Handling Heatwaves (Without Scorching Your Finances)

 

TEACHERS, EMPLOYERS, & "OTHER PEOPLE'S BUSINESS IS MY COMPLAINT" TYPES:

. Black, beige, grey, or navy knee-length, cotton shorts, worn with plain white or black plimsols, and a plain coloured short-sleeve button down shirt still look "professional".  There is no reason you should be preventing students or staff from wearing them, or complaining about people dressed "like that".

. No, a fan that someone brought with them is not going to blow up your entire electrical system, or set fire to your office/classroom, as long as the flex isn't visibly frayed, and it's not plugged into an overloaded socket.  If you can't let go of your fixation on controlling everyone who is forced to be locked in a room with you for hours at a time - open a minimum of two widows. Put a fan that you bought (so you feel secure in it being "compliant" with something or other) in front of every open window.

. YOU DO NOT NEED TO "GO THROUGH PROCUREMENT" to buy lightweight fabric (voile or cotton panels) to cover windows temporarily, or to buy fans, dehumidifiers, etc - just go to B&M, Argos, etc, and keep the receipt.

. If you believe that "people having water bottles with them is a distraction" - you need to be as far away from other people as possible.  People, including children, should be allowed to have water, a fan, and wet wipes with them whenever they like, not just "when it's an official heatwave."

. If people can work from home, let them.  Teachers - TURN OFF the laptops. If you have trees near your school building - TAKE YOUR CLASSES OUTSIDE.

. Schools - make sure there's actually engaging things for kids to DO inside so that they can choose to stay indoors, or be instructed to do so, if ANY weather makes it unsuitable for them to be outside:  

- Sensory play tables
- Board games
- Card games (these are also a great way to teach maths!)
- Magnetic darts boards
- Art materials, books, digital toys and games

It's usually VERY possible to find these in B&M, Argos, etc at affordable prices.

. Work places where work CAN'T be done remotely - rotate your teams between hotter/cooler areas of the building.

PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY:

In the UK, the most troublesome element of hot weather is actually the humidity, not the heat.  Buy a dehumidifier, especially if your home is an older building, or in an area which is prone to damp.

Yes, sunscreen is important, particularly if you're planning on being out all day.  If you genuinely can't afford sunscreen? Long, light coloured, cotton clothing - full length wide leg trousers, baggy-sleeve long sleeve shirt, full length skirt - full brim hat, and STAY INDOORS between 11am-3pm.

Carry water with you. Top up water bottles as soon as they're down to a third full. (Do NOT wait until you're out of water - you may not be able to top up before you get dehydrated.)  Aim to take a drink of water every 30mins for low activity in high heat, or every 15mins during periods of high activity.

Windows a quarter open. Layered curtaining covering the window (My windows are limited to opening a quarter of the way by design. I then have a voile panel behind a panel of light-coloured curtain fabric, both of which remain fully down, covering the window, in high heat; during the recent heatwave, my INDOOR temperature has never gone above 24 degrees - which was on a day where the ambient temperature was 27.5degrees.

Sleep under a single light blanket or sheet. Make sure you have water available overnight.

Limit activity to temperatures of 20 degrees or below if you can.  Your "activities", other than work, should be things you can do with limited movement in a cool room.  Housework: As soon as you get up in the morning, or last thing at night.  Sometimes, you can't avoid high activities during peak heat - make sure you have water with you, and prioritise light fabric, loose, lightweight clothing, and take 2mins to apply a wet wipe or damp cloth to your face throughout periods of activity.

Eat fresh fruit, salad veg, and light dairy/meat options, if you include meat and dairy.  Small meals, more frequently, is often more manageable in heat.

If you have a medical condition which is heat-triggered, or are taking medication which exacerbates heat sensitivity, let employers/teachers know - in this case, remote working, home schooling, or being moved to cooler areas of a workplace if you can't do your job remotely, are "reasonable adjustments" in high temperatures when your health condition/s or medication/s make heat harder for you to deal with than it is for others.

GOVERNMENTS AND THE GENERAL POPULATION:

. More trees, fewer cars, fewer people (the more buildings and exhaust fumes we have, the worse high temperatures will be. The more people we keep giving birth to, the more people we have to house, and the more people who believe they're entitled to drive a car everywhere) - governments, utilise the UK's inland waterways for "routine traffic", moving both freight and people away from roads wherever possible.

. Public transport NEEDS air conditioning, and more single seating

. Alcohol exarcerbates heat effects. Alcohol sales should be banned during heatwaves - hospitality sector, re-invigorate your non-alcoholic cocktail ranges. Invest in a wide variety of fruit juices. Lets have non-alcoholic drinks sponsors for major sports teams.

. Anyone presenting for NHS medical treatment for sunburn, alcohol-exacerbated heat exhaustion, or similar avoidable heat-triggered conditions is charged the full cost of their treatment upfront. (This can be a lead-in for charging for other avoidable-lifestyle-inflicted medical issues in the future, which stabilises the NHS; where the heat exhaustion WASN'T avoidable, because an individual's workplace or school didn't allow them to take reasonable evasive precautions - those establishments are charged, NOT the individual.)

. Shade cubicles, privacy-assured public showers, and water fountains should be frequently and freely accessible in towns, cities, parks, and beaches, WITHOUT judgement being cast on people who are presumed homeless making use of them (these individuals should, in fact, have priority access.)  

. Parks - explore bringing back a version of the Roman Baths, which could be charged for.

The climate has always changed, and will always change - we need to stop adding to the rising temperatures with vehicle exhaust fumes, taking over space for more and more buildings, which are never built in a climate-resilient way.   We need to be better educated about the effects of alcohol during heat.  We need to stop freaking out about "but what if people get HURT?!?!" around trees, pools, ponds, etc, and bring in MORE OF THEM, WHEREVER WE CAN.