British Couple Reacts to British Heat Waves Ain't Got Nothing on America

[@beverly.alford]

Here in Texas we don’t have heat waves; they’re called June, July, August, and September 😜. Hope y’all are finding some relief in the UK 🥰

[@shawnteeisme]

Same in Az. We can wake up at 90 degrees christmas day smh

[@sarahdixon1943]

Yep, that's the Central Valley in Cali. as well

[@michaeld6147]

That's basically Vegas. Except sometimes the 100's start in April.

[@dirkbsilver9260]

Yep that's Texas. I have a swamp cooler that we have to shut the pump off at night as we have to manually fill it by a hose. One Summer I spent more nights sleeping on ice packs than I did my bed. Fun times.

[@fawnjenkins7266]

In South Texas, summer lasts from March through November. Hot and humid the whole time. You feel like you have stepped into a sauna when you walk outside. The drastic temperaturechamges from cold (inside with AC) to hot sauna outside, back to cold (AC in the car) back to the sauna again to walk across the asphalt parking lot to the store, where you get hit with AC once again causes a headach..I am from the northwest and when it got hot, we could find relief in the shade. In Texas, the shade is just as hot as standing in the sun! I spent 6 years as a resident. Too hot for me!

[@emerald637]

Now you can understand why Americans love ice in their water, lemonade, limeade, ice tea, ice coffee, soft drinks, etc. In some states, the temperatures can reach as high as 121 Fahrenheit = 49.444444444 Celsius. A/C is an absolute must.

[@Grantherum]

Like he was saying... theres a huge difference between a heatwave and "normal" average temps. When I was a kid, we regularly had 110°F + days in the summer, but I did live in California at the time, and we just dealt with it because that is what it was.

[@rachaelscofield8082]

Here in CA, we had multiple weeks last summer over 110+ It’s normal for us lol😂 would die without our AC though!

[@jairosoto3445]

I played soccer in 118 degrees once and my body shut down. I got the goosebumps and they wouldn’t go away. I got really cold to the point where I was freezing. I walked off the field and threw myself on the grass in the shade and I started to get better. This was in bullhead Arizona

[@feivel069]

Played baseball in similar temps here in Phx. It is def no fun.

[@marieneu264]

Must not be too hot if you’re in sweatshirts without AC in the middle of the summer!

[@jwb52z9]

Jersey, where they live, is a smaller island than mainland England, so the climate is a tiny bit different. If I remember correctly, Jersey is a part of the Channel Islands, so it's further north as well.

[@pacmanc8103]

@@jwb52z9 Ah… Jersey and the Channel Islands are just off the coast of France not too far from the southern tip of England. If anything it is warmer than most of the UK.

[@joedufour8188]

Pay attention

[@sydneyliu4825]

The heatwave had gone when they shot the video

[@mammie19621962]

FOR REAL!! 🤣

[@shadowangel3995]

Not everywhere in the US has air conditioning; it’s not common in certain regions of the country. Love the picture of you guys in the background. Chunky Monkey is amazing. The biggest factor in most heat waves in the US is not the actual temperature but the humidity. That’s why A/C is so nice; it lowers the humidity in your house.

[@10INTM]

It finally dawned on me this year why a system like Fahrenheit is so useful since we have so many different biomes and ranges of temperatures it helps to have something that's both more granular and measures temperature on how it's experienced by humans rather than the boiling/freezing points of water.

[@Honeypot-x9s]

Yea, that’s why I like American imperial measurements even though tons of issues with it, I like that it’s scale is more relative measurement system and standard. Like easy example to explain: feet, literally in the name of the unit. you can fairly accurately but not precisely measure distance walking heel to toe.. each step is ~1 foot. Not precise but good enough for rough measurements to know approx size of things. A Meter have more variance when measured this way.

[@ReaIJackhammer]

@@Honeypot-x9s I keep telling people this. 0 to 100 degrees is livable without being extremely hard on the body. 1 foot is easy to measure, one inch is about as long as your first knuckle, there's a few others also like cups etc. It may not have been the original reason for them but the measurements work and even our own measurements are in relative things, like football fields, horsepower (less relevant now), time to destination and not distance. A lot of our measurements make sense if you think of having to measure it without tools or relative to what we know. The fact that we keep it is because it works and it's not like most americans don't generally know what you mean when you use a metric measurement. Except centimeters, I've never known an American not in STEM that can estimate centimeters properly.

[@Honeypot-x9s]

@@ReaIJackhammer you are absolutely right! As flawed as it is, it’s a human system. Also I can estimate CM (over a short distance) because one day I learned 1 inch = ~2.5CM (not exactly 2.5 but close enough for American imperial) then trying to convert CM to inches one day. The unit of 2.5 just so easy to remember I think that seered into my brain. But I wouldn’t be thinking in CM, I’d be estimating inches and converting to CM. What gets me is mm, I can’t estimate in mm because it’s almost inhuman measurement I think..I have to think in inches, convert to cm then convert that to mm.. or estimate how many 9mm bullet widths…

[@AzaleaLala]

I agree with you.

[@Big_Tex]

Count me in too! In my home I think 74 degrees is just right, but 75 degrees is too darn hot. Why would I want to regress to a system without such fine granularity, am I a caveman? If I had metric degrees I’d either be too hot or too cold!

[@matthewswift996]

Lol your heatwaves are what we set our Aircon to and I regularly work in 42c temps for weeks on end

[@star222333]

Great video, but not everyone in the US has air conditioning. I have a lot of empathy for everyone who suffers from the heat.

[@TransWalk]

Alot of people in the United States do not have AC. Most people in the state of Utah don't have AC

[@Blondie42]

Last two years with 100° + temps it killed several people here in WA. They had no AC in their homes. Not sure what percentage was homeless

[@Mark-ko3mr]

@@TransWalk I don't think that's true. Not saying everyone has AC, but I think majority in Utah have it. Do you have a citation for statistic?

[@davidorioli3870]

I have 5 AC units and central air. But I live in the desert so it's a must.

[@knightguard3892]

The first year I lived in Arkansas, we lived in a place with no Air Conditioning, just had fans, though we did later move to another location and it did have AC, for many years every summer the news company actually would ask for fan donations to help those people who didn't have any. The hotest I have seen was in Nevada, when moving back to the PNW, it was a dry heat of 115. In TX the tar from the interstate was coming up and we blew a tire. That was when I was young.

[@merccove4412]

I live in Arizona (Phoenix area, USA) Our weather casually sits around 80-115 on average over summer for high/low during mid summer times. our winters dont drop below 50 in mid winter and even through winter we have highs that hit 100

[@jdub8325]

I hate the summer. My favorite season is fall. I could live the rest of my life with Temps daily at 60°.

[@beckycaughel7557]

Yes me too! That would be the perfect temperature year-round

[@manjisaipoe517]

If you find that place, PLEASE message me and tell me where it is! Just do not openly post it or so many will flock there we couldnt afford a place ourselves! ;-)

[@tee_d_we_d]

A British friend and I were discussing the heatwave there, you have my sympathy. I was in disbelief when I was told there was no form of cooling, not even a fan! I gave them tips to help cool off, something I learned being a native Texan. Two weeks of triple digit heat and 80% humidity here where I live. I'm waiting for it to cool off some in January.

[@alexandramiles-lasseter8263]

I grew up in Atlanta, Georgia. High Temps peaking at 100+ were pretty common in July and August.

[@luketauzin8321]

I live in south Louisiana where it rains everyday and is supper hot. It is always humid. My dad said 80° here is hotter than 100° when he went to Cali

[@TheMacRiada]

Did an archaeological dig in 2004 at the old Fort Toulouse (Wetumpka, Alabama) on the Coosa River as a graduate student. We used a water screen, taking water from the river, and I was lucky to working there during a week of 104 degree Fahrenheit in the shade. The humidity was above 80 %, and we had to shut down for a couple of days due to the dangerous conditions. We have a saying here in Alabama: it’s not the heat but the humidity that will get you.

[@pinkymcghee157]

And the mosquitoes. The Southeastern portion of the US from the Mason Dixon line and below is like that. You get out of the shower, dry off, get dressed, walk outside and need another shower and a bunch of caladryl.

[@markwilliams6394]

You're right it's not the heat but the humidity. There's days where it's hard to breathe. Our humidity has been mostly 90-100% every day with the heat index feeling 105 to 115 for the last 4 months with no rain until last week and the last substantial rain we got before that was in January. At this point 90 would feel like winter. That's why AC is a must here in South Texas but some don't have it or can't afford to run if they do have AC. That why we always have a fan drive every year to help those who don't have AC.

[@mycroft16]

The Southwest is why the Southeast has a saying, "yeah... but it's a dry heat." Heat is bad... but add the humidity and your body can't sweat to cool itself... and it's too hot for just radiative cooling as well... so you just get hotter internally and die. Scary how many people just don't realize how dangerous and how quickly that combo can kill.

[@TheMacRiada]

I do a lot of living history in the area & I even got hit with heat stroke, in OCTOBER!. They had to give me a whole bag of fluids just to get me feeling better. Now, I’m dealing with COPD and it makes it hard to breathe sometimes.

[@markwilliams6394]

Hope you're doing better now. I live in South Texas off the Gulf and the mosquitoes are bad here too.

[@mortensen1961]

I've lived in the Laughlin, NV/Bullhead City, AZ area since May of 1991, 120°F (48.9°C) temperatures are not uncommon here in the summer. . . .

[@johnbennett1465]

I have lived in the southeast US where almost everyone has AC. Currently I live in the northwest were few people do. We have had several days recently where the temperature almost reached 100F. Even with my experience in hot climates it was unpleasant. The locals think 80F is very hot. Boy did they suffer.

[@juliayoung537]

80F is a nice fall day ❤️

[@johnmagill3072]

I was stationed in Seattle for a while. It was pleasant here for me...lol I thought it was hilarious when it hit 90 for them. That's nice to me.

[@ronclark9724]

In West Texas with temperatures topping 110 degrees Fahrenheit every summer, my air conditioner has a difficult time maintaining 80 degrees Fahrenheit in my house. I am used to the heat, and prefer a warm house...

[@pacmanc8103]

I live in Oregon, where I heard that 78% of homes in Multnomah County (Portland) have air conditioning. On the coast and up on the Puget Sound, I’d say fewer homes are air conditioned because it rarely gets above 85 during the day and cools off into the 50s at night, where people can open windows (with screens, of course!😜) and the hot air disappears.

[@ENikolaev]

Y’all are wild. I prefer 50-65°

[@JLewis1979]

Back in my late teens I worked at a plantation/nursery for landscaping foliage. They only sell in bulk orders and tend to ship all over the US. My specific job was to move plants from the nursery to the greenhouses, which were either ventilated well or not covered in the summer, however some very heat-tolerant plants/cacti were grown in greenhouses with very little ventilation. Temps inside those often reached 130-140 and on those days we were only allowed to work 10 minute shifts before 'cooling down' in 100+ degree temps with a bottle of water. It was brutal.

[@jLutraveling]

When I was growing up we did not have air conditioning. We used a lot of fans. We kept the rooms dark. And cool. We would have temperatures mover 100. We would drink a lot of ice water. I have heard people put aluminum foil over their windows. Another trick is to take a big bowl of ice and put a little water in the bowl and point the fan at it. A form of evaporative cooling. Like a diy air conditioning.

[@caw7007]

We did same. I didn’t have ac till I was a grown up. 🥵

[@rg20322]

@@caw7007 Same here growing up in Boston

[@Cricket2731]

I used to have a freezer that needed to be manually defrosted. Defrosting days were saved for the REALLY hot Summer days.

[@reginafetty6374]

@@caw7007 That was the way it was with me as well. I think I could tolerate the heat more, if I had no air conditioning. Going from the colder inside to hot a humid outside is a shock on the body.

[@brianlevi9847]

Living in Palm Springs California…we don’t have heat waves, it’s just called Summer 🥵 🥴 lol It is over 100 degrees everyday for 3-4 months every year. Many days over 110. The other night the low was 94 degrees 🤯

[@revtoyota]

Don't forget just because we are in the US means we have AC. Many in the US do not have AC at all.

[@brianschaffer9220]

Here In the hot desert areas in the US (southern NM, AZ, and NV), many have swamp coolers, since regular AC don't do much when it is that hot and dry, so when July and August when when the dew goes up into the 50s, swamp coolers don't work worth a crap.

[@Kim-427]

I keep hearing you guys say many don’t have AC. While I know some don’t it’s gotten a lot better here in the states because of the deaths from heat strokes. In many places it’s become mandatory because our temps have gotten much hotter than they use to be. If you don’t have it there is usually some type of circumstance that doesn’t allow you to have one. More than not most of us here in the states have and can have access to it.

[@ivanamendez478]

@@Kim-427 this is so wrong. Many apartments are too old and don't add them to renovated units. Portable ACs are expensive and only cool one room. We got a black and decker one for over $300 and it only cools one bedroom. My son has a swamp cooler in his window, but again that only cools his room. We couldn't afford an AC unit for the living room or 3rd bedroom. So no, it's not that easy and accessible for the average person who already doesn't have AC to then get a good AC unit.

[@matthewmosier8439]

​@@Kim-427Have to agree with you here. At least in the South, 90% of homes seem to have AC and every single new home will usually have it. I'm actually puzzled by the comments saying that lots of people don't have it, because I have rarely heard of that being the case.

[@paulasmith7803]

To be completely honest, often it is so hot that the AC struggles and it can be overwhelmed. Plus I live on the Gulf Coast. Humidity kills.

[@danielchapman6032]

I was working outside in aught eight and the temp hit 115f. It kinda burned my lungs when I took deep breaths. Then at one point the wind picked up and I was expecting cooling temps but instead it felt like I imagine how a convection oven feels on the wrong side of the door.

[@SherriLyle80s]

Oh man. I know that feeling! Bad news.

[@krayzy932]

I worked construction in Las Vegas for a number of years. It got up to 117 F one summer. It gets up to 110 F a few times every summer. A thing people need to keep in mind with official temps. Since 1937 all official temperature gauges are kept in shaded and vented areas. Temperatures actually get hotter than recorded. MUCH hotter if you're working on or near asphalt.

[@randyfurness5588]

That's exactly what is happening when the air temperature is above body temp. In areas were the heat is over 100 , we would wear extra stuf for insulation against the heat. Some video watchers thought Afganistan was a cold region because we wore stuff arond our necks and such. It's the opposite. We literraly were like ice cubes in an oven. anything covering our uniforms helped keep the scorching heat out. 🥵

[@racheldrum1982]

Yep. 108 felt like sticking your head in a hot oven.

[@amandasargent2767]

Absolutely, when it gets to a certain temperatures "breezes" are not in anyway helpful.

[@r.s.5431]

Interesting fact - Fahrenheit and Celsius temperatures are the same at -40 degrees.

[@juliayoung537]

I've lived in the southern US all my life, I just don't handle cold well.... when it snows it's news worthy and a nightmare here 😂

[@HBC423]

Here in Tennessee we get the heat and the snow. Snow goes away quickly though

[@davidcosta2244]

I'm originally from MA, but now live in Florida, and the summers here are horrendous. I'll give it up for getting up 1 hour earlier to snow blow in the winter, just saying.

[@JLewis1979]

Northern Mississippi here. I live near a swamp about a football field behind my house so the humidity at my house is insane. Even in only 87 degree heat today I was pouring sweat through my shirt just riding on my mower cutting my modest lawn. The days where it gets to 100f+ are insane when the humidity is at 70+ percent. It feels like you can't breath outside.

[@MarianTRitch]

You can always cover up but you can only take so much off!

[@lightsalt8530]

@@JLewis1979 I lived by a swamp in Louisiana, I 100% feel you. Imagine having to wear a bra on those conditions lol.

[@curiousman1672]

Just as a piece of interesting trivia, in MN, we frequently hit -40 to -50F in January or Febuary. When it gets that cold, stepping on hard packed snow gives off a quiet ringing sound. It's so cold the snow sings. Very dangerous. We have a young lady in our area that lost all of her fingers and toes because she ended up stranded outside in that temperature. Amazed she didn't die. Not fun at all.

[@amandasargent2767]

Ugh no. The coldest I've ever experienced was negative 28 (sry my negative key is broken) in New England, where I was born and raised but I've lived in Florida now for years. I'd never be able to deal with that now. The coldest it gets here is maybe high 20s and thats only a handful of days a year and never with snow. It's funny how quickly you adjust too because after maybe 2 years here, that felt unbearably freezing to me.

[@curiousman1672]

@@amandasargent2767 Completely understand. Every frigid season I ask myself why I live in a place where the air hurts my face. The reason is spring, summer, and fall are theoretically worth it. As the summer closes, I know what's coming. Ugh.

[@roldanbelenos1549]

In Alaska, being locked out of your car/house in winter is a legitimate reason to call 9-1-1, for this exact reason.

[@curiousman1672]

@@roldanbelenos1549 Yep. We don't mess around with winter.

[@mjvk7146]

And then six months later we are regularly hitting +98-100 degrees. Lol we’re all crazy!🥵🥶🤪

[@burntkrow4477]

It gets worse for Southern California. Sometimes during the heat waves, the wind blows fro East to West, blowing the hot air from the desert into the cities. It feels like your standing in front of a hair dryer. The winds will start fires, and some times the palm trees will spontaneously combust, exploding the tops of the trees. The winds are called the “Santa Ana’s”.

[@colleen6304]

Oh my! I grew up in Southern California (near the beach, fortunately), and I remember the Santa Anas! Definitely do NOT miss them.

[@seethe42]

Winds don't start fires and the Santa Ana's aren't necessarily "hot", they are dry. They blow south through the mountain passes from the east. That crap about trees spontaneously combusting, give it a break. They are caused by Arctic winds actually. The cold dry air hitting the warm desert air. They are a necessary part of the environment of SoCal. They cause warming of the ocean, raising nutrients from the colder depths in the water, feeding the marine life.

[@Mae-fj9bb]

Many of the older places near the beach in Ca. Don’t have air conditioning and those Santa Ana’s are nasty.

[@PEPPER2323]

Living in Chicago in the 50's I remember going to bed sweating until my sheets were wet. Then in the 60's A/C came along and wet sheets went away. Can't you buy a small A/C for your bedroom?

[@gordieparenteau6555]

Last year, it reached 40 degrees Celsius in the city of Vancouver for the first time in history. Over 700 people died in the lower mainland from the heat because most homes here aren't built for that. The town of Lytton, in the British Columbia interior, set the new national heat record for three days in a row, topping out at 49.6 degrees on June 29, 2021. The next day the town was basically wiped off the map by a wildfire.

[@arielmscisney6128]

That's INTENSE heat by any metric! Scary..

[@SherriLyle80s]

Oh wow! That's so sad. 😔 Sorry to hear.

[@dave8599]

it is a lot hotter here you dont measure in Centigrade

[@cloudsn]

I live a bit south across the border, and on that day we broke the record for hottest day recorded. We'd just broke it the day before. Then we broke it again in August. The smoke from the Canadian fires blew south and caused terrible air quality, there was ash falling, and many restaurants and business closed.

[@pacmanc8103]

During that heatwave, 3 consecutive days of heat records were broken in Portland - 108, 112, and 116 degrees F (47 C). The city has had 2 days this summer of 40 degrees C.

[@katiemcteague]

I was visiting Yellowstone during the fires in 1988. It was crazy to see the mountains with these big burn marks across them. Driving through the park you could see fires along the side of the road that hadn’t been extinguished yet. You could smell smoke everywhere you went.

[@eTraxx]

In 1989 I was in a tank in the Mohave Desert .. 15 miles from Death Valley .. in August .. in MOPP-4 .. Chemical protective suit, rubber gloves, rubber boots and a protective mask. I sweated so much that water was actually sloshing back and forth in the mask goggles when I moved my head. I have no idea what the ambient temperature was .. but a gauge in the ammo compartment read 130° (Sun + big metal box).

[@SherriLyle80s]

Ugh. So miserable. My husband is a USPS worker. Brutal day and day out. No AC in the vehicles. Especially in Florida.

[@debraleesparks]

I’m from the Central Valley of California. I used to be a “flagger”for a crop duster. We had to wear all that when we sprayed weed killers in the fields. It was a living hell , (done in summer)..so I get what you went through! Love Grandma Debbie

[@ZootSuitJZ]

While I was stationed in 29 stumps in the mid 1990's, I experienced 131°F (55°C).

[@debraleesparks]

I didn’t have to sit in a metal box, but I did half to jump up and down waving flags while a plane aimed straight at me !!! 😹I’d a quit but I was living with the dammed cropdusting tomato farmer !! Love Grandma Debbie oh.. the things we do for love !

[@numbersasaname2291]

I was at NTC that same year and experienced the same temps. Being infantry, we got to walk in MOPP-4 in those temps humping all of our gear. Our Battalion Commander thankfully decided on a lot of night ops, so rather than 103 or greater (38 or greater Celsius), it was only in the upper 90s at night. For how much I loved MOPP on winter ranges in Graf, I hated it on that vacation.

[@crankyyankee7290]

I've spent most of my life in NEW England, in the region where the states of Massachusettes , Vermont, and New York come together, it's not iunuasual to have heat in the 90's long enough to qualify as a heat wave,and one Jul 4th when a group of uswere setting out for Penn. on motorcycles it hit 104 in the shade-sitting on a Harley in that heat was fun indeed-I've also one night directed traffic in the middle of a street for a while when the actual remp. was -40 (f) ,with a high wind blowing snow off the roofs of nearby buildings into my face-the wind chill was -60-that was great fun ! The year I started dating my wife we had over a week where the temp never got up to 0 (F)all day, and somewhat chilly at night weather can be so amusing at times.

[@DougPowell01]

My mother who grew up on a farm in S.E. Nebraska used to tell me, "Floods will drown you, but drought will starve you."

[@HRConsultant_Jeff]

I was in Phoenix Arizona when it reached 122 degrees F (50 C) and some planes could not take off at the airport, no lift. At 10 pm it was still 110 degrees F. Getting into your car was hazardous as it was over 140 F and touching the steering wheel would actually burn your fingers.

[@bgrimlan]

I started to laugh when you reacted to 51 days without rain. Southern California can go from March to November without a single rain drop. Where I live, the highest it has been was 115. But I have been in hotter places, like the river where it can be 120. That's when you just stay in the river all day long. My great Uncle has a place there, on the way back all I was thinking about was a cold shower. We finally got to the house, they have a shower outside by the garage. I went straight to it, stood under it and turn it on (there's only one valve, only cold tap). It was purely hot water. I can't tell you the words that came out of my mouth.

[@jeffmalone5557]

I live in a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama. There is nothing in my home that I fear breaking down more than the A/C during Summer. After a tornado outbreak our power was off for 5 days. I packed up and went to a hotel.

[@jmb3d]

I lived in Bham while in pharmacy school at Samford. We currently live in Dothan, AL on the border of FL. Tornadoes and heat are pinnacles of the South.

[@katherinemcintosh7247]

The thing is, comparing heat waves in U.S. and those in UK is like comparing the way people in Minnesota handle snow compared with the way people in Georgia handle snow. Apples and rocs being compared. Infrastructure expenditures are generally made relative to expected weather problems. UK (and most of Europe) does not have air conditioning and Georgia cities do not have fleets of snow plows and silos full of rock salt or other anti ice stores.

[@paulm4996]

The problem even with air conditioning is that, on average, most units only cool to 20°F lower than the heat index outside. This summer, for example, the clinic I run had real temps of 104-105 F (40°C), but the heat index was 123 F (50.5°C). Even with A/C, it was 90 F (over 32 C). And it was that way for over a month straight. This has been the worst summer I remember.

[@sister7465]

From the US here. Love you guys. When I heard about the heatwave in Europe, I got and am worried about you all. I figured you'd never really needed A/C before. Y'all are in my heart.

[@kjl6039]

My family went to Yellowstone National Park the year of 1988. There were still fires on the sides of the roads we drove on.

[@ericburton5163]

Besides AC (which we didn't have in the dorms, camping, cottages, numerous times, one of the houses I lived in) water, fans, and basements are key. People think that houses in the midwest have amazing (i.e. man cave, people's bedrooms) basements because of tornadoes. But really it is because of the temperature swings we get and basements are great at being a comfortable temperature not matter the temperature outside.

[@thedonleroy]

I live in Minnesota & I remember the heat & drought of 1988 very well. I was 26 years old our crops dried up & the dirt was drifting like snow. The river a couple of miles away dried up & we were able to drive our 3 wheelers down the dry riverbed. We also had a shallow lake completely dry up that year. I think the coldest temps I can remember were about -40 degrees. The cold is relative though because you do get used to it. In the fall when it first gets down to +20 degrees you think it's cold but when it hits that temp in January people are running around with no coats on & some are even wearing shorts.

[@bobbykaralfa]

although contrary to thinking not everyone here in the states has or can afford ac. but the big thing is simple geography. the uk is more in line with the bottom half of canada.

[@TheRockkickass]

The vast majority can afford it

[@lorihorsfall3439]

I agree . My household electric is old and can't support air conditioning. Money being tight means no repairs so no air . Thanks for pointing out that alot of Americans can't afford air conditioning.

[@IONATVS]

And old apartments often don’t have any place to put one-no ductwork for a central system, windows the wrong shape for a window box unit, too cramped for the “portable” ones that hook up to the window through hoses, and mini-splits are expensive, would require the complex to allow it, which they won’t, and would have to be left behind when you move out with no way to return the investment.

[@CONSOLETRUTH2]

Yall should mobe here to Las Vegas because due to some parts of town getting up to 118° F during the summer, no dwelling can be sold or rented without an AC as by law and if you live in an apartment and it goes out, it has to be replaced within 48 hours of you calling in the problem.

[@sharonlamanda4488]

I live in southern Arizona, so we get temps up to 118, although not too often. They close the airport at 120 because the tarmac can melt the tires and you don't get enough lift. We don't have AC in our house, instead we have evaporative cooling which works best in low humidity. It can definitely lower the inside temp, but it's not enough when the temps are really high or the humidity is up (20% or above). These coolers are nicknamed "swamp" coolers. Lol

[@antoineporche-rideaux4841]

in the high desert where i live it gets in the 105 for the whole 3 months of summer with only 2-4 days of coldness

[@brianschaffer9220]

Hot desert areas in the southwest US regularly don't drop below 85, even 90 at night in early and mid summer, but the dew is so low at that time of year that it isn't as bad, but still...imagine feeling in that if you don't have a/c or swamp coolers.

[@TheWinterPhoenix]

I live in the Northwest of the US and my house doesn't have AC and it hit 126F or about 52C last year. It was miserable. Had to drink like 3 gallons of water just to survive.

[@SilvanaDil]

What makes coastal California weather great is that super hot temperatures are rare, and better yet: maybe 1 day of rain all summer every year. (Unfortunately winters have been lagging in rain the past couple years.)

[@elisefincher4478]

The past couple of years the costal temperatures have been rising and have had longer durations and only will get more and more frequent in the future.

[@HappyValleyDreamin]

I was born and raised in Phoenix Arizona. On June 26th 1990 the high hit 122. The sidewalks buckled from the heat. I remember telling my Mom that I could hear the heat.

[@trevor3013]

I think the funny thing about it is, while the state next to you is having a heat wave, it could be cold and rainy in your state at the same time, while snowing in a different state also.

[@michaelpeele5739]

In Colorado, I think that is called "Tuesday". It recently went from like 95F to 6in snow in just a few hours...

[@jlpack62]

I think that the hottest temperature that I've experienced was 109F or about 43C.

[@william2085]

The hottest temperature that I have ever experienced was 113F (45c) in June of 2012 in Columbia, SC. But that was with air conditioning. Although that did not help much while doing construction observation on a building that was just a slab and concrete block walls at the time. I also watched them shut down a concrete pour one time because the temperature was over 108f (42c). The surface of the slab was drying faster than they could finish it. But again, I could leave the job site and get into an air-conditioned car and drive back to an air-conditioned office. In the 1970's I experienced a couple of summers with about a week of temperatures above 95f (35c), but it did cool down to around 85f (29c) at night. That was in Asheville, NC and most houses did not have AC back then. So, without AC, you have been through a really rough stretch. Let's hope it doesn't happen to you again.

[@stevep2380]

@William......the hottest I've done is 127 in Arizona. Thank God for air conditioning!

[@jeffreyheronemus1917]

1995 I was at NTC at Ft. Irwin California doing field training in temps 125-130 F we had to send about 1/4 of the guys to the hospital from my unit (dehydration and heat exhaustion). At least that was not with the humidity SC would have at 113 F.

[@ReaIJackhammer]

110 at about 60% humidity in the low country, was like breathing soup. Was working outside at the time and decided that eating BBQ for lunch was a good idea.

[@jamesmeyers6019]

134 in death valley in 1934

[@rolling_marbles]

Just think, 100F with 80% humidity means you sweat, but the sweat cannot evaporate and cool you. Also, at those temps and humidity an AC looses its ability to effectively cool the indoor air Hottest I’ve survived, 127F in Barstow, California. Coldest, -45F in both Montana and Eastern Iowa.

[@shannon3179]

Even in the US the heat is different depending on where you are. I'm in Illinois. Illinois heat is way different than Phoenix heat. So if I'm acclimated to Illinois heat I may not adapt to Phoenix heat and vice versa. High heat plus humidity is different than high dry heat. I don't think one is particularly worse than the other but tolerance and acclimation are the key points.

[@rebeccacisco9420]

I moved from southeast Colorado which is very low humidity (its desert) to Soutthern MO. It could get as high as 115 F but more commonly 104 in the summer in Colorado. In Missouri it is humid and tops out at no higher than 103. But Missouri feels a lot hotter to me. I have lived here in Missouri 40 years and it still feels that way to me.

[@shannon3179]

Yep, it's like breathing through soup outside!

[@lightsalt8530]

IMO, I think it's worse with humidity. I've lived extensive amounts of times in both climates and hands down, humidity is worse. Humidity is suffocating.

[@marcibailey1948]

Yes ^ we grew up in Illinois, moved to Florida in 99. Came home one September it was 100° in Florida and 89° in Illinois. We couldn't breathe the air was so thick, couldn't wait to cool off in Florida! I'm back in IL now, I only turn our ac on if it's humid or the nightly temp is over 85°

[@anthonytorello3626]

British heatwave is 78 f and it is that In my room right now

[@Ameslan1]

There is two different kinds of heat in the United States.. Dry heat which feels more like a dry heat sauna in Western states like Arizona and New Mexico for example. Then there is HUMID HEAT which in my opinion is MUCH WORSE. Humid heat is very oppressive! It feels like when you open the front door of your house that you are stepping in to an OVEN! It can be difficult to breath and it is sticky heat like in states like Georgia and Mississippi for example!

[@Ameslan1]

@Banter Maestro2 Exactly!

[@Eman666_]

Az monsoon season gets very humid

[@Texbec]

3 or 4 years ago it got so hot here that in Ft. Worth Texas car tires were melting on the highways. Just to be clear the cars were driving not sitting still.

[@danielchapman6032]

One of the American character flaws is we really like to tell others how much we suffer. Oh you think you're suffering....let me tell you about my heat wave!

[@disgustedvet9528]

You just displayed one of those " flaws " .

[@Salvation4DJews]

I think that's usually in response to other western countries crying about their balmy weather.

[@Kim-427]

But,People in the UK are doing the same thing. Lol They’re speaking to the rest of us about how disgustingly hot it is over there as if the rest of us aren’t feeling it too. And to be honest they’re having hissy fits about high 80 degree temps which are common for many of us in the US during the summer months. And it’s really a human characteristic not an American flaw. Many humans do the my suffering is bigger than yours. Lol

[@danielchapman6032]

@@Kim-427 Yeah but here in Iowa we have hot-humid summers and below freezing winters.... ;)

[@Kim-427]

@@danielchapman6032 Lol,Are you comparing Daniel? 😂😂😂

[@torstenheling3830]

Love how James says ‘it’s mental.’ Lol. James is great!😊

[@trentclingo7748]

I live in Ohio and i've had to deal with both sides of Extreme Heat and Cold.... I've seen 118 degrees with 90 percent humidity where breathing outside was hard to -35 degrees with over 2 feet of snow.....Ohio's weather is very unpredictable with the Great Lakes right next to us.... Not the hottest place nor the coldest it but screws you up bad if you aren't prepared

[@dianaspears571]

Ohioan also and it blows me away how we can have 4 inches of snow one day and the next day it's 70 degrees outside. I love it that we experience all four seasons though.

[@spike3082]

I'm from Indiana and we have a saying that has migrated into Ohio and surrounding states "if you don't like the weather give it 5 minutes it will change" I have seen torrential downpour thunderstorms turn into snow storms very quickly

[@Kim-427]

And by the way in London do they have cooling centers for the elderly and people who need to cool off? In America many cities have those centers.

[@danpals7678]

When I lived in Scottsdale Arizona I went to work one night at midnight and it was still 100 degrees.

[@kellypatterson8506]

I drive long haul truck (lori) and a few years back stopped at a Flying J truck stop in Glendale Arizona where the temperature was 127 degrees Fahrenheit, or 52.77 degrees Celsius.

[@PBRatLord]

Record heat today, 107F (42C) in Reno NV up at 5kft elevation (many homes also don't have AC) and my brother reported 119F(48C) up in NorCal

[@rwsmith7638]

We live in the south and are used to triple digits with a lot of humidity. When we went to New York it was 88 deg. F and people were talking about frying eggs on the sidewalks.

[@Archer957]

Last summer is was 115F where I live when it usually barely hits mid 90s. Ac is rare here and I left work early that day because the internal cab sensor in my forklift said it was 147F

[@IndyRockStar]

it's over 90 degrees here in Florida from around end of May until well into Sept. When it drops to lower 70s in fall and winter we pull out the sweaters. We only have 2-3 weeks below 60 degress most years. Below 60 is freezing to us.

[@greatwhiteape6945]

I was refueling tankers in -40F in ND. Your wore bunny boots or mukluks. Parker and Parker pants, Arctic face covering. We lived!

[@oxigenarian9763]

We live in the high desert of western Colorado. The summertime humidity frequently drops to single digits as daytime temps run between 100F-110F (38C - 43C). This will go on for weeks on end beginning sometimes as early as May and lasts until the end of August. Because your part of the world is also humid, I can empathize completely - I have been in humid heat. The dryness of our temps makes a world of difference. We use evaporative "swamp" coolers with great success here.

[@snakei3ites164]

Well you can cool your house without ac. Our ac died for about a week so we blocked all windows to the living room block all entranced with just simple black sheets and kept the lights off. We then put 3 box fans into the room and let it sit for about 2 or 3 hours. At this point it is around 110 degrees Fahrenheit outside making it about a good 90 degrees in the house but the room we set up was at a good chill 68 degrees and it became our new ac unit while we waited to get the ac fixed. Of course can't chill the whole house but it help keep that room cold and the adjacent ones chilled as well.

[@theheartland1861]

living in the central plains, it's not uncommon for temperatures in the summer to be in excess of 100 for 2 months. i always say, it's not hot until it reaches 110. in 1980 the temperature range was between 100 and 120 for 2 months. for 3 1/2 weeks solid, the temperature was 107- 120, it might cool down to the upper 80s, sometime early in the morning ☀🔥🌡😎🤙🔥

[@darkklown2113]

I did some work in southern Arizona and the water tank i was on got so hot my boots melted while i walking. Had to start working at 3 am to finish the job.

[@segroves3]

When I left the Salton sea in California in 2019 it was July and 137 that showed on our car. It was 110 at night

[@gregwilliams386]

The worst I remember was 121 degrees Fahrenheit. That's 49 degrees Celsius. I was sent out to replace a telecommunications line that had burnt up in a fire in the hills. We worked with flames still active around us. I don't miss that. I also had worked in -40 degrees both Fahrenheit and Celsius in Campbell County, Wyoming.

[@aarlavaan]

Last year in eastern Oregon it reached 110 for a good chunk of the summer, peaking at 118 it a few days.

[@petahpunk]

We had 71 days in the year over 100 degrees in most parts of Texas in 2011. I was driving an old jeep with no AC, so that was fun..

[@gigglemethis1441]

we live in yellowstone montana, usa. this past winter it reached -50. if you went out it was not for long. we stil have snow trying to melt as i type. it actually snowed just a few mornings ago here. and it's may! as far as the fires of 88. you can see the trees that burned on the mountan sides still 30 yrs later. new growth has accured and all is green again. i can also remember a summer in indiana, usa. it was 115 in the shade

[@bobjennings6673]

I grew up in the St. Louis area --- we would hit 100 degrees quite often. And in some of those days, I worked outside in the sun.

[@emilycoley8200]

I worked in Manitowoc Wisconsin with temps -40 (-70 wind chill). Was pretty cold for an Alabama bred person. The motel staff would check us for frostbite when we came in at the end of day. Never had that happen before.

[@Razorpig378]

It was 108° in Phoenix yesterday. In 2020 west Chandler was 122°. In 1988 I was station in Hawaii. Perfect weather the whole time I was there.

[@odnamsrazor2364]

i grew up in Florida in the 1970s, in West Melbourne. so, no where near the coast. . not only did i not have AC, i didn't even have a fan until i was like 8 years old. and that was the best day of my life. my parents brought home a reciprocating fan. that night, i just laid in bed with the fan sweeping from my toes to my head and back down to my toes.

[@michelles8014]

I remember 1988. As a hillbilly-souled child in the Midwest, I couldn't go outside without shoes. The ground was too hot. All of our grass died and our yard literally split. I didn't have A/C and since we had a well, there was no sprinkler. We still played softball in late afternoon. Will never forget that summer.

[@supercolinblow]

I understand also that there aren't ceiling fans in the UK and other places. That's a great way to cool the room down and keep the air from being stagnant.

[@karenrediker2449]

During prolonged heat waves many loose some if not all electrical power or have a brown out as the hospital I worked in called it. All nonessential lights and air conditioning is turned off to make sure operating rooms etc don’t loose power

[@paulmvalexander26pa]

See where I live it rarely dips past 89 in the summer at night stays in the triples during the day, and in the winter it stays around 30.

[@dstamour625]

I remember 2016 my sister was stationed in Arizona. Her husband sent a video of them making eggs in a pan on the ground there.

[@jaynemeyer8277]

I concur to assume all people in the US have AC is a stereotype. No AC in my house and have experienced 40 Celsius with high humidity but I do have heat in the winter where it can get to -40

[@Kim-427]

Can I ask why? Is it because of personal circumstances or that your home is an older home and it would be too expensive to put it in your home? The reason that I’m asking is there are programs that help provide them. Heat can be a health hazard to many and because of that you can have one. To say that not everyone has AC as if it’s impossible to have one isn’t an honest statement. It is doable for us to have them.

[@jaynemeyer8277]

@@Kim-427 I live in a stone cottage which stays cool and it really get unbearable only about a week when it doesn’t cool down at night most other hot days cool down at night. So I see it as a waste of money and energy.

[@bordersw1239]

A friend of mine in the U.K used to design car ECU and electrical systems. One test of the aircon system was to park a car in Death Valley for a couple of hours , they’d sit in a local bar, take temp readings, then all five of them would have to get in the car and test how long it took for the aircon to lower the temp to a reasonable level.

[@remiqaine]

Here in central washington state we reached 47.7 for a few days last year. This year we only hit 44.4 for a week.

[@My2ndnephew]

I used to live in the Mojave Desert and it would get past 49C regularly in the summer. I now live where winters are harsh, but much better than the heat!

[@larryfontenot9018]

I lived in southern California, and it's pretty routine for the temperatures to be around 110 - 113 f. (45 C.) in the summer. One year when I was on active duty with the army, I went to the Marine Corps base at 29 Palms for a training exercise. 29 Palms is right next to Death Valley, and it got up around 130 f. when I was there, stuck outside in the desert. All I could do was string up a tarp for shade and try to sleep to keep my temperature down. You also need to keep drinking water even if you don't feel thirsty. But sleeping in that heat is easier to say than do. At one point, I had to walk in the sun, and moving more than a few yards was enough to make me feel dizzy. By the time I got where I was going, I was close to passing out.

[@chriswilliams3018]

Living in New Mexico, I have quite a few days of 100+ degree days in the summer, and the lowest recorded temp at my house was -40.

[@Fmanzo10]

I grew up in El Paso TX 110-115 was just regular summer weather.

[@boysrback5690]

I remember in 1980 in Central Texas we had 100 straight days over 100 degrees we had 2" cracks in yard 1- 2 feet deep lost many a Hot wheels cars and marbles

[@davecarl7142]

Was cutting the grass in Phoenix Az on June 26 1990 at 120° F , 48.8° C...

[@NeTxGrl]

I live in Texas and it gets HOT starting in June through September. Air Conditioning is a must. It's what you're acclimated to. I grew up in Massachusetts,, when the temperature started hitting the uppers 80's (whatever the equivalent is in Celsius) It started getting uncomfortable for me. The second year of living in Texas, I took my dog out for a walk one evening. I came home and told my husband how cool it was outside. He looked at me and said "it's 90 degrees out". That's when I realized I had acclimated to Texas weather.

[@tannnaramoonvale8364]

Where I live in New Mexico, it's nothing for the temps to stay around 110-127 F for July, August, September! And my home uses a swamp cooler (puts moisture in the air to cool it) and little personal fans everywhere! LOL The only bad part is when the temperature is still 100 or more at midnight! Love it though.

[@raymedinaj8055]

I live in Texas we just had close to 40 straight days of 100 + weather through july and august . Its calmed down some, now we're getting some good rain which we really needed.

[@trevincollins6998]

It gets really hot here in the u.s in the summer, even in places known for cold winters can sometimes get into the triple digets.

[@shanewright9735]

i used to live in Lake Havasu City, Arizona (US) and our summers had long stretches of 120+ Fahrenheit, and up to 128f. Hot enough that you had to search around for cold spots in the lake to cool down. I actually skateboarded all day when we hit 128f back in 1997. Luckily I moved to the cold weather in Phioenix AZ where it's only 110-115f most summer days

[@DevonBagley]

Arizona just has a 6-9 months of 40+ C and ~3 months of mild spring weather.