too darn hot

[pensnest]

Let me sing in praise of the weather forecasts!

Seriously. When I was a child, the weather forecast was "Will it rain today?" and about 50% of the time it was wrong.

Now, I can look at my phone and have an hour-by-hour note of the likely temperature, and whether it's likely to rain during that hour. My phone will tell me that rain will start, or stop, in seven minutes' time and it does!

It has made things a lot more efficient. Not that everything is necessarily running better, but at least we know what to expect. Gritting lorries are out the night before the snow is due—round here, they work really well. (One of the benefits of living on a reasonably busy and useful road is that the road is kept clear.)

Hereabouts, there have been heat warnings. The London ambulance service prepped for an increase in calls because of the heat, cancelling meetings, putting managers onto vehicles and extra staff into the call centres. They were ready for the 50% increase in calls that came. My chorus has cancelled the concert we were due to sing yesterday evening, when it was forecast to be in the 30s (and, indeed, was—in fact it was 27C at 11pm, groan), and will be performing it in September instead.

We got 36 degrees yesterday afternoon. That's almost 97F. This was not pleasant, but we were assured that the hall where we go for our dancing lessons will be cooler, and it was. Not cool, but bearable, so we quickstepped and cha cha cha'd and drank a lot of water. I put a half-full bottle of water into the freezer first thing, and it kept our drink nice and cold.

Travelling to and from the dancing lesson was probably the pleasantest part of the day, being in the car with the air conditioning on. Aah, coolth. The evening and night were unpleasant. No draught to be had. Still, I have survived, to face today, which is expected to hit a maximum of 31C (now). Sigh.It's 28 degrees here in the craft room because the windows face south, except the double doors which are getting it from the west, and the skylight cannot be curtained. But I have painting that needs to be done, so here I am.

And I can plan. Because the weather forecast, these days, is incredibly good.

Comments

[kitarella_imagines]

I hear you loud and clear, and second you in every point you make. I love weather forecasts and I'm very grateful for them.

We are not set up for heatwaves in Britain, and I'm glad people are AT LAST taking it seriously. It used to be a bit of a laugh, I'd complain about high temperatures of 24C or so, Americans and Australians would take the mickey 'call that hot?'

But it's not funny anymore. Temps of 39C+ with no air conditioning, cool rooms, fly screens and all the other stuff, are dangerous. Everyone is realising that British buildings, especially homes, are set up to keep the heat IN at all costs. We can have all the doors and windows open all day if we like, yet THE MINUTE we shut them at bedtime, whoosh! The houses heat up efficiently within a few minutes.

Also I love your use of the word coolth. My mum and I thought we'd invented that word but I hope it's universal now.

Sending vibes of coolth to you, as our temperatures have cooled down a bit now after the last few roasting days.i.e. it's only 27C now.

[pensnest]

I'm so glad other people use coolth. I mutter about hotth too, sometimes. When I'm not flopping about pathetically in my own sweat, that is. I see we are due for another heatwave in about a fortnight's time, and that my part of the world is expected to get temperatures over 35C, which is horrifying. I worry for my little cat, who is black and semi-long-haired. I think she spends a lot of the day under the bushes, which I hope the soil is not too hot.

[kitarella_imagines]

It's logical isn't it! Coolth, warmth, hotth, coldth. I suppose with hot and cold though, they are used that way anyway: I went out in the cold/heat. I went out in the warmth/coolth.

Like the word Pointful. It is not a word, but EVERYONE knows what it means. There are so many English words that should exist but don't. I've got a book "How We'd Talk if the English Had Won in 1066" with lots of words like coolth and pointful, that used to exist but fell out of use.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Wed-Talk-English-1066/dp/1800316291

I've also read there is another heatwave coming but it won't be as bad next time. I've also read that the government has finally noticed that their people do not live in air conditioned homes and offices like they do, and they are starting to put measures in place for heatwaves. About time!

I am near the south coast, we got up to 38C here. I actually slept with no covers on for the first time in my life. Roughly where are you? I read it will be the west and midlands who get it next time.

Good luck!

[turlough]

It's amazing how much better the forecasts have got over the last twenty years!

I feel for you! It was +34C here this afternoon and it's AWFUL! It's supposed to get just as hot tomorrow but after that it's is supposed to start dropping down to more normal temperatures. Keeping everything crossed it's true!!

Having to paint in +28C sounds like a nightmare and I hope you survived!

[pensnest]

The painting wasn't too bad, as I was making cards rather than decorating a room, thank goodness! I should have been finishing it this evening but was sidetracked by YouTube shorts. Sigh. I think I am aiding and abetting the internet in training me to have the attention span of a gnat.

[vae]

That is an excellent point, the heat has been much easier to cope with when we know it's coming and when we can get hour by hour forecast temperatures to know when we need to close windows and curtains and when it's a good idea to open them again. Even which direction the wind is coming from so we know which windows!

Can the skylight be blinded, maybe? You can get blinds that fit right against the pane these days.

[pensnest]

My Beast is as it happens apparently obsessed with thermometers, so we have several around the house, and one outside which is part of the ground source heat pump. It has been rather pleasanter today, hasn't it—though I swear it feels hotter than 23C. Also, I went to the gym this morning, to find that the aircon in the main studio is still not doing anything useful. We had windows open and the double door, but it was sultry. And I do this voluntarily, which baffles me.

I will have to consider a blind for the skylight if we get much more of this. Which, I suppose, we will.

[vae]

It's been so much nicer today. The rest of the week and the weekend looks bearable, too!

[turps]

The heat really was too much, and we didn't even get the worst of it here. I feel for you all that were in the hottest areas.

[pensnest]

I've been seeing reports that we are due for another ridiculously hot spell about two weeks from now, and that Norfolk will be one of the hottest places in the country. This is not what I like. Might try to purchase a fan, if there is one to be found in the county at this point.