People from the "hotter" regions, how do you deal with the heat?
I am from Eastern Europe and this is the hottest summer on my memory. For at least 3 consecutive years the heat is breaking all records.
This stuff is unbearable, I can't even play video games on my laptop, because it warms up very fast and the keyboard becomes uncomfortable for me to use.
So, could you please share any useful tips on how do you survive the summer?
Indian here, so experienced with hot climate.
ETA: When it gets so hot that we lose our appetite, then our go-to meal is to mix up cooled cooked rice with unsweetened yoghurt and a pinch of salt. its variously called yoghurt rice/ curd rice/ thayir saadam / dahi bhaath / dahi chaawal . This is an easy to make & easy to diges meal that is guaranteed to cool a person down.
thayir = dahi = curd = yoghurt
saada = bhaath = chaawal = cooked rice
Good luck.
Ok but what about the uncomfortable keyboard? WHAT DO WE DO????
comfort it :P
USB attached keyboard?
Hydrate it with water, that should help.
Get a laptop cooling stand.
I'd make one exception: cotton wants to hold water. Evaporative cooling needs water to evaporate. There are synthetic materials that will hold much less water, so they'll weigh less from sweat and evaporate more quickly, providing a tiny bit more cooling. Plus many have protection from the sun reducing the amount of sunscreen that has to be worn.
There are a line of shirts known as "fishing shirts" that are made to be big, and they have vents to encourage air to circulate inside them. They work great.
its hot, water will evaporate no matter what the cotton wants. the longer the fabric stays wet, the longer the wearer will be cool.
Why cotton instead of linen? At least in Spain, linen is more popular as summer clothing, and definitively feels fresher.
Cost. Cotton is less expensive than linen, easier to maintain, and more widely available. Banana fiber is also quite cool but is not widely available.
North africa here, we are between air conditioning, fans, drink water and pray it ends fastly, in my country our problem is more energetical, more demand less production.
Close the windows, curtains and shades during the day, at around 8-9AM. When it's very warm outside, open windows are your enemy.
Open windows, curtains and shades during the night when temperature is lowering.
This is good advice to follow even if you do have air conditioning. Keeping the heat out makes the AC work less. Maybe invest a nice set of thermal curtains.
This is not good advice for poorly insulated houses, which most are that live in temperate climates. The sun will heat up the house almost immediately, making it an oven.
Agreed. If you live in an ovenhouse, ventilation is your friend. You can't keep the heat out, but your can keep it moving
Like all advice obtained on the internet, YMMV.
I do construction work in Alabama. I basically bitch and complain all summer long and hate every second of it. There's no relief unless you're in the AC. I've been thinking of ordering a liquid cooled vest actually. They look weird but I'll try anything. The humidity here is killer. Sweating doesn't help like it does in dry climates. Every time I walk outside my body shuts down and I have literally no energy. I think i had a heat stroke last summer.
If someone above me tells me to go work outside all day and doesn't offer me a substantial amount of money, I tell them to go fuck themselves. It isn't worth it.
As a European, what is this AC you're talking about.
Houses in Europe usually don't have AC, but more and more people are getting one now.
In the American southeast, especially in a river Delta, you can't live in a house long without AC or a dehumidifier. Mold will grow to toxic levels quickly in a house that's left without electricity for very long in areas around me.
We have trouble opening our front door in the summer when the temp gets above 38 due to the humidity causing the wood door to swell. The heat index reached 47 last week due to the high humidity so there's a ton of water in the air.
This is what killed around 700 people during one heat dome event in Canada a few years back. So much humidity in the air that sweating wasn't helping cool people. You body can't cool so you overheat and die. Not all people died from that but they were attributed to heat causes.
Those vests can be very effective. I use a coolshirt system in my track car, and I can be in the car indefinitely on a 100F day with no a/c, as long as the pump is recirculating ice water through my suit.
fan and cooler during dry heat, onlyfans during humid heat after rain, get cotton vest for upper body and cotton bermuda shorts, get external keyboard and a laptop stand with fans for laptop.
honestly i wouldn’t masturbate during humid heat after rain
Before it I would say, so you can wash all the cum away.
Don't wear pants! It amazes me how people from colder climates don't dress for the heat.
You must wear loose-fitting closes that allow breezes to pass through the material. In the sun, you must cover your skin and keep your clothes open.
AZ here, Get a cheap low power desktop for work shit, it will heat up less and you'll be able to ventilate it better.
Otherwise, a/c, thermal curtains, insulated reflector layer in front of that, make sure your weather seals on your doors are good. Drink water all the time, carry water with you all the time. Good luck with all the heatwaves and welcome to the club.
Thank you for the all the advices but my laptop is already the "low power" option. The other one is a desktop, which produces way more heat. Although still less than most modern "gaming stations"
The club, is sadly, not the one I would like to be in. I have always been a fan of winter but it seems like with each year it's going to be harder to enjoy it
You can do a suprising amount of stuff on a raspberry pi, they also run ARM meaning they heat up less than a desktop CPU
Most heat gets in through windows facing the sun. I cover the worst with aluminium foil (tin foil).
Also bans all the evil rays! Pew pew pew…
damn that's pretty genius, although, doesn't the tin foil or the pocket between the window heat up?
Works best on the outside, but also on the inside it’s a very effective cheap solution.
Would recommend to fix with painters tape.
Yes. Foam or bubble wrap underneath the foil is best for performance over time, even just cardboard can be a meaningful improvement.
Genuine question, does this affect your phone signal at all?
No, never had any issues with GSM, 4G and 5G.
Cool, thanks :)
wouldn't that blind passerbys? i already suffer enough from people hanging CDs to spook pigeons. I think shutters would be best here if you're not in a rental
Yes. True. Depends on the angle.
Have central air conditioning in all buildings.
Have a place to swim.
I'm in the US and it was 40C (104F) yesterday, which is normal for my area. I spent the whole day either indoors or in the neighborhood pool, and it was perfectly comfortable.
Soon people are going to be working in pools. Working from Pool (WFP) becomes the norm because of the heat.
Soon we will evolve to go back in the water. Water levels rise.
Years pass, emissions go down, we evolve to go back onto the land.
The cycle repeats.
Two drifters meet. Something needs to be exchanged.
this is underground morlock burrow erasure
Both AC and pools have a horrible upkeep cost.
So does winter heating.
Unlike winter heating, at least you can power the AC by the very sun that burns on your roof.
I can get about six hours of free heating during the day from the sun over winter in Australia, using solar and a split system. Only if the sun is unobscured though.
Summer is better of course, due to the longer daylight.
Thats why I wear jackets indoors
I mean, I bought my window ac at least 10 years ago, the only upkeep is cleaning the filter. no issues. I bought a house with an AC from the 70s or 80s in the wall, also nothing but washing the filters. Sure I'm using electricity, but I wouldn't call that upkeep.
Pretty sure that’s what that commenter meant. Running AC is a huge energy expenditure and is contributing to the long-term problem.
AC is absolutely necessary where I live. We don't have the option of not using it to help the environment. I have my thermostat set to 80°F (26.5°C) most days, but without it we would likely have very a high heat-related death rate.
The best option is to have our grid use as much renewable energy as possible. I have solar panels on my house, which covers about 60-80% of my usage on these hot 104°F (40°C) days.
It's necessary where I live too (inland Los Angeles) and we also keep our thermostat at 80 all summer. The summer power bills really hurt, but we have to. We're unfortunately not in a position for solar financially but I really wish we were!
But it's either this or hospital. Human body can't cool down in very hot and high humidity environments, for example 40 degrees and 90% humidity. My mother was sent to hospital due to heat stroke, AC is life-saving. It would be better if there were better ways.
Right. I don’t think individuals can or should do much beyond setting their AC at reasonable levels.
The responsibility is on governments to heavily invest in renewables so that we don’t continue on our current trajectory. If governments don’t act, the earth will inevitably force some sort of reduction in energy usage and it’ll be far less comfortable than higher taxes.
Exactly. The issue is with the source of electricity, not with the AC itself. Not to mention that leading by example is nice, but it's not always the best course of action. An individual avoiding AC is a drop in the water, and not going to save the planet, while suffering immensely. Hell, even if every single individual stopped using AC at home (which isn't even close to reality), that wouldn't have a significant effect, compared to what corporations, factories, etc. are doing.
In this context, corporations and factories are people. Their energy expenditure is a consequence of providing good and services to consumers.
There’s no “them” to point fingers at here, unfortunately.
The price of electricity in my country (the UK) has gone stupid high right now. We don't have AC in our homes normally in the country. But I bought a 2nd hand portable unit about 7 years ago when my first son was born cos I was afraid of him gettin too hot at night. I have a 2nd son now and we have had some record high temps last month and o could only afford yo keep this AC unit on for a like 2 to 3 hours at night time in just his room and only on the hottest days. Anymore than that and we woild struggle to pay the energy bill that follows.
It's not maintenance cost that's the issue. It's energy cost.
We bought a cheap above ground pool that we put out in the summer. It helps that we have super cheap abundant supply of water.
In a lot of hot weather countries people don't have air-conditioning. 40C is also not comfortable in the slightest when the humidity is 90 percent.
I agree. I have lived in hot, humid places without air conditioning. The only solution is to find cool places (in the shade, in a cellar), stay wet, drink lots of water, and avoid physical exertion until the sun goes down.
I am spoiled now. I live in a region with cheap, low-carbon electricity (almost entirely from hydro, nuclear, and wind) and modern infrastructure, so air conditioning is standard practice. I wish the whole world could have the same.
No where on earth is it 40c at 90% humidity, that is explicitly deadly and quickly.
Where I live it is that hot and that humid, but not at the same time. In the morning we will have 95% humidity at 80°F (26.5°C). But later in the day, when it is 104°F (40°C), the humidity usually drops to 40% or lower.
Indeed, many places are 40 and 90% within a day, but not simultaneously. You can see in your image how the peak humidity was at 00:00 and the peak temp at 13:30.
Indeed, many places are 40 and 90% within a day, but not simultaneously. You can see in your image how the peak humidity was at 00:00 and the peak temp at 14:00.
Most of the world does not have central heat and central air.
In many areas, pools can be difficult due to a number of economic, social, and other factors.
Additionally, running AC constantly also puts more heat outside and, depending upon your power source, increases emissions further contributing to global climate issues just making things worse.
Lots of fans.
So many solutions and yours is Onlyfans?
Its effective and relatively cheap.
Only fans.
Brazilian here, to be fair I've read so many good tricks here that I am not sure what I have to contribute, but yeah, light clothes with bright colours or white, don't dress dark as your clothes you heat up. No shoes if you can, but also not barefeet lol sandals and flip flops havaianas styles. If you live close to the beach obviously go take a swim, otherwise swimming pool or AC at home or car or go to store random stores with AC too lol. Drink cold stuff, keep hydrated. Fans, and cold shower.
Sleep during mid-day
Houses are built differently in hot areas. Very few windows facing south. Shutters on all windows. All windows deeply recessed. Channel the wind, ie have a deep through channel that spans across the house so any pressure differential causes air to exchange. Tiled floors. No/low insulation.
In Northern Europe, we live in sweat boxes designed for letting in maximum light and keeping heat inside the house.
Sweat box gang woo!
The one thing I don't see mentioned enough for keeping your apartment cool is to close all windows and draw all curtains during the day and open them when the temperature outside is lower than that inside (normally ~an hour after sunset).
Heat reflects off all surface, so it's not just about keeping light out.
Blinds on the outside of your windows help significantly too.
I wish the temperature outside dropped below my house temp. If I run AC at even a money saving 83 degrees inside, the exterior doesn't drop below that until around 6am.
I mean if you have air conditioning, then most tips here are irrelevant and the only tip would be "put your air conditioning on".
Almost all areas on or north of the Alps don't have AC (cos they never needed it) and buildings are made to keep heat in.
Totally. Blows my mind that people can’t seem to understand that if it’s hotter outside than inside, the inside won’t get any cooler by opening windows.
Last summer in London (42 C!!) we became a box of shadows during the day. Keep the cool inside.
In the southern US we have air conditioning everywhere. People avoid going outside except for very early or late in the day when the sun isn't on you. I try to get any yard work or anything outside down before 10am and avoid going outside the rest of the day.
Yesterday was actually a "nice" day where I'm at because the high was "only" 34C. People were outside enjoying it, but still avoided the sun and were mostly out in the morning and afternoon in shaded areas.
The weather has been so bad lately here in Texas. I was actually happy when I saw it was only 96 degrees outside which meant I could use my long sleeve shirt today lol.
Multiple days over 103+ degrees weather has been torture. It'll be back to that in 3 hours lol.
If AC isnt an option, the way Ive gotten through summers without is opening one window on one side of the building, then another one on the opposite side. Then point a box fan facing outward of one window, and do your best to seal the gaps with some cardboard or whatever you have. This will create negative pressure in the building, drawing in a bunch of air from the opposite window.
Actually it is better to put the fan a few feet away from the window pointing out.
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would be nice with a test for a sealed fan like I described. the problem with that setup is that the negative pressure will try to pull from both windows, competing with the fan trying to blow out and not getting as much flow
I live in the southern US, and my house basically has this built-in. There’s a big fan in the middle of the house that blows air into the attic, so if you open a few windows and flip the fan on it creates a breeze through the whole house.
Make sure your sewer traps haven’t dried up though. I turned it on with the house closed up one day and it sucked in air through the shower drain in the guest bathroom that hadn’t been used in a while…
Yeah, a whole-house fan. You turn it on in the evening and it expels hot attic air from the top while sucking in cool fresh air through open windows. It actually works really well and is much more energy efficient than AC. When it gets super hot you still need AC though.
Attic fans are great. We'd run it when the sun went down to draw in the cool night air. After that we shut everything up and drew the blinds. The house would stay very cool until late the next afternoon. On super hot days we might have run the AC for a few hours in the late afternoon or evening.
But won't you draw in a bunch of hot air?
it's the same reason a breezy summer day feels cooler, the air is still cooler than your body temp and draws away heat better than sitting in still air, plus its more evaporation if you're sweating hot. also indoors without AC during summer is an insulated oven.
You turn the fan off during the day and on at night, I assume
If the dew point is favorable at least, then drinking Hot Coffee and let myself sweat in front of an Electric Fan. If it is very humid, Ice on neck or taking a cold shower.
If I had to go outside or Air conditioning at the office broke, then I'd wear light clothing where sweat is easier to evaporate
Otherwise, I'd just use air conditioning and eat up the electricity cost, fuck this weather.
Drinking hot liquids is the last thing you should be doing if you are trying to cool yourself down.
If you are looking to evaporation to cool you then splashing some water on you and sitting in front of the fan is a better idea.
The principle is to heat up the body in order to signal it to sweat.
My point is you can do that without heating up your body since the goal is to cool you down.
There's a lot of good advice in here but I haven't seen anyone tell you to just reduce the amount of heat being generated in your home. Almost every plugged in electrical device in your home is generating some amount of heat. Esp. if they're in use.
So my suggestion to you is to flip off the power-strip or unplug unnecessary devices, and find something else to occupy your time. The consoles, PCs, the tv itself, they're all hungry devices that generate a lot of heat. Those fans people are telling you to use? They generate heat too... so while I'm not saying, "don't use a fan to stay cool", I am saying, "don't fill your home with running fans in rooms you aren't in".
When I lived in a top floor apartment in Melbourne, where it regularly hit 40°C without any air-conditioning (still unsure how that was and is legal to rent out), I would use a spray bottle of water and a fan to evaporatively cool myself, cold showers to lower my body heat and trips to an air-conditioned space like the cinema or shopping centre during the worst of it.
Evaporative cooling unfortunately doesn't work well when it's also quite humid, which can be the case in some European countries.
No mention of wet headcloths and neckerchiefs here! Get some water on that neckerchief and it’ll drip down the hotter parts of your body. A wet headcloth loosely draped under a hat or headband catches the wind and sends evaporative cooling down your back, and gives you cooler air to breathe.
There’s a reason why deserts around the world are filled with garments like the keffiyeh, pashmina, shemagh, pañuelo, and cowboy scarf. I’ve spent a lot of time in the outdoors with a kufiya from the Hirbawi factory in Palestine, they’re well-made and amazingly handy. Their story is worth reading at http://www.hirbawi.ps .
This will work until there is a wet bulb heat dome event and evaporative cooling no longer occurs because there is more humidity in the air than can evaporate off your body.
Welcome to my shit hole part of the world. Darwin Australia.
When the weather hits 40⁰ around here I might head to the cinema. They're usually really well temperature controlled, dark and allows you to get out of the sun when it's at its height. Nights when it doesn't cool down are harder.
Use fans. Air blowing on you will make you feel cooler. If you don't have air conditioning some houses can benefit from one fan blowing inwards from the cool/shady side of the house and one fan blowing outwards on the hot/sunny side of the house.
Try to do outdoor things early in the morning or late in the evening. If you need to be outdoors during the hottest parts of the day stay in the shade, wear sunscreen, move more slowly, drink plenty of water.
Avoid being out in the midday sun. If you do, try to walk in the shade as much as possible.
If your windows have external shades close them down when the sun is hitting that side of the house/appartment so that the heating up of objects from the sunlight happens outside not inside.
Wear shorts/skirts and loose clothes of thin textites that don't retain much heat (such as cotton).
If you're going to be out for long periods, bring water, ideally cold water.
Sure, if you have AC or, even better, a swiming pool, it's a lot easier to keep cool, but these suggestions will work even for those who can't afford those things.
Cold water will make you thirstier, you will sweat it super quickly which will feel refreshing but you will have used up all that water.
With that said, putting a 1.5L bottle of water in the freezer and carrying that is also an option.
I don't think conservative water is necessary.
Drink cool water help body cool off faster. Sweat also help cool off.
If the combined effect make you drink more water, then keep drinking.
I recommend getting a metal water bottle and carrying that around when you're sightseeing or any activity that keeps you outside in the sun for long.
Also I personally never noticed any extra sweating when drinking cold water versus ambient temperature water, and I live in Portugal were we regularly get 40C or more in August. Generally, if it's hot enough you'll sweat more simply from the heat (as sweating is a natural cooling mechanism) even if all you drink is plain tap water. Sure, if you don't drink water you'll sweat less, as you're getting dehydrated so the body will cut down on that.
Were did you learn that specific piece of information about cold water making people sweat more?
Tbh I'm pretty sure it's just old people tales from my pueblo so you might as well be right
Here's what I do, dampen a towel and put it in the freezer. Once the towel is good and cold wear it like a cape. Looks kinda stupid but you'll stay cool.
I'm from eastern europe too, I feel like I almost died from the august 2020 heat, this year I couldn't belive my eyes seeing 37°C on the weather app last week(and continues to rise). The hail mary was fans for me, but air conditioning is something that will get harder to live without as years roll by and the temperature increases. I know I'm not the intended audience, but what worked for me was spending more time in rooms where the sun doesn't hit as much(for me it's the bathroom), standing near walls(I noticed they don't catch a lot of heat and they are not too cold to lean on), every few hours try to splash some water on your face and neck and maybe(I don't know if this works, didn't try it) towels that are wet and were left a bit in the fridge(I'd avise much caution with temperature change to avoid termic shock, for the towel too not be too cold and the body too warm). Hydrate and avoid going outside mid day as much as possible. Summer gets easier when you work in an air conditioned office, but until then, good luck and drink water.
People have already mentioned wet towels on your neck but I would add, if you can, cold wraps for your legs: wet towels around your calves.
Always humid heat, days above 35 degrees have increased a lot. Have to use an AC all summer long... Prayers to those who have to work outside.
I live in the desert so its usually a dry heat so I get to use a evaporative/swamp cooler. It uses way less electricity than the AC. I just have to crack open a few windows across the house and turn on a fan in the hallway and it gets quite cool and doesn't get too humid inside. It hit 110ºF (43ºC) today and it never got above 72ºF (22ºC) inside.
If you don’t have air conditioning you can create a shitty version using a bucket of water, a towel and a fan. Just have the towel wick up the water and lay it over the fan.
I'm late to this party because I'm on the other side of the planet in a sub-tropical climate. I agree with the commenter from India and want to add:
• if you have a cotton cap / beanie / soft hat, get it out Wet it, wring it out, and put it in your freezer in roughly the right shape for your head. Use whatever is in the freezer to shape it, then let it freeze. Remove from freezer, put it in your head, and thank me for the brief but blessed relief.
• Wear a light cotton long sleeve top. Wet the sleeves and stand or sit in front of a fan or in a breezy spit in the shade. It's like air conditioning for your skin.
• Wet your head for instant relief. Your wet hair will help keep you cool for longer.
• Plan your day around the heat. If you have to go out, do it as early in the day as you can to avoid the heat. Stay in the shade as much as possible, but somewhere with good air flow
I live in South Vietnam. I stay inside for the hours between 12 and generally 3-4. If I'm outside during those hours, I stay still as much as possible. Always have a drink: lite tea is common here. Avoid direct sun, cover exposed areas of skin when traveling. Evaporative cooling is your friend. You can keep a small spray bottle of water with you. Fans heat up a room if the room isn't vented, so keep the fan on, but crack the door if you don't have AC.
I'm originally from a city quite close to Canada, known for harsh winters, and now I live in a place where 40c is common. If the temperature gets too high, or you begin feeling sick/dizzy. Find a place to cool down and hydrate. Heat stroke is no joke.
For some reason, I've never really thought about this. I splash my face, my neck, wet my arms and legs, but I always forget the top of my head.
Maybe I unconciously assume my hair provides good shade, but it's definitely not long and thick enough for that.
This is probably the most important part. It's quite easy to do that on weekends, but many people have their set in stone hours at work that just aren't compatible with that kind of weather.
We need to figure out how employers can be more flexible with allowing their employees to work around the heat when possible. It's normal for construction workers to start earlier and pause during the hottest hours, why not do that in the office too?
Some middle-european countries are starting to consider the siesta model of their southern neighbours, and I think that's not a bad idea at all.
Here in Australia a lit of road construction works are carried out overnight in the summer. This helps beat the heat, which improves safety, but also improves safety by ensuring work is being carried out when there's the least amount of traffic next to the work zones.
Less traffic is something I didn't even think about, but that's absolutely a big added benefit. Especially when so many people don't seem to care about speed limits in construction zones. Well, here at least, I don't know about Australia.
I don't envy the people who do roadside work, it must be incredibly stressful. Hearing protection, helmet and visor protect them, but also make it harder to notice approaching traffic.
I would probably be jumpscared every time a truck suddenly appears in my peripheral.
In the Philippines, Filipinos usually go to malls for free air-conditioning since electric bills here in the country is not very friendly in terms of the costs. If you are lucky enough to be in the middle class, running the AC during afternoon for some hours is enough already.
Ever since I started riding (motorcycles) I don't even really notice it anymore. Anything less hot than "armored jacket and helmet under the sun" just doesn't register as hot anymore
I stay inside with AC on as much as I can for June, July, and August. I know many homes in Europe don't have AC, but if we didn't have it here, we would likely have very high heat-related death rates. It has been 100-104°F (38-40°C) almost every day for the past 6 weeks. And at night, it only gets as low as 80°F (26.5°C). It's brutal. So AC is the answer.
But from mid September through the end of May, we can be outside almost the whole time. There's the occasional cold snap in winter, but on a regular day, it can be as warm as 80°F (26.5°C) in December and January.
Gosh, it's peaking here at 36°C and I'm already dying, not really used to high temperatures. My condolences to people having to deal with 40°C weather
In FL: Air conditioning.
In HI: Breezes, fans.
I’ve discovered that if I have one little air conditioned place I can go, then I don’t actually need to be in it for it to be a relief.
Just knowing that after this day in the year I’ll have a place to cool off really helps.
Honestly, I just love the heat. I strip down to as few layers as possible, put a fan on, and that's pretty much it. Even when it gets really hot, I still find that easier than the cold. The question I really want to know is how do people deal with the cold!
The good old you can always add more layers. The coldest temperature I ever experienced in my region was -26°C, the hottest just over 40. Between the two, I much prefer the former.
But then again, it just boils down to what you're used to. Our winters have always been on the harsher side, and I'm not even far up north.
Every new heatwave has me holding on for dear life. Judging by recent years, my body will have to adapt sooner than later, otherwise I'm going to have a really bad time going forward.
Yeah unfortunately as cultures get air conditioners, they can take more heat as a society, but individually most people don't ever truly be hot adapted. Then you get a place where people run from their ACd job to their ACd carto their ACd grocery store and finally get to heir ACd house.
This is the main reason I don't like cold weather. I hate layers! :)
My issue with hot weather is that around 25°C i run out of layers to remove to stay comfortable, and I can't even get to that point if I'm anywhere outside my own home because running around naked in public is sadly not socially acceptable. So when temps reach 35 outdoors I just feel like dying as even indoors tends to heat up to >30 if the temps stay for a few days.
Warm clothes, they are nice and make you comfy. When you're at home, putting on a big blanket and some warm tea feels great. Heaters are also a thing
I can't stand layers of clothing or stuffy indoor air, so both of those are worse than being hot for me
Oof. I don't know how you do it. I can deal with a dry heat but humidity just slays me.
I mean, I prefer dry heat over humid, but I'll take either over the cold
I'm the opposite. I live in the midwestern US so when it's hot, it's also humid. If my room is above 72F I can't even sleep, I just sweat right through the sheets. On the other hand, when it's 40F out, I'll open my windows and sleep in my boxers.
I live in sub tropical Australia. Humid days sit in the mid 80s for humidity, and the summer highs gets to around 33c (92f), though there are days that get hotter than that.
That's when you'll get me in as few layers as possible.
But the temperature drops to anything in single digits Celsius (below 50F) and I basically can't operate. I stop riding my bike, I stop running, and I just hide inside.
Barcelona A/C all the day at 24C (25C or 26C when sleeping). However to me it's been always hot here. So I'm not particularly suffering this summer more than the others.
Why avoid ice water?
The reason I’ve heard is that your body has to work really hard to warm up the cold water, which in turn means you feel warm more quickly once the effect of the cold water wears off. That’s why people in the desert drink warm tea.
It's important to remember that humidity plays a huge role when it comes to managing thermal comfort, and the desert is a very dry place. Advice that is applicable to the desert might not apply in other places with high temperature/high humidity.
I don't know whether drinking hot tea actually helps to beat the heat, but speculating a bit on it, we might guess that hot tea would promote sweating, which is highly effective for reducing body temperature in dry contexts, but less so in humid ones. The tea is also warmer than your body temperature if it is to be considered warm, and as such you will get hotter without getting any relief from the sweating, making drinking hot tea in a hot/humid scenario counterproductive if these assumptions are correct.
Just something to keep in mind.
Nah. The body does not have to work "really hard" to warm it up. And if your body is already hot and trying to cool down by sweating then the cold water will help with that. You need 1 kcal to heat up a litre of water by a degree. So if you drink a litre of 6C water and your body temp is 36C then you will need a whopping 30kcal to heat it up. That's like 5g of peanuts, so like 7.
Ahh that does kinda make sense to be honest. Thanks!
Also one of the reason why people in hot climates love eating spicy foods, especially during the day. When you eat something spicy, your mouth feels hot, but your body temperature is not actually increased. You'll start sweating, but as your body temperature is not actually increased, you'll ended up cooling your body instead.
Avoiding cold water is just bad advice and it's perpetuated by people who do not live in hot climates. It violates thermodynamics to say adding cold stuff makes you hot.
If you're already to the point of sweating, your body is trying to cool you down. Adding cool liquid will make you colder, not hotter. Go read medical recommendations for how to treat heat stress, they will never tell you to drink hot tea and eat some chillies
Yeah I'm confused about that too. I drink ice water all the time when it's hot... But I live in an area with a mild climate, where 27C (80F) is considered hot.
I don't buy the don't drink ice water. I live in a place where summer temperatures are normally over 100° F (37.7° C). And nothing feels better after doing a lot of yard work like chugging ice water. The worst that's ever happened to me was a brain freeze.
There is a reason people in the south US drink iced tea. A cold drink on a hot day, just feels good. It might be psychosomatic, but I've never heard anything outside of old wives' tales about cold drinks being bad.
In fact, I've participated in the Hotter than Hell, a 100 mile cycling event, in Texas in August. At the halfway point they have snow cones made with sports drinks for the people participating. With over 10,000+ people a year participating and over 40 years you would think someone would have had a bad reaction if drinking cold water was actually an issue.
Drink lots of cold water. Back in May I almost got a heat stroke because I was drinking room temperature water and hot tea @ 4pm when it is the hottest. Stop drinking anything hot. If tap water is warm fill up buckets of water previous night for bathing. Leave those buckets open in the bathroom with windows open to allow water to cool overnight. Of course you also need air-conditioning and ceiling fans. Additionally, use blackout curtains on windows, keep doors and windows closed so that rooms don't become as hot as outside. FYI where I live summer temperatures are 45 deg C, and this is all part of what I do to deal with the heat.
You want to get some nice blackout thermal curtains for any windows facing south. You might actually need 2 sets of curtains to fully block the sun. I've noticed a big difference this year since I added a 2nd thermal curtain on top of the 1 I had. Unfortunately that only helps so much and as long as it's unbearably hot outside you're going to see the heat increase inside as the day goes on. At night open all of your windows and run fans to get as much airflow as possible while it's cooler outside. In the morning close your windows the minute the outside temperature is the same as the inside temperature. As long as it's cooler outside, the windows should be open.
A neck towel that you regularly wet is truly amazing
This is how I got through my youth when I had to work in the sun (wet bandana) Anything that gets you wet with some air flow. It’s like sweating without to electrolyte hit. Works better in low humidity, of course.
I’m lucky now because I have AC and can just stay indoors through the hot part of the day. I still make the house a dark cave after trapping the coolest air I can from overnight.
I live with no AC. First thing, all windows get blocked with blackout curtains or whatever you can find. Wear loose cool clothes. I like to wear linen. At night and early morning/dusk, open the windows and doors (if applicable) to get the cool air flowing through your place. If you can, keep them open all night and seal them up once the sun comes up. Use a fan to blow directly on you. Even when it's hot, that air flow is a life saver. Misting yourself and standing in a fan is a very effective way of keeping yourself cool. All your physical labor chores you're going to want completed early in the day or after the sun goes down.
As for your laptop, maybe pointing a desk fan at the keyboard may help?
I'm in Phoenix. It was 112°f here today. It's hot as balls.
However, I'm immensely more comfortable in this heat than I was when visiting Germany last summer when it was in the high 70's. The difference is the humidity. I was constantly sweating, soaking everything while I was over there. Here? I get a little sweaty at 100°, sometimes. Our power infrastructure is pretty solid, so lots of air conditioner.
Yes, current problem in Eastern Europe is not temperature but humidity, Dew Point to be precise it is 20-22C (~72F).
I'm from central Italy, in my city temperatures regularly reach 40 degrees in August. With the recent heatwave we reached it in mid July, I cope by being indoors and locking myself in with AC on and drinking ice cold water, and when I can (and I fortunately can afford so) going on vacation in colder, still close, places, something like Abruzzo or Molise if you know central Italy.
I haven’t seen anyone recommend this yet but for your body itself, try using peppermint castille soap. There’s a brand here called dr.bronners, not sure if you have it in your area but you might be able to find it on Amazon. Really helps keep skin cool, sometimes I’ll just bathe my feet in it if I’ve already showered and just need to cool off a bit.
Also lose the socks and general clothing if you’re at home. A wet rag over a fan may help as well. Drink lots and lots of water. Horror movies also sometimes give me a bit of a chill! Good luck!
Midwestern US here, it's been getting hotter and some years our AC just stopped working. I keep my fan turned on almost 24/7 as I can't breathe well without it on and recently I got blackout curtains with angled curtain rods. Keeps my room much cooler than a blanket over the window
Without HVAC (which I'm assuming is the case) your options are limited. I would look into fans and evaporative coolers.
There are also freestanding compression-based units that have you run tubes out the window, but avoid single tube models!
Get a desktop. Despite what people are going to tell you, laptops are not an optimal choice for gaming. It usually always comes down to the fact that those little tiny cases are not efficient at removing heat.
Over heating and under performing is the typical story for gaming laptops.
Bands making those gaming laptops are the only one telling you they are ideal.
Desktop is mostly largely superior in any aspects except size and weight.
The comment is kinda bold but I can't blame you since you don't know anything about me and stuff
I have a desktop it's specs are on par with laptop's ones. I don't use desktop nowaday because it's a less power efficient option whilst I can accomplish all tasks on my laptop. No, I didn't buy a "gaming" laptop, lmao, they're all a joke. I only mentioned videogames since I play them occasionally and it was a good example of how bad the heat was at the time
San Diegan here. Beach. That’s what we all do. Pool works too. And of course AC.
Get as much cold air inside overnight as possible then close all the doors and windows a little after sunrise. If your house is well insulated it’ll keep it relatively cool until after lunch. Also, keep the blinds closed on the side of the house actively getting sun.
Light weight or moisture wicking clothes.
Fans. Lots of them.
Damp washcloth on your neck or a spray bottle to mist yourself. If you want to step that up, put the washcloth in the freezer for a bit then wipe your face/neck down.
O snap get to be that guy from Arizona. I was visiting SD last week, I had to wear a jacket half the day.
If it makes you feel better, so do I. I’m ALWAYS cold. I’m built for desert weather (except your stupid monsoon season. Fuck that noise).
Everyone’s going on and on about how hot it is this last week, and I’m like guys it’s barely been touched 90 like twice. I’ve been in heaven. I’m finally not cold all the time.
Air conditioning and swimming pools
If you have a basement, spend time on it. It's much, much cooler below ground. The earth is a great insulator.
Go out to movie theaters, malls, or other public spaces that have AC. Visit public pools, beaches, etc.
You can make a simple a.c. by putting a rack with wet towels in front of a fan, tho it loses effect once the humidity in you house gets higher.
Air conditioners are the norm here so it is no problem indoor, and outdoor well we were born in it molded by it
If you're out and about, I recommend light clothes, something to keep some sun off (EX: a hat or an umbrella or parasol), and a folding fan (even if the air is hot, the breeze is still somewhat nice)
An umbrella makes a crazy difference, I basically won't leave the house without at least a lightweight one in summer.
Note not all umbrellas block UV equally though.
One thing not mentioned, ice.
Drink water with ice to physically reduce your body temperature. Wipe yourself with ice packs. Eat ice cream and frozen popsicles.
Don't. Please don't. Cool. Not ice.
What's cooler that being cool? Ice cold.
I recommended if you have a two floor house put a window fan sucking the air out on the top floor. It makes a huge difference.
It really does.
If you're without an ac in Europe I highly suggest getting a simple window unit for your room. They are easy to install. Be sure to seal your door so the air doesn't escape. Portable ac units are known to be very inefficient, be wary of those. Cold showers help in extreme circumstances. Block all sources of light. Blackout curtain or just some covers over the windows. Keep humidity below 60% if you can, dehumidifiers will help but larger ones will rack up your electric bill quick.
The problem is that the windows might not be suitable for window units. For instance in the Netherlands our windows typically tilt or turn (like a door) open, they don't slide up. The walls and ceilings are usually solid brick or concrete, so you can't hide ducts in there for central AC. That leaves a split unit in one room or a portable unit.
Blocking the light made a huge difference in my house. I have are 3 small skylights on the south side that now have sun shades on the outside. They still let in some light, but it's at least 5c cooler on the top floor.
Oh well, that sucks. Guess a portable unit would work in this case. Could just jimmy the pipe and make a diy block for the window itself. It's just a simple tube that sticks out the window. Good to know a bit about them before getting one.
https://youtu.be/_-mBeYC2KGc
Here's a great video on the topic
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Air conditioning definetly needs to become a thing in the UK some company is going to make a killing if they lock it down.
We got one on sale 3 years ago and I have zero regrets. Every heat wave I sleep like a baby. We’ve maybe used it 20 nights total, but so freaking worth it. We do keep it to one room though, not trying to decimate the electric bill.
External keyboard and mouse on laptop.
a bajillion fans
Cooling your feet and legs is a great way to cool your body. So for sure wear shirts, but also sandals/flipflops can help you lose a little heat
It feels pretty good to dip your hands or feet in a bowl of ice water after being outside
Fan + spray bottle filled with room temperature water. Divine
Are you in a humid area?
Actually yes - it's definitely less effective when the humidity is super high, but usually on those days the temperature is also lower. Still works if the fan is strong enough.
Air conditioner... After moving to Europe I'm amazed by how people are so miserable and complaining every day for 1 to 2 months, then just repeat it over and over every year.
Enjoy it while it lasts. Winter is coming soon enough and you'll have shitty weather again for the next 10 months.
I live in Florida and while this summer has been unusually hot.. it's not that bad. You just get used to the heat. Also make sure you have good A/C in your home & car lol