When the Weather Finally Delivers (And We Still Can’t Cope)
We have spent every grey, drizzly, deeply disappointing British summer for the last fifty years complaining that it’s never actually hot.
Be careful what you wish for.
The UK has broken its all-time June temperature record. Twice. In 48 hours. The previous record had stood since 1976. We collectively manifested this. This is entirely on us.
And now, naturally, being British, we are complaining about that too.
Today’s record, a provisional 36.7°C, was set at Merryfield in Somerset. Just eight miles from where I’m sitting. Sweating whilst cuddling a frozen hot water bottle.
But here’s the thing nobody’s talking about in between the ice lolly recommendations and the warnings not to sit in parked cars.
The heat isn’t just doing something to your body. It’s doing something to your emotions.
And no, this isn’t the part where I tell you to stay hydrated and wear a hat. You know that. You’re not an idiot.
This is the part where I tell you that the short fuse, the inexplicable tearfulness, the complete inability to make a simple decision, the sudden overwhelming urge to lie very still and not talk to anyone… that’s not you falling apart. That’s your nervous system working overtime.
Your body is using an enormous amount of energy just keeping you physically regulated in record-breaking heat. That leaves significantly less in the tank for the emotional stuff. The patience. The resilience. The ability to handle your emails without wanting to scream.
It’s not weakness. It’s biology.
And there’s something else.
When the world around us moves into genuinely unprecedented territory, something in us registers that, even if we can’t name it. Scientists are literally saying these temperatures shouldn’t be happening in June. That quiet wrongness lands somewhere. For people who already carry anxiety or live close to their emotional edge, an unprecedented heatwave can turn the volume up on all of it.
Not because the heat causes emotional problems. But because your nervous system doesn’t distinguish between “too hot” and “too much.” It just knows it’s too much.
So what does emotional intelligence actually look like this week?
Not a list. Just permission. Permission to do less and feel okay about it. Permission to cancel the thing. Permission to be grumpy without turning it into a story about who you are. Permission to take the tiredness seriously rather than fighting it.
Your emotions are signals, not flaws. And right now they are signalling something completely reasonable about a completely unreasonable situation.
Even my black Labrador, Maverick, has figured this out. He is currently horizontal, panting gently, and has made his peace with the fact that today is not a day for doing. Just being.
Honestly? He might be the wisest one in the house.
Maybe that’s the emotional intelligence move this week. Not pushing through. Not performing fine. Just doing a Maverick. Finding your cool spot, letting the world carry on without you for a bit, and trusting that you’ll be back to full capacity when the temperature drops.
The hot summer we wished for is here. It’s okay if your response is to just… breathe through it.
