I'll Just be Swinging Bi

keena-kapu:

arobotunicorn:

keena-kapu:

There’s a heatwave in the UK again and just a healthy reminder that comments like “lol thats not hot” or laughing at people suffering in the heat is not cool or funny. Just because it’s not hot for you doesn’t mean it’s hot for us. The mortality rate rises dramatically whenever we have a heatwave. We’re an island that’s on average between 3C (37.4F) in the Winter and 24C (75.2F) in the Summer. We don’t build our roads or buildings to deal with this kind of heat so when it gets unusually hot there is no where for us to go. There are very few buildings with air con other than huge office blocks and some largescale restaurants.

We’re expecting temperatures of 30C+ (86F+) within the span of a week, so anyone in the UK make sure to drink plenty of water and take regular breaks if you need to. A cold shower in the morning and at night will also help you hydrate!

Brazilian here (and if you think we have air con everywhere you’re wrong), so here are some tips straight from hell:

- Ice is your new best friend

- Whenever you’re home, if you can, keep as many windows/doors open as possible. That will allow for airflow, which will cool down the house a little.

- One thing I do for work, since I have a stricter dress code when it comes to wearing skirts (downsides of the hospital life), is to go to work in a skirt/in shorts and change into pants when I get somewhere nearby where I can use a restroom.

- Alternatively, forget jeans, and wear ~dressier~ pants. The much thinner fabric will save your life.

- Drink lots of water, iced tea, ice-cold Coke. I advise against beer, because alcohol can make you feel hot, but you do you.

- Lemon popsicles > any other flavour popsicles. For some reason, they feel much more refreshing than any alternative.

- Avoid carrying stuff like the plague. Sounds obvious, doesn’t it? But you’ll inevitably find yourself facing 40-degree weather while you carry the biggest bag even invented by humanity AND about 10 other items. The one touching your skin being made of plastic.

- And don’t forget the sunscreen. I know, it feels awful (to me, every sunscreen ever makes me feel like I’m clogging my pores), but melanoma isn’t sexy.

And may the odds be ever in your favour.

You are a lifesaver my friend.