As the UK is in the midst of a sweltering heatwave , Brits up and down the country are wondering how to keep themselves cool. Weather records have been tumbling this month, including the hottest May day on record with a punishing 35.1C recorded in London. Brits also sweated through the night with the mercury pushing record 21.4C last night (Tuesday, May 26). One journalist thinks she has the solution for people looking to heat-proof their home. She reckons there’s one item everyone needs to
install in their bedrooms. Esther Walker says she’s spent 16 years heat-proofing her home. She started the long project because she moved into a south-facing house in Kentish Town, north-west London, meaning the house was blasted by sun and light from April until October. With heatwaves increasing in intensity, her advice is becoming more and more pertinent. A sobering report published by the Climate Change Committee said that British homes will need air conditioning to survive predicted levels of global heating coming over the next
10 years. According to Esther, there is one item in your bedroom that will change how you deal with heatwaves – a ceiling fan. Speaking in the I , she says she made the decision while lying awake during one hot night. She said: “I tell everyone I meet who is having building work done to put a ceiling fan in their bedroom and they, too, smile kindly at me like I am off my rocker and ignore the advice. More fool them.” Her husband
was also “skeptical”, suggesting their bedroom would “look like something out of a Greek holiday villa” Esther added: “When I said I wanted a ceiling fan, everyone looked at me like I was demanding a sunken bath or a bidet. It didn’t help that this bout of building work happened in a particularly freezing bit of winter, when the idea that it would ever be too hot to sleep was wild. The electricians huffed and puffed and the request was repeatedly forgotten.” Much of England
and Wales had entered an official heatwave by yesterday, which means a certain area has to reach a threshold temperature for three days in a row. That’s 25C for northern and western areas of the UK and up to 28C in London and the Home Counties. According to figures from the International Institute for Environment and Development, London has experienced 116 days higher than 30C in the past three decades. More than half of those days have occurred in the past 10 years. Temperatures are
getting more and more extreme but thankfully they are beginning to cool in this current heatwave. The Royal National Lifeboat Institute (RNLI) charity has warned of the “very real risk” of swimming in open water in response to the deaths of five children in the water since the heatwave began. Cold water shock can lead to hyperventilation, as well as spikes in heart rates and blood pressure . A statement said: “With many children enjoying half-term, the lifesaving charity is urging everyone to stay safe.”
UK heatwave, London 35.1C, 21.4C record, ceiling fan, heat proofing, Esther Walker, Kentish Town, Climate Change Committee, air conditioning, RNLI cold water shock, children deaths
Ceiling fans fix everything lol.
I mean… a fan helps, but it’s not like it’s gonna replace actual AC when it’s 35C. Still, can’t hurt to get airflow. My neighbor would laugh at me too till July.
Wait so she’s saying you just put in a ceiling fan and somehow it’s “heat-proofing”? I thought heat-proofing was like insulation and blackout curtains and stuff. Also why is it only her bedroom? But yeah I’m sure her place looks like Greece or whatever, people are dramatic.
This is so typical, like everyone’s gonna ignore the climate committee and slap in a ceiling fan like that’s the end of it. Still, I get it, when it’s warm you’ll do anything. If Brits need air conditioning in 10 years then fans now seems like a stopgap, not the solution. Also south-facing house getting blasted April to October… that’s just asking for it. I’m surprised her husband didn’t make fun of it more, Greek villa ceiling fan is kinda funny though.