Yes, it's been this hot before, but not in June. When the temperature outside is 38°C (100°F), it makes no sense to spend time beyond the walls of one's house. Indoors it's 33°C, but still this is not weather for exercising or gardening. Hottest temperatures in Poland on record.
At night, the temperature does not fall below 22°C in the house; I sleep with windows open under an empty duvet cover. On nights like this, Fleetwood Mac's Green Manalishi comes to mind... "Now, when the day goes to sleep/And the full moon looks/And the night is so black that the darkness cooks." Uneasy hot night music that I associate with August. Heavens know what August will be like this year.
Having a garden full of trees and long grass keeps the temperature outside around 2°C cooler than the ambient air. My phones show that the local temperature for Jakubowizna at three pm to be 37°C, my outdoor thermometer shows 34.6°C north-facing side of the house and 34.7°C on the east-facing side.
Meanwhile, my solar panels are working flat out, generating power and exporting it to the grid.
My heatwave work-round involves an early night, an early start (04:30 this morning), a short, hour-long walk in the somewhat fresher morning air, back home before 8am, get some work done, then a classic Spanish-style siesta. As the evening air cools down, a second walk around sunset is called for. Some exercises (not the full work-out) before retiring as early as possible. Outside in dawn, outside at dusk. Going out in the midday sun to do, say, some gardening, is bonkers. If you are partially or wholly working from home, I recommend the 7:00-11:00 then 14:00-18:00 routine with a three-hour lunch+siesta break. And going to bed before 21:30.
Meanwhile, the fruit is ripening. I know where the best cherry orchards are – unkept and unfenced, and groaning with fruit. Like, branches falling away from the tree trunk because of the weight of cherries. And the blackcurrants that stick out on the footpath side of the fence. Dawn and dusk, best time for picking.
The cats are zonked out. They can survive in the coldest of winter (my of mine had spent at least one night outdoors at -20°C below or colder); this heat is just as hard for them to bear. Céleste is halfway through breastfeeding her litter, her long Norwegian forest-cat fur is getting matted and clumpy. AI recommends grooming her 'little and often'. And keeping the cats hydrated is important too.
Below: Hipek prefers to eat in a lying-down posture.
A propos of hydration, zero-alcohol beer (hoppy IPA is my preference) is great; the hoppy bitterness extinguishes thirst nicely. As does a ginger infusion. Peel and slice a goodly amount of ginger and place in a large (660 ml) glass; pour over boiling water, add a slice of lemon or lime (or both), a small amount of honey once it's cooled a bit... and let it stand. The longer the better. The spiciness of the ginger does the trick.
I will be writing next month about the life-changing summer holiday to Poland in the summer of 1976. The weather was nothing like this. Photos from then show us wearing two or three layers of clothing, typically shirt-jumper-jacket. For six consecutive years (1976 to 1981), Poland suffered unusually cold, damp summers, a stark contrast to the intense heatwaves being experienced today. And yes, I do remember the English summer of 1976. I remember it very well. It was hot. But not this hot. I don't remember baking nights where the temperatures refused to fall below 20°C after the sun set.
Climate change is happening. I (at least) am taking steps to cut my own carbon emissions; I've not flown since March 2020, I drive once a week typically, filling the car (1.2-litre engine) with petrol four or five times a year, and I have solar panels and energy storage batteries. But enough of my virtue signalling!
This time last year:
Letters to an imaginary grandson (V)
Garden pub for the działka
Down the line from York
This time 13 years ago:
Czester and his sister
This time 15 years ago:
The Cold Weather Guys – a short story
This time 16 years ago:
Bike ride along the banks of the Vistula
This time 17 years ago:
Three hill walks around Dobra
This time 18 years ago:
90th Anniversary of the Polish Navy
This time 19 years ago:
Memory and comfort
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