Why the record heatwave feels like it ‘hits different’ in UK?

People love to complain about the weather, and recently, for good reason, after enduring the UK’s record-breaking heatwaves.

The blistering weather has been on everyone’s lips, and if it hasn’t, it probably means you have been lucky enough to escape the nearly 40C temperatures and humidity.

June’s hottest record was officially set in Santon Downham, Suffolk, with 37.3C after three consecutive warmest days as the country baked under the rare extreme heat warning.

The list of disruptions to life this week is long – hundreds of schools were shut, train and Tube services axed and delayed, and homes turned into heat traps that won’t cool down during tropical nights.

The extreme heat even forced the cancellation of a talk on extreme heat during the London Climate Action Week, and iconic attractions like Tower Bridge and Cutty Sark closed due to the weather, while London pavements and station platforms clocked almost 60C.

‘The UK sun hits different’

May also saw record-breaking heat across the country, which the Met Office described as ‘exceptional.’

One X user pointed out: ‘I’ve lived in the US for the last two summers, and it regularly reached 35, it was NEVER as unbearable as the last two days here have been. UK heat is genuinely the worst. People don’t understand.’

Another added: ‘We finally reached that time of year where ppl from the UK complain about the heat, then ppl from hotter countries say we’re being dramatic, then ppl who r visiting the UK admit that the heat is unbearable.’

So why does the UK feel hotter than other countries when temperatures get like this? We take a look below.

Why do the hot temperatures feel different in the UK?

Quite rightly, people are wondering why the temperatures always feel sweltering when it gets to this time of the year.

Met Office spokesperson Stephen Dixon has a few answers and told Metro: ‘Meteorologically, the UK air tends to be more humid compared to that in continental Europe.

‘High humidity can make it harder for sweat to evaporate, which is how we naturally cool ourselves down.’

Another reason why we are all feeling so hot right now is the way in which our houses are built.

‘Houses in Europe are often more adapted to higher temperatures, allowing those inside to stay cool,’ Stephen explained.

‘While many in the UK need well-insulated homes for those cold winter months, which means they naturally retain heat.’

The last factor is all down to people’s mentality which is different to when they are abroad on holiday.

Stephen added: ‘When people from the UK go abroad, they’re often well-prepared for heat.

‘Many European countries have a routine (meal times) that are adapted to it being hot.

‘The heat can sometimes feel worse in the UK simply down to not expecting it in the same way people do when they go abroad.’

What is being done to adapt UK to heatwaves?

Campaigners from Greenpeace described the extreme heat week as a ‘public health emergency’ driven by fossil fuel companies and emissions.

They have called on the government to help cool down homes and schools and set safe limits for workers, along with more shade and green spaces.

Green spaces and canopies have become a lifeline in this heatwave, but access to them remains unequal, while access to public spaces have felt the squeeze.

Research by Natural England shows that only 26% of people in the most deprived neighbourhoods have access to a green space, compared with 38% of the least deprived areas.

In London, even the mayor has admitted that the city is not ready to cope with the worsening summer conditions as he unveiled the city’s first heat plan.

It is inspired by the desert city of Phoenix and how it deals with extreme temperatures that are predicted to become the new norm in the not-so-distant future.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.