Back in spring, when the UK had those first really hot weeks, we were…

Back in spring, when the UK had those first really hot weeks, we were already joking about it. “Well, that's summer sorted then.” For a country where we normally spend half the year talking about rain, it felt almost too good to be true.

Now, after what feels like endless hot days, I think many of us are starting to look at it differently. It is not even that every day is hotter than the last. It is the fact that the heat just does not seem to go away. You wake up and it is warm. You go to work and it is warm. You go to bed and the room is still warm.And suddenly the classic British conversation about the weather has changed. Instead of complaining that it is raining, we are complaining that it is too hot.

Perhaps someone's dream finally came true. Someone must have been sitting in a pub years ago saying, “Imagine if we had Spanish weather here.” Be careful what you wish for.

But behind the jokes, there is a serious question. Are we actually prepared for this becoming more normal? Most British homes were not designed for long periods of extreme heat. We have traditionally been much more concerned about keeping homes warm than keeping them cool. Insulation, heating systems, building materials, windows and ventilation have all been designed around that reality.

Air conditioning is still not something you find in every home. And many buildings, especially older ones, can become extremely uncomfortable when the temperature stays high for several days.