I have been in 50°C/122°C in South Africa, but it is dry heat and buildings are built to keep the heat out. It also cools down rapidly when the sun sets. Sweden seems WAY hotter even when it gets to 26°C, because everything is built to keep heat in, and the sun almost does not set at all. Up until a few years ago, the radiators in the Stockholm buses were on permanently, even in summer.
Conversely, South Africa get seem really cold in winter, even when temperatures are quite high, because the houses are so cool inside, and there is generally no climate control.
It has been hot over the past week – around 27°C/82.4°F I even dug a fan out yesterday. We have three fans
– a large powerful floor fan that almost blows us away but is the only thing that works when it is 30-ish°C/86°F. It is also very noisy so impossible to use at night.
– a tower fan for normal hot days in Sweden. This one is quiet but tends to dry your eyes and nose out a bit.
– this small mini AC/fan. I bought it at Lidl for about $10 in 2018, and it has been a real trooper. I have even loaned it to guests who were staying in our guest apartment in summer. They loved it because it worked a humidifier as well. You fill a little tank with icy water and it blows nice and cold. There are several settings but I use it on the lowest. This is nice if it is only I who am hot. I can have it beside the sofa or the bed. I have even travelled with it when we go somewhere by car in summer and stay overnight. It has a nifty little carrying handle.
When it got really really hot in South Africa I used to run my wrists under cold water for a while. I also used to have slightly warmer than body temperature showers because colder showers mean that your body has to suddenly warm itself up, so the coolth is short-lived. When it was unbearably hot, I would wet a small towel in cold water and drape it slightly over a fan to blow cold air at me.
I find it hard to concentrate at work in heat, and also sleeping is a nightmare. I have a lightweight duvet for summer as I don’t like sleeping on top of the bed, and on really really hot nights I sleep under my trusty kikoi
You and I are the same! I hate working when it’s hot. Germany being super environmentally friendly as it is, refuses any air conditioning (apart from supermarkets). So I sometimes end up teaching in 30C and I am literally melting… I come from the South West of France, where it gets hot and humid and yet, heat in the North of Germany can be too much… An American friend of mine told me about some special towels that you put in water, wring and then put them around your neck. They are made with a special material that keeps the material very cool. They are my best friend all through the summer!
That sounds amazing!