# European Dopers, how are you holding up in the heat? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 25, 2019, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/european-dopers-how-are-you-holding-up-in-the-heat/836067 "2019-06-25T21:15:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2019, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/european-dopers-how-are-you-holding-up-in-the-heat/836067/1 "2019-06-25T21:15:31Z")
Someone told me that the temperature today in southern France was 114 degrees Fahrenheit (45.5 degrees Celsius). Criminy! How are you staying cool? ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2019, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/european-dopers-how-are-you-holding-up-in-the-heat/836067/2 "2019-06-25T23:02:24Z")
Europe is a big place. 😉 Here in the middle of England it’s been cool today (about 65 F / 18 C) and rather damp. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2019, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/european-dopers-how-are-you-holding-up-in-the-heat/836067/3 "2019-06-25T23:15:09Z")
> [@glee](#): > > Europe is a big place. 😉 > > Here in the middle of England it’s been cool today (about 65 F / 18 C) and rather damp. According to the online maps I have seen today, the entire UK seems to be outside the red zone. Maybe because it’s an island? ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2019, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/european-dopers-how-are-you-holding-up-in-the-heat/836067/4 "2019-06-26T01:40:44Z")
Weird. My husband is in Berlin and it’s hotter there than it is here in the American South right now. Not expected! ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2019, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/european-dopers-how-are-you-holding-up-in-the-heat/836067/5 "2019-06-26T06:02:50Z")
My coworkers here in Normandy are melting. I find it nice. So long as we don’t go above 36ÂșC, for me it’s just “cozy”. Yesterday I was walking home on the sunny side of the street: if it had been over 36ÂșC, I would have walked on the shade. My coworkers who live exactly as far from the factory as I do were driving and complaining that after sitting in an uncovered parking lot, their car was an oven. Exactly: that’s why in Spain we use _sombrajos_, and why I’m not taking my car! _Sombrajo_: _sombra_ (shadow) plus despective ending _-ajo_, “not a very good shadow”. A standalone ceiling held by poles: they may consist of a frame which gets covered with woven reeds for the summer, or of uralite (before we knew that stuff can kill you) or metal planks during the cool months, again covered in woven reeds for the summer. In Spain you see them very often in parking lots, specially those outside of purely-urban settings (rest stops, gas stations
). ---
**Author:** ![And\_his\_buzzer\_goes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/and_his_buzzer_goes/32/377_2.png) [@And\_his\_buzzer\_goes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/And_his_buzzer_goes)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2019, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/european-dopers-how-are-you-holding-up-in-the-heat/836067/6 "2019-06-26T07:53:35Z")
Work has airco, at home we have a small childrens pool which also works for grown-ups. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2019, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/european-dopers-how-are-you-holding-up-in-the-heat/836067/7 "2019-06-26T08:03:53Z")
It’s a barmy 68F in Bristol! (86F this weekend). ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2019, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/european-dopers-how-are-you-holding-up-in-the-heat/836067/8 "2019-06-26T10:47:41Z")
> [@And\_his\_buzzer\_goes](#): > > Work has airco, at home we have a small childrens pool which also works for grown-ups. Guessing: QI fan? > [@SanVito](#): > > It’s a barmy 68F in Bristol! (86F this weekend). Balmy? or nutty? ---
**Author:** ![And\_his\_buzzer\_goes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/and_his_buzzer_goes/32/377_2.png) [@And\_his\_buzzer\_goes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/And_his_buzzer_goes)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2019, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/european-dopers-how-are-you-holding-up-in-the-heat/836067/9 "2019-06-26T11:13:45Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > Guessing: QI fan? Good guess 😃 I’ve slacked off a bit since Stephen left, although I have nothing against Sandi. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2019, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/european-dopers-how-are-you-holding-up-in-the-heat/836067/10 "2019-06-26T11:49:08Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > Guessing: QI fan? > > Balmy? or nutty? Both potentially! ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2019, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/european-dopers-how-are-you-holding-up-in-the-heat/836067/11 "2019-06-26T16:25:12Z")
I’m in Germany in a mountainous region that never reaches record high temperatures for Germany, but we’ve been having about 35° Celsius for about four days. That’s not unheard of, but still the exception, and of course everybody complains about the heat (as we are always complaining about any kind of weather). Other regions of Germany reach up to 40° Celsius. As private AC is practically nonexistent and also the exception in companies and public buildings, it’s hard to stand such a heat wave here. ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2019, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/european-dopers-how-are-you-holding-up-in-the-heat/836067/12 "2019-06-26T16:45:54Z")
About 24°C/75F and sunny here in Cornwall. Pretty nice temperature for me, except I was working cleaning a holiday cottage today, and the guests had left the heating on full so it was a bit like that hot yoga crap, but at least I got paid for it. It’s supposed to be a bit warmer tomorrow, but I’m off, so I might go play in the sea. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2019, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/european-dopers-how-are-you-holding-up-in-the-heat/836067/13 "2019-06-26T17:11:36Z")
It’s horrible. I miss the AC. My lower floor is partially underground, so it actually stays cool down there. I have a second living area there, which is my only respite from the heat. I hate it. ---
**Author:** ![Royal\_Nonesutch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecb155/32.png) [@Royal\_Nonesutch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Royal_Nonesutch)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2019, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/european-dopers-how-are-you-holding-up-in-the-heat/836067/14 "2019-06-26T17:52:52Z")
Krakow is sweltering. The temperatures are seemingly not so bad, about 92 F, which is similar to what I was born & raised with growing up in Salt Lake City, but in Utah there was basically zero humidity, so it was a dry heat that didn’t seem nearly as oppressive as what it does here with the usual 50% humidity. (Also, Poland, like most of Eastern Europe, apparently considers air conditioning a decadent, futuristic luxury) ---
**Author:** ![Moris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moris/32/2846_2.png) [@Moris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moris)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2019, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/european-dopers-how-are-you-holding-up-in-the-heat/836067/15 "2019-06-26T20:27:21Z")
Oh, great. 34 degrees today in Croatia (93F). My car engine was overheating. I went to my mechanic, turned out my thermostat died. “I don’t have a spare one for an old Volkswagen Polo, I have to order it. In the meantime, keep the cabin heating cranked up to the max for a few days.” Are you kidding me?!? ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2019, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/european-dopers-how-are-you-holding-up-in-the-heat/836067/16 "2019-06-26T21:03:11Z")
Sounds like the thermostat is stuck in the closed position. If so, I have a better idea than cranking the heat, **Moris** - remove the thermostat entirely. Coolant will circulate full flow whenever the engine is on, keeping it from overheating. The only downside is that it takes the engine longer to reach optimum operating temperature, but for a few days that should be no problem. Save cranking the heat for a last ditch effort to get the vehicle home (or to a mechanic). It does draw heat of the engine, it’s a trick most of my compadres in the southeast US learned young, but I have lost a couple of nice shirts to massive sweat staining that way! ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2019, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/european-dopers-how-are-you-holding-up-in-the-heat/836067/17 "2019-06-26T21:13:58Z")
> [@Royal\_Nonesutch](#): > > (Also, Poland, like most of Eastern Europe, apparently considers air conditioning a decadent, futuristic luxury) A lot of Europe would only need a/c a few days a year; note that the verb is “need”. In the hotter places, there’s a lot of push to be careful about how you use it; both for private use and in small stores, we tend to view it more as a survival tool for when it’s over 36ÂșC than as “that thing you switch on as soon as you switch the heating off”. People are more likely to complain that it was too strong than too weak. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2019, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/european-dopers-how-are-you-holding-up-in-the-heat/836067/18 "2019-06-28T12:51:24Z")
France just broke it’s all-time temperature record with 44.3C (111.74F) recorded today. That’s about 10C hotter than I’ve ever experienced, and given how badly I coped with _that_ I’m fairly sure I’d be completely non-functional at the higher temperature. (or dead) ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2019, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/european-dopers-how-are-you-holding-up-in-the-heat/836067/19 "2019-06-28T14:24:35Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > A lot of Europe would only need a/c a few days a year; note that the verb is “need”. In the hotter places, there’s a lot of push to be careful about how you use it; both for private use and in small stores, we tend to view it more as a survival tool for when it’s over 36ÂșC than as “that thing you switch on as soon as you switch the heating off”. People are more likely to complain that it was too strong than too weak. The air conditioning in our boardroom is so cold today, we had to abandon the weekly senior leadership team meeting entirely this morning. It would appear the facilities manager has cranked it up in preparation for the heatwave which has failed to muster in Bristol. (Well, it’s 26C today. Lovely, but hardly a heatwave). ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2019, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/european-dopers-how-are-you-holding-up-in-the-heat/836067/20 "2019-06-28T15:46:41Z")
With the number of people who died in France from heat a few years ago, one would think they would invest in air conditioners. Do automobiles have A/C? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/european-dopers-how-are-you-holding-up-in-the-heat/836067.md?page=2)