Record heat expected in the UK

Seems like Russia isn’t suffering these very hot summers. Coincidence? I think not. They have a weather machine.

As much damage as AC does to the environment (and makes the outside temperature even hotter), and seeing as the vast majority of people outside the US despise air conditioning (they can't understand why Americans want to live inside refrigerators), I wouldn't hold my breath.

With the price of electricity in the UK? No chance of that (unless you're rich). Lots of people already have to turn down or switch off their heating in winter.

They call 40 degrees hot? Miami is always stuck in the 80s & 90s. And the ‘80s & ‘90s.

Enjoy your 5 days of sun per year.

R4, R5 Exactly, and that's why the UK really doesn't need air conditioning. I live here and I think it's ridiculous. It's probably only been too hot for me to sleep comfortably about twice in my entire life. OP needs to get used to it and stop being so coddled with artificial air conditioning, or maybe lose weight.

R5 Brits need more vitamin D from the sun so they stop aging like shit .

They don't have air conditioning? Even the Motel 6 has air conditioning lol. Omg.

I'm in the UK and any hotel I've stayed in here has had A/C. Unless you're at some sordid B&B, it'll have AC.

British homes don't really need A/C. They're built to keep the heat in during the colder months as the high temperatures we're seeing more of recently are pretty rare. They wouldn't be on the news otherwise.

The UK generally doesn't have the extremes of temperature seen on the continent.

Count your blessings, it was 41.66 C in the Arizona desert today. That’s 107F for Americans. The longer this goes on the less tolerant I become.

R8 Of course we 'have' A/C, it's just very rare to have it the home as it's so unnecessary for the vast part of the year. There might be a handful of days it would be 'needed'. Our climate is very mild so rather than run inside like scalded cats when it gets a bit hot, we all just take our tops off and get severe sunburn. It's a foundation of our culture.

41 in Vegas, 44 coming up!

What a surprise, I had no idea most British homes or even hotels have no air conditioners!

I mean I get the energy efficient factor and the fact that the UK and surrounding feel like it’s not necessary for HVAC systems year round. Which btw you these appliances as needed not constantly.

But times are in fact changing and this archaic way of thinking needs to be updated like ASAP before it’s gets really bad which it will and sadly many people will die.

This has to be looked into seriously. Our climate is changing rapidly and.finding ways to survive and preserve life should be our top priority.

British homes were built to stay cool when summers were milder but it seems we get record breaking heatwaves on an annual basis, British homes weren't built for that heat. On top of that, the type of heat in the UK isn't found in many other places, so while 30 degrees may seem fine in the Med it's a different type of heat in the UK, stifling and humid. I often hear of tourists complain about the heat in the UK, especially compared to hot weather in their countries.

As often as these preditions of UK heat never amount to anything, I can remember some awful summers in the UK.

It was 39.9 C in parts of the south once, and as humid as the tropics. I went into a supermarket that had no air conditioning, and felt around freezers at food that was becoming slushy. Food in the fridges was warm to the touch.

Old people in their homes often suffer the worse as they can't sleep without the usual several layers of bedding, and most don't even think to open a window or drink cool liquid when it's hot.

^ Exactly the weather is changing and it keeps changing. Why not meet the demands that will save lives.

Best thing they can do is open the windows in the morning while keeping the curtains or blinds closed.

Even more "shocking" to find out, not just Britain, A/C is really not a "norm" around the world.

"There are 1.6B installed air conditioning units (AC) and 67% of them are in just 3 countries - China, the US and Japan"

Even more "shocking" to find out, not just Britain, A/C is really not a "norm" around the world.

There are 1.6B installed air conditioning units (AC) and 67% of them are in just 3 countries - China, the US and Japan. The current household penetration rate for air conditioning is above 90% in Japan and the US, but it is just 60% in China. It's below 20% in large, hot countries like Mexico, Brazil, Indonesia, South Africa and India.

[quote]I had to sleep naked under the fan with the windows open

Pics please.

Have the Brits discovered the heat pump? One of these will both heat and cool their homes.

r20 Several friends from the UK, France, Germany went to live in Japan. They're usually into energy saving, natural air & fan (as opposed to air conditioning). They couldn't live without air conditioning on 24/7 there because of suffocating humidity + heat. But that was many years ago. Europe's 'not that extreme' climate seems changing?

The US, China and Japan have the high humidity to contend with. I know, hot is hot, but humidity really makes a difference when it comes to comfort. 90 degrees F with high humidity feels a whole lot different than a dry 90 degrees F. Even in the putrid southern US they can at least count of afternoon and evening thunderstorms to cool things off for the night. Places that don't get the daily storms can be unbearable

I live in the upper-midwest and the few hot/humid days we get seem worse to me then all the years I lived in the south that had the cooling storms

If someone from a hot, humid part of Asia wants to criticise Americans for needing air conditioning, I’m willing to listen. I’m less sympathetic when people from cooler and less humid parts of Europe start pontificating. The humidity in the US makes a huge difference in the level of comfort.

^woke.

I’m in the UK and have a rolling portable AC that can vent out the window. I usually pull it out to use a few weeks per year. I’m only cooling the bedroom and the rest of the house is currently sweltering (by standards here) despite the thick masonry, shaded windows and a tall tree line on the south side. A fan doesn’t cut it. There’s no reason to be uncomfortably hot especially when sleeping. Not using air conditioning is a hill that many people here want to die on. The sad part is it may come true as temperatures steadily increase, It’s dangerous for the elderly.

^Nice.. I hope the Uk government starts thinking like this.

At least for the elderly.

Brits need to get on the government's heat pump scheme for a heat AND COOL pump:

How are you Brits coming along with indoor plumbing and central heat? It's all the rage 😏

Why does the UK get heat AGAIN, meanwhile it's barely 20°C here in Norway?! Wtf. The weather forecast for the next week is horrendous. They're reporting shitty weather every day. I can't even go swimming because the sea is a "balmy" 17°C, way too cold. This is shaping up to be the WORST summer in like 10 years. We are freezing here up north while the rest of Europe are sweating away. Fuck this shit. I'm pissed. My whole summer is ruined.

R29 We can't even find a sane leader for the country, you really expect us to get the government to fund heat pumps?

@r31, Hey, Norwegian guy, I'm glad you showed up. What the fuck is going on with road-rage in Norway? Don't be like the US, we're crazy 🤪

Hey r32:

Hey Norgie -- have I told you this story?

The hottest I have ever been was in Oslo, Norway in some downtown hotel. It was around the time of White Nights. This was in the mid-'90s.

My room was on the third floor and the sun had been beating on the outer wall of my hotel all day. When I entered the room after dinner around 9P, the heat was like a blast furnace.

Of course there was no air conditioning. I opened the widow but it was like one 5" glass slat of a jalousie that tilted inward. NO BREEZE coming from outside. It was one of few times I have slept completely nude by myself.

I tried to go to sleep but that was impossible so I took a cold shower, thinking that would help, and it did -- while I was in the shower.

Sweaty, fitful rest.

Ugh! It was miserable! This was before the internet but the next morning I read the International Tribune and learned that on the previous day, Oslo, Norway was hotter than Houston, Texas, a city I visited quite often on business.

OP you would have been sleeping naked with the windows open irrespective of the weather. You are a slag! Awriiiight!

[quote]I hope A/C becomes compulsory in the UK soon as I visit there quite often and the last last couple of summers were brutal to me without cool air inside my hotel room.

You need to spend more money and only reserve hotel rooms with A/C.

It's not a luxury in that kind of heat... it's a necessity.

Let me add... a few years ago i was still booking hotel rooms in Europe in June, July, and August, and still bitching about the lack of A/C, and one of my friends finally said, "Are you insane? We're well into global warming. You should count on it ALWAYS going to be hot in Europe during the summer from now on--you're older now, so spend the extra money and go up an extra star for hotels so you always have A/C in the summer!"

He was right, and I've never looked back even once. You HAVE to have A/C in Europe in the summer if you can possibly afford it.

"Why does the UK get heat AGAIN, meanwhile it's barely 20°C here in Norway?! Wtf."

The Gulf Stream. Without it, the UK would be Iceland.