‘Thousands of deaths’

It only needs one day where the temperatures are significantly higher than in 1976 for the death rate to rise out of proportion to the rise in temperature.

The 1976 heatwave is understood to have been the cause of 20% "excess deaths" and there was a significantly increase in hospital emergency admissions from 24 June to 8 July 1976 than for the same period in 1975 or 1974. This compares to 59% excess deaths for the 2003 heatwave.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1976_British_Isles_heat_wave

If these extra deaths do not cause you concern, that's fine, but do not pretend that 1976 did not have its victims, it is just that were all young and probably healthy, so unaware of all the old and ill who fell victim to it.

You’ve got to die of something and I can think of worse ways to go than pegging out on a hot, sunny day remembering my glory days of ‘76. I’m thinking of old ducks like me … don’t mean young folk.

Dying of heatstroke or heatstroke-related complications isn’t a nice, relaxing way to go. God, the selfishness of some people on here!

CatsCatsCats

I like the American lady they interviewed on a news article yesterday. She said she'd lived in America and so found the fuss we're making of a couple of days of heat very funny indeed.

I lived in a snow state of America, where everything carried on in feet of snow, blizzards, ice storms, and temperatures cold enough to freeze car batteries.

However, they couldn’t cope with what they called fog, and I called a little light mist. I didn’t laugh though, after a 50 car pile-up a few hundred yards from my house caused multiple fatalities.

I hope she - and you - don’t find the fires in London, and the 400 people an hour calling the emergency services there with heat related illness, funny.

Temperature is dropping only 41 on my balcony now. Earlier I was wondering what would happen to the blue line when it reach the top, fireworks?
Ps the trains are still running

Very hot in London today so am staying indoors, sadly there will be deaths, but not so sure about thousands.
Temperature due to drop tomorrow.

There is nothing to beat the stupidity of people who live in hot countries, where life and houses are designed to keep you cool, laughing at us because we struggle in our houses designed to keep us warm when the external air is baking.

Next time they have an extra cold period as they shiver and complain in their uninsulated unheated houses and die of hypothermia, I will just laugh like a drain and point out that we do not any problems in Britain if the temperature drops to 5 degrees c for a couple of weeks.

M0nica

There is nothing to beat the stupidity of people who live in hot countries, where life and houses are designed to keep you cool, laughing at us because we struggle in our houses designed to keep us warm when the external air is baking.

Next time they have an extra cold period as they shiver and complain in their uninsulated unheated houses and die of hypothermia, I will just laugh like a drain and point out that we do not any problems in Britain if the temperature drops to 5 degrees c for a couple of weeks.

We will have problems in the UK this winter Monica, because many thousands of people will be unable to afford to heat their homes. We won’t be laughing then.

That Casdon is entirely irrelevant to the issues being discussed here. Important though it is.

The Daily Mail headline today calling people snowflakes for being worried about the heat and global warming. Withing hours fires are lapping at houses, hundreds of firefighters are working hard to keep fires at bay and people are rushing to remove animals and gas bottles from the approaching flames.

Why is this paper denying the seriousness of raising temperatures and why are some people believing them?

You raised it though Monica not me, when you said you would be laughing at other countries with people dying of hypothermia. Having the infrastructure means nothing if people can’t heat their homes, does it?

I wonder what the people whose homes and property have been damaged think of Johnson playing on a plane ride rather than attending Cobra meetings?

The Daily Mail this morning

The Daily Mail now
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11028439/UK-heatwave-Wildfires-destroy-houses-hottest-day-record.html

Casdon

RedRidingHood

Smileless2012

It's ridiculous. Some of us have been remembering the heatwave in 1976 and it went on for weeks. This is just for a few days.

It's sometimes better to ignore the news Honeysuckleberries if it upsets and scares you. Try not to worry .

I remember 1976 very well.
It was different to this. Hot and sunny for six weeks but not this hot.

Your memory’s failed you RedRidingHood. The drought in 1976 lasted for two months, there were 16 consecutive days where the temperature was above 30 degrees, and the hottest day was 35.9 degrees. It’s hotter this year, but nowhere near as prolonged or consistently hot - nor does the forecast say it will be.

Casdon Yes, it was a prolonged period, in our area it started mid-June and went on until September, and we measured in Fahrenheit which sounds hotter!

In fact I think we had a drought for 16 months. The dry period started in May the previous year, 1975, so reservoirs were already low. It was the most prolonged dry period in the UK for 200 years and the hot summer of 1976 just made it far worse.

It was followed by a very cold winter.

Cason Everyone will have a problem to heat their homes this winter. It has already been discussed that France and other countries will help those whose gas supply will be cut.
There is talk that they are nationalizing EDF to enabling them to build new reactors.

2 million calls have been received by the ambulance service in Paris. Everyone is suffering everywhere.

RichmondPark1

My mum would always take Andrews Liver Salts in hot weather on the basis that the sun meant you needed more salt in your blood. Always thought it was rubbish, but yesterday I was so hot I tried it. Made no difference.

You do need a bit of salt if you’re sweating a lot.
When I lived in very hot countries that were also very humid at certain times (much more so than the U.K. ever experiences) we all took salt tablets, supplied by dh’s company.

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11028439/UK-heatwave-Wildfires-destroy-houses-hottest-day-record.html

Now we have smoke coming over from the Gironde 625 klms away.

RichmondPark Andrews Liver Salts, do not contain any salt(sodium chloride) at all, so are completely useless as part of a rehydration package Their active gredients are; sodium hydrogen carbonate, citric acid, and anhydrous magnesium sulphate.

Essentially basic Epsom Salts (magnesium sulphate) with added ingredients.

mamaa

I live on the East Coast- so temp is a bit cooler than inland obvs. Just been out in the car and the number of people making their way to the beach, or are already on the beach is astounding- lots of working from home going on it would seem. The car park near to the beach is full and cars are parked up both sides of nearby roads. Not exactly staying home and keeping cool indoors, although I appreciate being by the sea is cooler but that is sirely as long as you keep in the shade of umbrella, wear a hat etc.

Increases working from home can be of huge benefit to families and communities. Why do some people insist on making sly digs despite the significant evidence that many jobs can be done perfectly well without involving sitting for hours in rush hour traffic in order to be present in some communal building.
I don't know anyone working from home who would head off to the beach for the day. Would you really be so dishonest if you were trusted to work like a responsible adult mama?

I wouldn’t hold your breath about energy support from France mokryna. Half of their nuclear generators are shut down for maintenance/repairs which will take months, if not years. Supply generated is down from 70% to 30%. France will need all her energy for domestic use this winter.

Kaatek I am in France.

Then you will know this.

Katek you are correct in saying that 1/2 the nuclear reactors in France are shut down. However, 22 of those are down either for routine maintenance which takes about 5 weeks and the rest for 10 or 40 year safety review which takes longer. 5 are down because cracking has caused corrosion in the pipeworks.

I found a useful interactive diagram which shows energy usage at 13h30 today:

Hydro 13%
Gas 11%
Solar 16%
Wind 6%
Nuclear 50%

Obviously the mix will change depending upon the weather but not quite the grim tale you suggest.