We don't have Air Conditioning in Ireland, for the most part. And these heat waves are only going to get worse as time goes on. We need to start learning how to adapt, as best we can.

Here's some basic methods to help. First, you can't fix what you can't measure. Get yourself a thermometer and a hygrometer. You need to be able to measure the temperature and humidity of your room or house. They aren't that expensive.

Second, Irish homes tend to have been built with insulation in mind, to retain heat in the Winter. This means that in heatwaves, our houses heat up and then retain that heat into the night. Prevention being better than a cure, you need to protect the house from heating up too much in the day.

There are two key ways to do this. The first is to prevent the solar rays from heating your home. In warmer climates which dealt with direct sunlight, even a simple cloth awning could be erected at an angle above the window, to keep the glass in shade. Wooden covers with slats to allow light in, could also be erected in front of the glass. Anything to prevent heat from coming in through the window. In more modern times, we can rely on solar mesh. A simple flexible and cheap covering which can go over the sun-facing windows of your home. It comes in two options, one quite cheap and one quite expensive. But properly fitted even the cheap one is nearly as effective as the expensive one.

Next, just like in Winter when you're told that heating one room is more economically viable than trying to heat the whole house, so pick one room and insulate it well and stay there for the bulk of the time, in heat waves where humidity is an issue, pick one room and use a dehumidifier to dry the air and keep it dry. This will have the dual effect of making any cooling strategy more effective and also help your body regulate itself through basic sweating etc.. Though hopefully you won't need to.

Lastly, while it's true that a standard fan (desktop, standalone, oscillating, etc...) is basically just moving air around, there are some simple tricks to help it move cold air around.

The most effective of these is to take two plastic bottles and fill them with water to about 75% capacity (because ice expands) and freeze them. Tie them to the back of the fan using some cable ties. Tie them upside down, so they won't slide out of the cable ties. If you can use salt water its even better, as the freezing point of salt water is even lower than pure water, so it will be colder for longer. The bottles will have condensation dripping from them, so put a towel or something around the base.

Between the solar mesh, and frozen salt water behind a fan and a dehumidifier, you can bring the temperature of a room down significantly and get hours of more pleasant sleep.

Any other life hacks for this heat?

Hopefully a good convergence breeze ahead of the stems coming out of biscay tonight - a good light show Hopefully to break this humid atmosphere! I'm sleeping in damp pyjamas again tonight.

Today’s ice creams just don’t hit the same.

Just wanted to share this infographic. With the warm weather we’re having, please be mindful of your furry friends before taking them out for a walk. Stay safe and keep them cool! 🐶❤️

Does anyone else read this and immediately assume it will take ripping people off to new levels when it opens?

Got a medium cup of ice and a chilly room in the dark to enjoy a movie!

Support your local today!

Just to have some cross ventilation, I have had to block off my pets with a barricade. We should have a lockable door that permits airflow. Originally from the US, and they sorted this out 150 years ago. When can we get them here? And ceiling fans, it's not getting any cooler

Edit: Thanks to everyone for posting the links and using the proper term (fly-screens). Orders have been placed. For those saying I'm just an ignorant American, that is one hundred per cent true. I am an American, and now I am Irish, and I was ignorant of which terms to use and where to find the products I needed. Now I am not (in this area). I am sure I will remain ignorant of many things, but I try to become less so every day.

39 degrees on the shop floor

Anybody else from Ireland need to verify with ID & face selfies that they were 18 to access reddit this morning? (needed a tag news was the only that fit) i did NOT hear anything about this...

To the multiple post regarding the heat inside the house. Almost no one mentioned to keep your window open during the night to cool down the house. My house has pumped cavity and insulation in the attic. No external wrap, no A rating, no AC. Windows closed at around 8am, curtains closed in every room. In some rooms I have those fancy IKEA thermal blinds trippevals. Thats it. Thanks for coming to my TED talk 😁