Met Office Red Weather Warning [Risk To Life]

[NegativeKillDeath]

Several schools around mine are closing half day tomorrow and Thursday (we aren't as we are on the coast and have a sea breeze). Im not really seeing the rational of sending kids out in the midday sun to walk home for 20 minutes. Yes the temp slowly creeps up way into the afternoon but 1pm UV index is dangerous. Mad dogs and Englishmen eh. 

[6Foot2]

My old school is still open with students expected to "attend for normal lessons" with slight modifications for planned sports events.

 

They are well within the limits of the red warning.

[Rob_D]

Here in West Sussex, we're doing half-days tomorrow and Thursday (for the kids, staff have to be in as normal).

TBH I'd rather be in work where we have AC, and even without AC my office is west facing in our newer building so isn't too bad for most of the day. If I were at home I'd be in the bedroom office that probably doesn't see the south side of 20C over the summer at the best of times.

[garethEds]

We are closed tomorrow (only tomorrow for now). My wife and children are off tomorrow and Thursday, but then they have Friday/Monday inset. All our local Primary schools seem to be closed.

 

My Son is going to The Cure concert in Cardiff tomorrow night - I really hope that is cancelled. Seems a bit stupid to let that carry on.

[Ditto]

From where I view things, the latest short spell of hot weather has been fascinating to see the reactions. I'm in a charity, have links with schools, including one which is my sons. The charity has a newly appointed fund raising manager telling me how to keep cool! Telling staff, where school based activties have been cancelled, they have the right to take holiday or unpaid leave. I really couldn't understand why I was getting patronising advise about drinking and wearing a hat or seeking shade from a fund raising manager - then realised the person had just gone from interim to permanent and that meant she was SLT and suddenly she has to preach to me how to behave in hot weather as if I was a primary school child! My sons school - fully open and expects kids in - following DfE guidance! Work site school, gone to short days, following DfE guidance. Staff who are parents of kids at the school, told they can manage things through their line manager to make up time, take holiday or unpaid leave. Generous or what! These are staff that spend all year going the extra mile for children's wellbeing! And to cap it all the head of tennis at our club sent round a vast mutli-coloured grid of green/amber/red zoned guidance on whether to play or not. Lord onlyknow how I got to be on this planet as my parents fot none of this advice! FFS, I'm an adult and don't need all this trite. Nanny-state is well and truly still alive!

[Rob_D]

  I think that at least part of the reason everyone's going so hard with the heat advice, etc. right now is that there's a definite perception that English people largely ignore weather warnings, and have an attitude of "IT'S SUNNY LETS GOOOOO!!!!" regardless of other factors, more-so when the heat starts this early in the year and this is the first time they've seen blue skies in 8 months (and historically most UK heatwaves haven't really been hot enough to require much adaptation of lifestyle, so that's fine). So when the temps are abnormally high the govt/media feel the need to push the safety messaging a bit harder to try and break through the noise.

The same thing happens on the odd occasion we actually get snow in the south.

[3s-gtech]

Parents:

"Shut the schools! It's clearly unsafe for the children! How dare you open! I will be writing to my MP! You are CHILD MURDERERS!"

 

Also parents:

"Why is $leisure_facility/shop/theme park/nail parlour/overpriced coffee shop I want to use closed?! This is deeply inconvenient! What about my needs?!"

[hardtailstar]

I work in an (non school) office and its fully air conditioned.

 

I stupidly decided to do a project day from home...... 5 ice creams already today and I'm still far too hot!

 

 

[E_G_R2]

1976 now that was hot and I still had to go to school in long trousers and a blazer (could remove it in class).  No water dispensers, one tap in the sports field and thrown out at break to bake in the sun.  Boy do the kids today have it hard.

 

Typed in my air con office in short sleeves.  I'm not changing a toner for love nor money this week

[6Foot2]

The summer of '76 was significantly less humid than the weather we are experiencing in the current spell.

[E_G_R2]

8 minutes ago, 6Foot2 said:

The summer of '76 was significantly less humid than the weather we are experiencing in the current spell.

It was but it was also damn hot for longer and we weren't as 'wise' to extremes as we are now.

 

 

[DalekSec]

20 minutes ago, E_G_R2 said:

1976 now that was hot and I still had to go to school in long trousers and a blazer (could remove it in class).  No water dispensers, one tap in the sports field and thrown out at break to bake in the sun.  Boy do the kids today have it hard.

 

Typed in my air con office in short sleeves.  I'm not changing a toner for love nor money this week

 

Same vibes: 

 

[sigma]

I was still at school in 1976.  My mum let me sleep on a sun lounger in the garden, which was fine until the early morning dew.

[Andrew_C]

44 minutes ago, E_G_R2 said:

1976 now that was hot and I still had to go to school in long trousers and a blazer (could remove it in class).  No water dispensers, one tap in the sports field and thrown out at break to bake in the sun.  Boy do the kids today have it hard.

No, no it wasn't.  Not even in the top 5 hottest summers anymore.

 

Sure, it was dry (very) and there were 15 days over 32ish. But those days were in August.

 

The weather broke on the Bank Holiday - I was at Thruxton watching Minis racing and spectacularly failing to stick to the track.

Edited June 24 by Andrew_C

[E_G_R2]

6 minutes ago, Andrew_C said:

No, no it wasn't.  Not even in the top 5 hottest summers anymore.

 

Sure, it was dry (very) and there were 15 days over 32ish. But those days were in August.

 

The weather broke on the Bank Holiday - I was at Thruxton watching Minis racing and spectacularly failing to stick to the track.

Might not be as hot now but it was relentless. These look like school dates to me.

 

Climate change anyone

 

Heathrow had 16 consecutive days over 30 °C (86 °F) from 23 June to 8 July^[5] and for 15 consecutive days from 23 June to 7 July temperatures reached 32.2 °C (90 °F) somewhere in England. Furthermore, five days saw temperatures exceed 35 °C (95 °F). On 28 June, temperatures reached 35.6 °C (96.1 °F) in Southampton, the highest June temperature recorded in the UK. The hottest day of all was 3 July, with temperatures reaching 35.9 °C (96.6 °F) in Cheltenham.^[6]

[Rob_D]

Looks like the red warning's been extended to Friday for the South-East. What fun!

[garethEds]

On 24/06/2026 at 12:09, Andrew_C said:

No, no it wasn't.  Not even in the top 5 hottest summers anymore.

 

Sure, it was dry (very) and there were 15 days over 32ish. But those days were in August.

 

The weather broke on the Bank Holiday - I was at Thruxton watching Minis racing and spectacularly failing to stick to the track.

I was 1 year old. 

[DalekSec]

Just now, garethEds said:

I was 1 year old. 

 

I was -16..... 

[Ditto]

19 minutes ago, DalekSec said:

 

I was -16..... 

Just 11 and enjoyed it thoroughly - that means you are even nearer retirement than me, if you choose too!

[Andrew_C]

27 minutes ago, DalekSec said:

 

I was -16..... 

I was doing my O level mocks - 15.  Discovered wasting time backstage in the following autumn.

Edited June 25 by Andrew_C

[DalekSec]

7 minutes ago, Ditto said:

Just 11 and enjoyed it thoroughly - that means you are even nearer retirement than me, if you choose too!

 

That's a minus not a dash!

[E_G_R2]

ah the joys of shared bath water then sucking on the end of a hose to water the garden with it!

[jthompson]

Just imagining a heat wave in 1976. The smell of leaded exhaust fumes and cigarettes filling the air, chalky dried-up dog turds at every turn, discarded ring pulls and Golden Wonder packets littering the baked pavements as children play out dangerously unsupervised.

 

Have I imagined the 1970's sufficiently accurately?

 

Back on topic, this heat can do one. Whenever it's this hot I always think "who's idea was this?!".

Edited June 25 by jthompson

[E_G_R2]

1 minute ago, jthompson said:

Just imagining a heat wave in 1976. The smell of leaded exhaust fumes and cigarettes filling the air, chalky dried-up dog turds at every turn, discarded ring pulls and Golden Wonder packets littering the baked pavements as children play out dangerously unsupervised.

 

Have I imagined the 1970's sufficiently accurately?

 

Back on topic, this heat can do one. Whenever it's this hot I always think "who's idea was this?!".

The good old days when a kid drowning in a quarry was the norm

[3s-gtech]

1 minute ago, jthompson said:

Just imagining a heat wave in 1976. The smell of leaded exhaust fumes and cigarettes filling the air, chalky dried-up dog turds at every turn, discarded ring pulls and Golden Wonder packets littering the baked pavements and children play out dangerously unsupervised.

 

Have I imagined the 1970's sufficiently accurately?

 

Back on topic, this heat can do one. Whenever it's this hot I always think "who's idea was this?!".

The symphony of a B-Series powered BL car struggling to start in the heat as the fuel vaporises in the carb(s). Until the battery dies. Like Mozart but with more unburnt fuel.