Uk/Europe heatwave

[Ausmumof3]

The news out of UK and Europe at the moment sounds like something from a bad Australian summer there. Wildfires, people dying from heat exhaustion. How common is it to have wildfire around London? 

[Melissa in Australia]

The images are awful. I had a panic attack when I saw those people  in Spain stuck in a stationary train with grass fires on both sides. Awful

[Ausmumof3]

8 minutes ago, Melissa in Australia said:

The images are awful. I had a panic attack when I saw those people  in Spain stuck in a stationary train with grass fires on both sides. Awful

Take care of yourself as well 😞 it took me a while to be able to read news like this without a physical emotional response. Have been so grateful for the last two summers but I know we will have to deal again eventually.

[Faith-manor]

I am so worried about everyone. The heat waves are just so intense, and seems to be wide spread. Be safe out there!!! Check in when you can.

Anyone who doesn't have air or a.c. that isn't able to keep up, here is a tip. If you have cold water coming out of your tap, you can fill a bowl with it, and set a fan behind it aimed at yourself. It will act as a personal cooler for a little while. It might help you make it through, and if you have a freezer of ice cubes, it will act pretty well with some ice in the water.

[bookbard]

It's apocalyptic. I feel like at least over here in Australia we're prepared for the heat a bit - bushfires in the UK just seems insane. I really feel for everyone. We're watching Tour de France and they're riding in 40 plus heat, so awful. 

[Laura Corin]

7 hours ago, Ausmumof3 said:

The news out of UK and Europe at the moment sounds like something from a bad Australian summer there. Wildfires, people dying from heat exhaustion. How common is it to have wildfire around London? 

Not at all common. I remember heath fires on moors but not near towns.

Edited July 20, 2022 by Laura Corin

[popmom]

I know a family in the UK—Heston, Hounslow. He is saying thermometers in friends’ homes are registering 95 degrees indoors! I cannot imagine. That is truly dangerous. His own home is running around 89 some days. They do have one room with a window unit AC.

He went to Costco a couple of days ago—said he’d never seen it so crowded. He speculates that people are just there for the AC! 

I’d like to know what the dew point is running over there. 

ETA just checked the forecast for that area, and it’s looks like it’s improving. They desperately need relief.

 

Edited July 20, 2022 by popmom

[Laura Corin]

1 hour ago, popmom said:

I know a family in the UK—Heston, Hounslow. He is saying thermometers in friends’ homes are registering 95 degrees indoors! I cannot imagine. That is truly dangerous. His own home is running around 89 some days. They do have one room with a window unit AC.

He went to Costco a couple of days ago—said he’d never seen it so crowded. He speculates that people are just there for the AC! 

I’d like to know what the dew point is running over there. 

ETA just checked the forecast for that area, and it’s looks like it’s improving. They desperately need relief.

 

Some hospitals don't have aircon. There are reports of temperature of 30 degrees C in Emergency. 

[bookbard]

52 minutes ago, Laura Corin said:

Some hospitals don't have aircon. There are reports of temperature of 30 degrees C in Emergency. 

Wow, retrofitting all those buildings with air-con is going to be huge. 

[Laura Corin]

7 minutes ago, bookbard said:

Wow, retrofitting all those buildings with air-con is going to be huge. 

Some of them are really old, or have really old sections.  This is the one where my eldest was born - part of it was built in the mid-19th century and is a listed historic building:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whittington_Hospital

[Ausmumof3]

2 hours ago, Laura Corin said:

Some hospitals don't have aircon. There are reports of temperature of 30 degrees C in Emergency. 

Oh wow! I didn’t even think of that. Here, even if you don’t have air con at home you can go hang out at the library or shops to cool off for a bit (or at least in non-covid times you can).

[Laura Corin]

11 minutes ago, Ausmumof3 said:

Oh wow! I didn’t even think of that. Here, even if you don’t have air con at home you can go hang out at the library or shops to cool off for a bit (or at least in non-covid times you can).

Big supermarkets are usually cool. Libraries often not, except for those in old stone-built buildings with thick walls. 

[Faith-manor]

40c in an ER? That just breaks my heart!

I really hope you all get a break in this very soon. My sister in Nice, France says it is stifling there, and some folks are in real danger. She and bil have a ground floor apartment just above the underground parking structure so their apartment is a little cooler than the ones upstairs. But, her health problems make it difficult for her to regulate body temp. She can sweat, but she doesn't sweat much. Bil managed to score a window air unit. He put that in their bedroom, and moved kitty and litter in there. They set up their computers as well. So they dart out to the kitchen for cool food (they are pretty much doing only sandwiches with salads and fresh fruit) or to use the bathroom, and otherwise just stay in the bedroom. MIL's place of work sent everyone home because even though the building has a.c., it broke. Bad bad timing for that to happen!

It was 97 here yesterday. The humidity was not too bad. That is not common at all in my part of Michigan so they had to issue heat warnings, and remind everyone to stay out of the sun. Still, one of neighbors did some yard work anyway and ended up in the ER getting IV fluids. He came home a few hours later, but since he lives alone, I went to check on him, and took some fruit and berries, and broccoli pasta salad with me to make sure he had cold, hearty food to eat. For the most part though, I am NOT complaining at all. Pretty much everyone locally has the ability to stay cool enough in this weather since nearly all the houses here have basements, some are made of stone and stay cooler naturally, and a lot have shade because this is a heavily treed/forested area. They will be okay IF they keep their heads on straight and do not pull a neighbor stunt. What he was thinking, I do.not.know.

Hugs to everyone going through this!

Sitting here wondering what it takes to get action on climate change, and feeling frustrated.

 

[Laura Corin]

7 minutes ago, Faith-manor said:

40c in an ER? That just breaks my heart!

I really hope you all get a break in this very soon. My sister in Nice, France says it is stifling there, and some folks are in real danger. She and bil have a ground floor apartment just above the underground parking structure so their apartment is a little cooler than the ones upstairs. But, her health problems make it difficult for her to regulate body temp. She can sweat, but she doesn't sweat much. Bil managed to score a window air unit. He put that in their bedroom, and moved kitty and litter in there. They set up their computers as well. So they dart out to the kitchen for cool food (they are pretty much doing only sandwiches with salads and fresh fruit) or to use the bathroom, and otherwise just stay in the bedroom. MIL's place of work sent everyone home because even though the building has a.c., it broke. Bad bad timing for that to happen!

It was 97 here yesterday. The humidity was not too bad. That is not common at all in my part of Michigan so they had to issue heat warnings, and remind everyone to stay out of the sun. Still, one of neighbors did some yard work anyway and ended up in the ER getting IV fluids. He came home a few hours later, but since he lives alone, I went to check on him, and took some fruit and berries, and broccoli pasta salad with me to make sure he had cold, hearty food to eat. For the most part though, I am NOT complaining at all. Pretty much everyone locally has the ability to stay cool enough in this weather since nearly all the houses here have basements, some are made of stone and stay cooler naturally, and a lot have shade because this is a heavily treed/forested area. They will be okay IF they keep their heads on straight and do not pull a neighbor stunt. What he was thinking, I do.not.know.

Hugs to everyone going through this!

Sitting here wondering what it takes to get action on climate change, and feeling frustrated.

 

30 C in the ER I heard about.  40 outside in the shade in southern England.  Cooler today.

[Hilltopmom]

My parents arrived in London this morning for a 3 week vacation that had been cancelled a few years in a row due to covid. 
Not great timing but it looks like temps are improving & their trip stays in Northern Europe.
 

Edited July 20, 2022 by Hilltopmom

[Laura Corin]

Just now, Hilltopmom said:

My parents arrived in London this morning for a 3 week European vacation that had been cancelled a few years in a row due to covid. 
Not great timing.

It's cooled off really fast in the UK.  It should be fine.  I hope they have a good trip. This is London.

[theelfqueen]

Mt DIL is 9 months pregnant in Ely UK. I feel terrible for her! She refuses to leave the dogs to seek air conditioning too. 

[Melissa in Australia]

glad the temperature is cooling down

if it is 40oC outside and 30oC inside the ER.  that is a 10 degree difference , it will feel relatively cooler 

We don't have air conditioning, just insulation and heavy drapes and shutting the whole house up. When it is 40 + oC outside it is around 27 to  30 oC inside and feels comfortably cool. 

 

[Harriet Vane]

Coming in late to this discussion with a tip for the future if it's hot like this again--

When I had to live without air conditioning (many years), sometimes just sitting with my feet in a tub of cold water really, really helped. 

[Laura Corin]

45 minutes ago, Harriet Vane said:

Coming in late to this discussion with a tip for the future if it's hot like this again--

When I had to live without air conditioning (many years), sometimes just sitting with my feet in a tub of cold water really, really helped. 

In Hong Kong, the kids would play in a cool bath in the afternoon. We adults found relief by cooling our armpits in the shower or using a wet cloth.

[brehon]

57 minutes ago, Harriet Vane said:

Coming in late to this discussion with a tip for the future if it's hot like this again--

When I had to live without air conditioning (many years), sometimes just sitting with my feet in a tub of cold water really, really helped. 

 

11 minutes ago, Laura Corin said:

In Hong Kong, the kids would play in a cool bath in the afternoon. We adults found relief by cooling our armpits in the shower or using a wet cloth.

There was a reason women in the South had an afternoon bath really up until A/C became widespread — it was simply to cool down and may not have been a formal bath, just stripping down to slip/chemise and using a cool wash cloth. 

[Laura Corin]

44 minutes ago, brehon said:

 

There was a reason women in the South had an afternoon bath really up until A/C became widespread — it was simply to cool down and may not have been a formal bath, just stripping down to slip/chemise and using a cool wash cloth. 

I didn't know that. Very interesting. 

[Faith-manor]

On 7/20/2022 at 7:55 AM, Laura Corin said:

30 C in the ER I heard about.  40 outside in the shade in southern England.  Cooler today.

So glad to hear it is getting better!