didn't know how to wash up so I had to wash it all again. They kept leaving the fridge open so that had a major malfunction basically until they left. Lovely, friendly people though!

Meanwhile, a crow dropped dead on the pavement outside my house and some kind person decided to kick it into my front garden (well in the gap between my garden and the neighbour's). The trees were full of hundreds of crows very loudly mourning for it. I called the Council but they did not come the next day as promised but a few days later. Meanwhile, my neighbour, who has a 'feather phobia' was freaking out. It was not good.

My very fluffy black cat decided to go missing for two weeks. I was worried he had melted or maybe spontaneously combusted.

This heatwave has been far less stressful.😂