This American explained why Brits always moan about the heat and it never felt more relevant than it does now

Poke Staff. Updated June 19th, 2025

10.

The heat wave summer before last killed hundreds, maybe thousands of Brits. They don’t know how to handle this weather anymore than Texans know how to handle blizzards. They think they can stiff-upper-lip through it and it kills them.

It also kills power and transportation.

— Josh Ellis (@jzellis) June 24, 2024

11.

The power grid is hot. In hot places like Vegas, it requires special infrastructure to keep transformers from popping like Orville Redenbacher in a microwave. They didn’t build those cooling subsystems in here for the same reason they don’t do it in Moscow or Helsinki: why?

— Josh Ellis (@jzellis) June 24, 2024

12.

It’s expensive and requires constant maintenance. As do rail systems, which buckle in heat if the length of rail segments is too long. So the trains stop working if it’s even a warm day by, for example, Southern California standards.

Britain is just not equipped for heat.

— Josh Ellis (@jzellis) June 24, 2024

13.

I’m outside right now and it’s 76°F and 53% humidity and it feels like I’m in a sauna. Thank God the clouds are out because earlier it was really unpleasant.

Understand me when I tell you I am used to heat most of you can’t imagine.

This is still nasty and gross to me.

— Josh Ellis (@jzellis) June 24, 2024

14.

And it’s only going to get worse, and it’s going to take years for these poor bastards to update their infrastructure and culture to it. I warn as many of them as I can. They can believe me or not.

Sun’s out. I’m heading for the shade now.

— Josh Ellis (@jzellis) June 24, 2024

15.

Turned off comments once the fucktards showed up. I don’t debate climate change and I don’t care what you think of that.

— Josh Ellis (@jzellis) June 24, 2024

And here are just a few of the many comments it prompted.

Correct. It’s the bastard humidity. We started hitting 40 degree days for about five in a row a few summers ago. If it was dry like when I briefly lived in Melbourne, no problem. But it’s not. It’s humidity that sucks all the life out of you.

— Supertanskiii (@supertanskiii) June 24, 2024

We don’t even have an upper temperature limit in place for schools or workplaces either, the road tarmacs and pavements melt in some areas and yes air conditioning needs to be added to all new-builds or retrofitted

— Relish Hendy aka Nanny Jen (@relish_hendy) June 24, 2024

Despite this London is magnificent on hot sunny days.

— LizC0 (@LizzieCostie) June 24, 2024

Also, and this should never be underestimated, we Brits love complaining about the weather. 30% of our small talk is weather.
But I’d challenge any Arizonian, Texan or Floridian to take the London Tube in evening rush hour after the temperature has been over 75 for a week

— Rob Chappell (@taffygeek) June 24, 2024

I feel vindicated. Thank you

— Katie (@LuxMeaMundiAM) June 24, 2024

Also the fact that a week ago we were wearing jumpers because it was cold. Now we’re in shorts because it’s so warm. The fact you have no time to acclimatise doesn’t help us

— Frances Bridgman (@FrancesBridgma1) June 24, 2024

I lived in Vegas,too, and once took a vaca to the UK to escape summer heat. Big mistake. We roasted & never got to the tube as the rails had buckled. Brits also keep store coolers at a higher temp, harder to get a cooling drink, and they don’t seem to believe in ice. I feel 4u

— Cyd Madsen (@CydM) June 24, 2024

I don’t think I know a single Brit who feels 25°C is an issue. We LOVE 25°C. We love parks and beer gardens and short sleeves. We must defend our ability to cope with warm weather.

A week at 32°C+ is another story… https://t.co/67gCHcAVmL

— Rachel Faulkner-Willcocks (@rachel_fw) June 25, 2024

The fairest and most accurate explanation of this I have ever read

— Matt Smith (@InnovationMatt) June 24, 2024

And also, this!

Nobody cares about the physical location of Britain. The UK is being laughed at over a heat wave because at one time it was an empire who never saw the sun set, and fought in every locale from desert to swamp. Now it’s an island scared of its own shadow, and shits itself because… https://t.co/flUD0hnmvZ

— RedDevil (@Snakeeater36) June 25, 2024

Oof.

Source @jzellis

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