4 ms·
> This article seems in a similar genre to the breathless advice to remain inside in Britain when the outside temperature might get above 27C / 81F, otherwise k
by masklinn 1y ago
> This article seems in a similar genre to the breathless advice to remain inside in Britain when the outside temperature might get above 27C / 81F, otherwise known as a not-particularly-warm spring day in much of the US in most years.
It’s really not breathless, because high temperatures and how to handle them is completely absent from the cultural baggage. I don’t live in the UK, but in a place which similarly does not have much in the way of high temperatures historically and low AC penetration, and during heat spikes I see a significant fraction of my neighbours with windows wide open at 4PM.
Habituation is also a significant factor. The UK does not get a smooth transition into higher normals, it gets heatwaves.
- tim333 1y agoI live in the UK and a lot is down to the tabloid newspapers trying to get some sales with 'Horror Heatwave!' type headlines when it's 27C. Brits go on holiday to Spain, we are familiar with heat.
- tialaramex 1y agoStatistically we know that humans who live somewhere that you'll just die in the regular environment due to climate behave very differently from humans who live in a temperate climate like the UK when the actual temperature warrants the same behaviour. If you live in Nunavut or the Iran / Pakistan border you already knew that you can just die from temperature extremes and so you need to ensure you stay at a survivable temperature, in Wales it's quite unexpected. As a result you actually get many more deaths from extremes in countries where the usual climate is temperate like Britain, even when the actual temperatures aren't as extreme as in countries where that would be more common.