How hot is too hot?

I've lived in some pretty extreme climates over the past 8 years. 

Although England was relatively mild and Vancouver was damp and drizzly, Ottawa was downright frigid in winter and high in the humidity stakes over the short summer months.

This week, Sydney became one of the hottest places on earth, according to the national and international weather forecasts, with a sweltering seven day heatwave that smashed records as the city endured a week of temperatures above 30 degrees Celsius (and averaging 40 degrees plus). Tuesday peaked at more than 45 degrees at midday in some areas of the city, whilst on Saturday night the temperature hovered around 30 degrees. 

A typical daily temperature reading in the car this week

Uncomfortably hot throughout the week, 'locals' resorted to using umbrellas to protect themselves from the blistering rays of the Aussie sun, air conditioners worked overtime in offices across Sydney, and sleep deprivation became the norm as residents twisted and turned in their beds, unpleasantly overheated and soaked in sweat.

My past four years of summers in Sydney have generally ranged from fairly warm to stinking hot, and I've come to see myself as someone who relishes this extraordinarily extreme environment. In fact, prior to this week's heatwave, it occurred to me that I might even be growing immune to the kind of intense weather found here in Australia or, at the other end of the temperature spectrum, overseas in Canada.

Whilst I might once have sat through an English heatwave and whinged about the third day of 25 degree temps and the endless summer sun, I now bask in a much hotter, lengthier summer season and smile when I hear similar complaints from friends and family back in Blighty. I now live in a country where the summer is hardcore, where the potential for heat exhaustion and over-exposure is a given, and where forgetting to 'slip, slop, slap' can be the difference between an enjoyable day out at the beach or a night spent in the local hospital's burns unit.

Red sky at night, shepherds' delighting in tomorrow's heat


Yet for all my supposed immunity to, and tolerance of, these long, hot Australian summers, this week proved to be a bit of a wake-up call. As we bunkered down in our house on a daily basis with the air conditioning cranked up to the maximum but with little effect and blinds drawn tightly to a close, my little vegetable patch all but died in the garden and any grass we had burned to a crisp. Poor Milo didn't move from the cold slate tiles in the hallway and we only braved the hot winds and humid air when absolutely necessary. The feeling of breathing in hot, scalding air with the sun practically burning skin upon contact was a thing of nightmares. We could do nothing but hide away from the heat in our shrunken little world, as I acknowledged that maybe I wasn't quite so immune to these 'extremes' after all.


Average February heat across Australia


The most extreme experience of the week took the form of a new fun run on the Northern Beaches starting at a surely cooler and more comfortable time of 6.45am. As the starter's gun went off, I found myself running the hilly and exposed 7km course in temperatures in excess of 30 degrees. I witnessed runners overcome by the heat collapse at the side of the road with St John's Ambulance staff in attendance and the only thought running through my head was how to determine the point at which I should get off the shadeless road and out of the sun's unforgiving path.

As I finished the race to the sound of the event organiser announcing that the day's conditions were "perfect summer weather for a fun run", it dawned on me that the morning heat had entirely humbled me. If someone was to ask how hot is too hot, the answer would almost certainly be today.


A cool and very welcome southerly wind eventually blew through the region on Sunday plunging the temperature from a fiery 32 degrees to a more pleasant 18 degrees in one afternoon. Upon announcing details of the excessively high temperatures, to my amusement both friends and family from the UK and Canada all told me how they would rather be in Sydney enjoying the 45 degree heat rather than in the cold northern hemisphere winter. It occurred to me how it must be impossible to fully comprehend and understand the impact of this week's heatwave from afar if never having lived here or experienced the fury of an Australian summer before.

And that's what this was...  an experience, albeit an extreme one. As with all the experiences we've had on this journey of ours, we sit back and appreciate the uniqueness of the moment. And I'll continue to enjoy these 'moments' as long as they remain just that, because the problem is that now I've lived in extreme heat and extreme cold, my tolerance of these 'extremes' is all but used up.

So I have a good idea. In the future I'd prefer a little less of both and a bit more balance between the two.