Why do British heatwaves just hit different?
Posted by JayR_97@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 47 comments
For example, you get 30 degree weather here and its completely awful but you get Aussies talking about 40 degree summers like its nothing. You always get people from hot countries making fun of Brits complaining about 25c+ weather.
What gives?
witdim@reddit
Because UK heat is basically playing on hard mode.
First humidity. The air here is often damp, so when it's hot, your sweat doesn't evaporate properly. That's your body's cooling system, so instead of cooling you down, you just feel sticky and cooked.
Second, buildings. UK homes are built to trap heat, not lose it. Great in winter, brutal in summer. No AC, small windows, insulation doing its job a bit too well.
Third, no adaptation. Hot countries are designed for it. Shade, air con, siestas, lighter clothing culture. The UK gets like 5 hot days and everyone's still expected to function normally in jeans and a packed train.
W51976@reddit
Depends where you are in the uk.
witdim@reddit
True, definitely varies.
30C in a breezy coastal town and 30C in a packed London flat or train are two very different beasts. The UK doesn't have one kind of heat, it has several flavours of suffering.
W51976@reddit
I also find it can be still chilly by the coast, even when London is sweltering with 27-30c. Last summer was a perfect example of that.
It was 30c inland, but, only 23c at the coast with cloudy conditions and a breeze. Not terrible, but it was slightly disappointing for our first day lol. The next day was hot and sunny though.
heyitsed2@reddit
I'm expected to wear jeans?!
Leading_Leek_5228@reddit
you basically took the words right outta my mouth, i was gonna say the same thing. 😅 anyway, i very much agree with everything you said - on the grand scheme of things, the uk is a pretty cold country weather-wise, so when it does get hot here, it comes in like a wrecking ball miley cyrus style and hits us like a ton of bricks. while other countries have the infrastructure in place to deal with heatwaves, we don't, really.
W51976@reddit
Toronto is just as humid when it’s over 30c. Lake Ontario makes it more humid.
Dead_Bones001@reddit
I experienced a heatwave one summer in Ontario (St Catherines) and it was hot and sticky just like it is here in the UK.
W51976@reddit
Yeah the Great Lakes will make it feel stuffy. All that water adds to the humidity. Yet, once the late autumn hits, it has the opposite effect. Cold and damp, or dry cold before the snow hits.
W51976@reddit
I’m craving some hot weather. I live in a north facing flat, and it’s still cold, even during this recent warm spell.
heyitsed2@reddit
Have you tried going outside?Â
W51976@reddit
Yes it’s been nice and warm outdoors, but, I think it’s because the air is still cold at this time of year. The flat needs to warm up.
Specialist-Salt-3949@reddit
In southern and central England, and especially in London, it can get uncomfortably hot in summer, exacerbated by high humidity, buildings designed to conserve heat and absence of AC. In other parts of the U.K., summers can be very pleasant - I live in Northumberland. Another benefit of U.K. summers is the long daylight hours resulting from our high latitude.
funnystuff79@reddit
Houses designed to retain heat, windows without external sun shading, no AC, no ceiling fans. Trees on the streets being removed coz little Timmy slipped on dropped seeds.
No covered parking for cars.
ChipCob1@reddit
We get all the weather.
To prepare against all the extreme weather we experience would be hugely expensive.
solidpro99@reddit
Humidity
T_raltixx@reddit
It's not the heat that gets you
heyitsed2@reddit
I knew it would be themÂ
Optimal-Idea1558@reddit
Same for the cold. A cold day in winter here can feel worse than one in Finland
Major_Bee4483@reddit
We arrived to -30 in Finland and although it took your breath away it wasn’t a wet cold so still felt ok if you were dressed correctly
Separate-Frame-7038@reddit
This is the correct answer. The UK is a very humid country, so when we get the heat it is extremely oppressive and our bodies don't have the time to acclimatize before the heatwave is gone. That, and buildings are designed to retain heat making it worse.
Live-Upstairs@reddit
Because all the dogshit and overflowing bins really start to hum in the heat. Plus all the jakeys start shouting and taking their tops off.
heyitsed2@reddit
Suns out, scums out - as my hubby likes to say.Â
W51976@reddit
It still feels cold in my flat. Have a fleece on lol. Can’t wait for a few 23-25c days.
SeriousFortune1392@reddit
We're not built for hot weather, our buildings, everything really, but also you'll find a lot of international people will come over experience an English heatwave and the start profusely apologising for bullying us.
maceion@reddit
80% to 90% humidity. 40 deg C in dry Libya is tolerable, 40 deg C in 85% UK Humidity kills!
Derfel60@reddit
Humidity. When i was in the states it was 38 and i was completely fine because i was working at 7000 feet elevation and it was dry as fuck. Here if its over 23 i cant leave the house because i have to take a cold shower every 20 minutes.
Warngumer@reddit
While I agree with the points about humidity and building structure, I'd also guess that some of it is due to the angle of the light hitting us compared to countries closer to the equator. For comparisons sake when I've traveled from Spain back to the UK (or vice versa) in the height of summer I've always found the sun here to feel more piercing and oppressive.
Adventurous-Cycle363@reddit
Refusing to adapt. Basically most properties still look like they dropled from Victorian era with no idea to have some modernization.
KittyHalfEyes@reddit
From Sri Lanka, i don’t even notice 35c when i visit back home, here, i got a huge AC, peddling pool, and some industrial grade fans to survive few days of 25ish.
ResplendentBear@reddit
Acclimatisation, humidity and facilities.
We have none of the first, lots of the second, and not much of the third.
Also, nothing makes me feel older than "hits different", but that's not actually relevant.
Lordaucklandx@reddit
Was 35 degrees in Melbourne when I went in Feb, dry heat fine. I was in Auckland NZ the week before extremely humid at 27 degrees and unbearable.
British heat is insanely humid
Separate-Frame-7038@reddit
I was in 40c in Arizona and it was hot but bearable, nothing like a 25c+ days in the UK, which is torturous.
PurchaseDry9350@reddit
Humidity and the architecture. Our buildings etc are built to keep in heat and many of them were built when global warming hadn't been like this. Also a lack of AC. I think in some parts of the UK we need to realise the UK is no longer a cool country for some of the year
EverybodySayin@reddit
Other hot countries have lower humidity; houses that aren't designed to be heat traps; and air conditioning systems in their homes. If you've been to different countries you'll know. The dry heat even with higher temperatures just isn't the same. The humidity we get here just feels like the hot air is clinging to you and you can't escape it.
Cant_Change_Itt@reddit
Wouldn’t say 40 degree on the Mediterranean. While it was just about bearable when I experienced it, it was still far too hot and not at all ideal. Here though it’s like stepping into a oven, it’s not even remotely barable.
OutsideImpressive115@reddit
They just do alright
Watchkeys@reddit
Acclimatisation.
Jeoh@reddit
Aussies are used to it. More importantly, their infrastructure is used to it.
Typing this with all the windows open because it got up to 27C in my house today.
catmadwoman@reddit
Where are you?
Jeoh@reddit
Oxfordshire
Thick_Handle7693@reddit
no AC here🫩
Nevernonethewiser@reddit
We're used to a lower average temperature than places that have a higher average temperature. That's about it, really.
You could argue that the humidity of being on an island also makes it feel hotter, but we have lower humidity than other places that get hotter. Florida, for example.
sonictuesday@reddit
Humidity.
A humid 30 degrees is a lot worse than a dry 30 degrees.
Curious_Strike_5379@reddit
The Gulf stream.
IDKBear25@reddit
Mate it's 19 Degrees Celsius and I'm sweating my bollocks off.
I don't know what it is with the heat in this country.
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