The Met Office has predicted “well above-average” temperatures to brace the nation later this week, with a short-lived heatwave expected in Southern parts of the country. Rising temperatures will take many of us by surprise both day and night, leaving bedrooms and living spaces sweltering in the afternoon heat. While you may not have air conditioning or fans to quickly cool down a hot room, there’s plenty of other cheap and effective methods you can try.
Met Office Deputy Chief Meteorologist, Dan Rudman, said: “Temperatures will rise through the week, becoming well above average by day by Friday when many parts of the southern half of the UK are likely to reach 30C or even 33C in isolated spots.”
While keeping windows and doors open during the day is one of the easiest ways to reduce the temperature inside, it’s not always possible when you’re stuck at work.
So, what can you do if you do find yourself faced with an unbearably hot room and no fans or air-con?
Create a cross-breeze
Focus on moving air through your house by having air flow in one side and out the other.
To do this, simply open windows on opposite sides of a room, or your house – but be warned, opening two windows on the same side of the house won’t create a cross breeze in the same way.
For rooms with only one window, keeping the door open allows a cross breeze to form from elsewhere in the house.
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Use a dehumidifier
Technically, using an air dehumidifier won’t bring down the temperature in your room, but it will make the space feel cooler.
Humidity in the air causes a room to feel warmer than it actually is, so it can make a significant difference if you’re able to eliminate excess moisture in the air.
Fill your room with plants
Plants keep themselves cool via transpiration, releasing water vapour when the surrounding atmosphere heats up to cool themselves and the air around them.
The best examples of plants most effective for this are aloe vera and snake plants, both of which have high water content.
