#and that confused me so much until I realized duh metric system

[cinemaocd]

For my UK mutuals

As requested I'm not interacting but I have a lot to say about surviving extreme weather as American who has survived half a century of extreme weather in the midwest.

I lived in uninsulated attic bedroom without ac as a child and these are things I learned to do when I was little:

Close up the windows and shut the blinds as the day is heating up. Wait to open things up until after the sun goes down. Use fans to circulate air into the house early in the a.m. when it's colder outside than inside. Use your fans to circulate air around the house during the heat of the day. Use your fans to push air OUT of the house again in the evening. If you push air out an upper story window it will draw some colder air from below.

Save activities/errands for evenings and early mornings. Stay out of the sun as much as possible. Use umbrellas for shade. Wear a hat. Lose fitting clothing in a breathable (cotton, linen, light weight wool) fabric is much better than exposed skin if you have to go in the sun. If you want to go to the beach go early in the morning or in the evening. Don't swim in the heat of the day. If you are in charge of when you work, avoid doing it in the heat of day. If you run a shop, cafe or other business, change your hours to avoid being open during "siesta hours" (2-5 p.m.) If possible try to work from home to avoid commuting during the heatwave. The more people on the Tube the hotter it's going to be down there.

Cars left in the sun are subject to the greenhouse effect and will be much hotter than outside temperatures. Open your car windows and doors before you drive and run the fan to push the hot air out. If you are traveling carry the following: Cold drinking water, a sports drink, nut milk or cow's milk are preferable to soda, coffee or tea but any of those three are preferable to nothing. Even if your vehicle has a.c. you still need more hydration to deal with the heat.

Also useful for travel: bandana or towel (more on that later), sun hat, handheld fan (for when you are stuck in traffic). In America they sell these shields that you can put over your windshield to prevent the greenhouse effect. Not sure if they sell them in the Old Country, but here is a tutorial for making one out of cardboard. All of this stuff (minus the sunshade) would be useful on public transport.

That other post talks about how its bad to wear wet clothes in the sun because water acts as a lens but wet clothing can be your best friend in the shade! A bandana dipped in cold/cool water and wrapped around your neck will keep you cool until it dries. For sleeping I often place a cold bandana or washcloth on my face or forehead. You can dampen a towel and sit on it (this is a great trick for long car rides in the heat) Alternatively: Hot water bottles can also be COLD WATER BOTTLES. Just add ice. They make ice trays that make skinny little shapes to fit into water bottles, and they can help turn your hwb into an ice pack.

Cold/cool showers and baths especially right before bed if you have trouble sleeping in the heat. Kiddie pools or animal troughs in the shade are great for keeping people and doggos cool.

Cranking your fridge to its lowest setting will make it cool more but the heat that is pumped out of the fridge goes right into your house. Keep your fridge at the warmest temp you can get away with. Likewise televisions and computers pump out of a ton of heat when they are running.

IF YOU LOSE POWER

The temptation to rely on your refrigerator/freezer is obvious but the first thing that happens in a heat wave in America is the power grid goes down.

Think about buying a solar powered fan now, before the grid goes down...

Make sure you have batteries charged ahead of time.

If you rely on candles or lanterns for power outtages, consider a source of light that doesn't add heat to the environment, like a solar powered LED lantern.

Another piece of equipment that could literally save your life: a marine cooler.

If/when the worst happens: take some large frozen items out of freezer/deepfreeze and put it in a cooler with some essentials from your fridge. Deeply frozen food will keep those other things cool for a day or more (depending on your cooler). Try to keep the fridge and freezer shut then after you have filled your cooler so that the remaining cool air will keep things as long as possible. If you go multiple days without power you may need to throw everything out anyway, but you might get away with it if you are careful and have a good cooler.

A marine cooler kept out of the sun will keep ice for days. We started camping with one and we no longer have to do any kind of mid-trip ice stock up. Also: block ice will stay frozen so much longer than cubes. If you have the space in your freezer, buy some now and stash it before you need it.

Fresh fruit and vegetables that don't require cooking are a great way to get more liquids and feed yourself without making your house any hotter or using electricity. If consumed quickly they don't need refrigeration either.

This is a wacky one but hear me out: hammocks. If you can hang a hammock do it! Sleeping suspended like that air circulates around your body and you will be so much cooler. I was in tropical Mexico a few years ago and all of the houses had hammock hooks built into the walls to take advantage of the cooling effect. Bonus: you can pretend to be Captain Jack Aubrey while you're lying there...