Heatwave hotlist
How to survive the Mediterranean melt
We thought it would all be over by now; that Britain would have reprised its traditional summer pattern of roughly two days’ sunshine, followed by a long stretch of unpredictable, patchy, always-pack-a-cardigan-justin-case weather. We have, as a nation, spent many years familiarising ourselves with this outcome, greeting it with a resigned shrug when summer rolls around.
This year, however, has been different. We have been ambushed, by a heatwave of proportions we were ill-prepared for, and to which we are struggling to adapt. Should we be taking siestas like the Spanish? (Sleeping al-desko rarely plays well with the boss.) Should we stockpile water in readiness for an apocalyptic drought situation? (Debatable.)
As the UK faces its hottest day of the year this week, and the Met Office issues an amber heatwave alert, urging us to stay indoors, we bring you this survival guide to beat the heat as it goes on and on …
DO
Heed the Met Office warnings, even – nay, especially – when they sound like end-of-days forebodings. But staying indoors needn’t mean staying at home. That trick you pull on hot foreign holidays where you walk into shops purely to enjoy some brief respite in their air con? You can do it here, too, but on a grander, smarter scale. It may seem counterintuitive to sit in a dark cinema, but if it’s one with good cooling, now’s the time to watch those flimsy summer releases you’d habitually ignore. If your office is blessed with air con, then forget about working from home.
DON’T
Worry about your lawn. By this point it likely resembles an expanse of cut wheat, but all is not lost. According to scientists, your grass is probably not dead but rather in a long slumber from which it will rise again once the rains come. Going brown is, they say, a survival mechanism for grass.
The same does not apply to humans: turning brown (or red) if you are normally fairly white is not wholly encouraged. Public Health England is urging people to wear sun cream and protective clothing amid a spike in hospitalisations for sunburn.
DO
Keep pets cool. In case you missed the memo, dogs die in hot cars. The RSPCA also advises pet owners to apply a pet-safe lotion to exposed parts of the animal’s skin; provide access to shade and fresh drinking water; watch out for how warm the pavements are when walking a dog, lest they burn their paws; and keep tanks and cages away from direct sunlight.
DON’T
Water plants and grass in the middle of the day. It’s best to do it either early in the morning or during the evening or night to limit the amount of water wasted through evaporation.
DO
Take simple steps to cool your house down. Keep blinds and curtains closed during the day. Electrical appliances and lights emit heat, so switch off any you’re not using and unplug them at the wall, too. You are not living in a Los Angeles condo, so you probably don’t have air con. No worries, just take a desktop fan and place a bowl of iced water before it. This will cool the air being blown around the room, until the iced water warms up.
Wrap bed linen in cling film before popping it into the freezer
DON’T
Toss and turn in a hot bed all night. If you’re struggling to sleep, you probably haven’t tried freezing your pillowcase and sheets yet. Wrapping bed linen in cling film before freezing is recommended. Then, hey presto, come bedtime you have a place to rest your head that will also chill you to the very core of your being within seconds. Bliss.
DO
Dress appropriately. This means ditching synthetic materials and sticking to breathable fabrics such as cotton and linen. Black may be your signature look, but light colours are cooler, so branch out. Shoes should also be breathable. Pick a smart pair of sandals for the office: stuffing your feet into anything enclosed, too pointy or too high will add to your heatwave woes. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.