How We Deal with the Heat Says a Lot About Our Culture
But which of us will survive in a changing climate?
Western Europe
The British heatwave of 1976 is one of my earliest memories. Nostalgia for the long, hot summer still abounds. But the excess deaths it brought — a fifth above the normal figure — tend to be forgotten.
The classic British attitude to sun is to run outside and rip your clothes off as soon as you see blue sky and feel those rays. Roasting yourself red while the sun is shining is the way to a lasting tan. Or at least that’s how the mad dogs and English people would have it.
My first taste of a different approach was during holidays in the south of France. When in Rome — well, Provence — we copied the locals in the village. Went out for bread early. Stayed in our cool stone cottage and kept the wooden shutters closed in the heat of the day.
But then there was still the lure of the sun at the coast. A deep tan is a status symbol in one of the first resorts, set up for royalty on the Cote d’Azur. Some of the elderly locals showed us how to do it. Wear as little as possible, coat yourself in oil. Lie on the beach for hours. Take a daily dip and walk along the beach. They were obviously fit. But I noticed that their skin had taken on a distinctly leathery…
