‘Advice from Australian MD on rehydration includes drink half a pint of beer… checks out.’ Photo / Unsplash
With the UK and parts of northern Europe set to break records and an ominous 40 degree heat barrier, many residents are facing temperatures they’ve never experienced before.
On Friday the British government issued its first ever ‘red extreme heat warning’.
The normally soggy isles are more used to an average summer temperature of around 20 degrees Celsius. It is a land largely without air conditioning.
Towns and their residents are unprepared for this kind of heat. However, sympathetic folk from the southern hemisphere and the tropics have been offering their tips for those in the UK on surviving 40 degrees.
One Twitter user, whose credentials were being “a genuine Australian,” gave a ten-step list of tips for dealing with the heat that’s heading to England.
Dr Ellie Mackin Roberts from Victoria offered survival guide to Poms and their furry pets.
Among here top tips were to keep curtains drawn through the day and to keep spray bottles topped up for cooling indoor spaces.
“Also good for keeping pets cool – which is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT,” she said.
Wearing sunscreen under clothing and keeping compression towels in the freezer were not common sense tips in the British Isles.
One of her most popular tips was to recommend the national isotonic drink of Australia: Beer.
“Drink a half a pint of beer (inc. alcohol free!) and then move straight onto water,” she recommended. Hydration, she said, was important – warning Brits not to drink too much coffee and not too much alcohol. Drinking water with your beer and esspresso can help keep dehydration at bay.
“Heatstroke is no joke pals,” said the classicist from Melbourne. She advised being conscious of the early signs of heatstroke among pets and children and to apply ice under the armpits of overheating family members. “Following this, seek medical advice and/or attention!”
Other netizens from warmer climes were quick to add advice for unprepared northern Europeans.
Kuala Lumpur-based lifestyle reporter, Kate Ng also published her “useful tips for dealing with the next few days of heat (and more than likely future summers), from a tropical gal”.
Among her tips were house fans, lots of fans, and keeping spare clothes in the freezer.
Especially prescient for those in the UK, where few households have air-con, she said “steal every moment of air conditioning you can.” Use every excuse to visit the office, shopping centres and cinemas which are climate controlled.
While remedies from twitter can be helpful and at times amusing, it’s worth taking them with a pinch of caution.
The Red warning mean the health impacts of the heat are a risk “to the fit and healthy, and not just in high-risk groups.”
