I am from India,who has shifted to the UK. It’s been 3-4 years, however UK summers feel unbearable compared to Indian summers. My skin feels like it’s burning at 25° in the UK but 25° in India is so much more pleasant. I understand that it’s closer to the sun since the earth is slightly tilted, but make it make sense that my skin burns while in the UK, but I’m just really sweaty in India, without the burning sensation.
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I know exactly what you mean. I am from the UK and have a light complexion. 25°C in the UK is really hot for me yet I now live in Dubai and I cope fine when it’s 30-35°c here. The rest of the time I am saved by air conditioning lol
Humidity. The UK is very humid, which makes it pretty comfortable at very mild temperatures, and difficult at very warm temperatures.
I’m not super familiar with Indian climate, but I’m from the American Midwest, live in Arizona, and have spent significant time in Florida. In the Midwest, which has a decent amount of humidity, 80F (so 26C) is hot but far from unbearable. In Arizona where it’s very dry, it’s comfortable, basically the ideal outdoor temperature. In Florida which is extremely humid, it’s completely unbearable. I’d rather have 100F (38C) in Arizona than 80F in Florida, easily. It’s the humidity.
I’d say there’s a few factors:
1. People say humidity, but it’s unlikely to account for much, much of India is significantly more humid then the UK.
2. Air conditioning. This may not seem like it counts for much, as it’s only in effect inside, but most of our day consists of moving from one indoor space to another. If you’re moving between air conditioned spaces your body has a much easier time dealing with heat, as it takes time for heat to start exhaust you (by which time you’ve entered an indoor air conditioned space). I was in Barcelona during a heat wave, and what made it truly unbearable was not the raw temperature, but the lack of AC in most buildings rendering that heat inescapable. In India, on the other hand, AC is more common (I’m assuming India is similar to South East Asia, as I’ve never been to India).
3. The psychology element that others note probably is also relevant.
4. Indians tend to wear turbans, caps and loose clothes that cover more of the body(especially the head and shoulders). Ironically, this style is more effective then what the typical Brit wears in hot weather (IE as little as possible) when it comes to thermal regulation. You might have started to dress like a local. Put on a turban, lungi and dhoti and you might find the heat easier to deal with. Indians also often use parasols.
5. Britain, especially in the suburbs, tends to have wide expanses of tarmac, lawns, loads of cars and little in the way of tree cover. India tends to have narrow streets and lots of trees and far less cars. The Indian streets will feel cooler. The most intense version of this will be if you get out of your car in a big suburban car park. The Tarmac gets so hot you could probably fry an egg on it. These kinds of expanses of tarmac are far less common in India simply because far less people drive (and the urban planning thus, isn’t built around driving).
Apart from the actual air temperature, it could be the sun making it feel hotter. India is much closer to equator than the UK and that would put the sun more directly overhead in India. Even if the air is the same temperature, more intense sun rays would make it “feel hotter” when standing in direct sun light.
Clothing and construction practices in UK are not geared towards humid oppressively hot summers like what I assume is the case in India. That could make for it feeling relatively hotter.
I also feel this. I spent months in the tropics and lived in Bangkok for three months. Walking here seems somehow hotter, even when it’s not as hot.
It did take me about three months to acclimatise to tropical heat so maybe I’ve just reverted back to a European climate.
Not UK but my first summer in the US was close to the Niagara and I felt very similar. Low to mid 30s and felt that skin burn.
Though you have experienced worse, it is the acclimatizing to the locale that your body is learning. Also your second winter will be worse than your first.
Your tolerance to heat also reduces after a while in these lower temp climates so when you go back to an Indian summer, it’s going to be just as bad.
I notice the same thing here in Arizona. When we go up to the mountains (6200 ft elevation) from Phoenix (1000ft elevation), the temps will drop 25 degrees but the sun will feel more intense on my skin.
Fairly certain that’s because of the UV index. Compare that index in the UK on a hot day your skin feels burning with India’s UV index.
Acclimatization:
The human body starts to change how it reacts to enviromental temperatures in months, a couple of years to even out. Once you’re used to cooler temperatures, it will suddenly feel a lot warmer than what you were used to half a decade ago. So 25C can feel like 35C+.
Accumulation to the local climate.
No, the sun isn’t hotter up north, nor the humidity much higher in the UK compared to India (lol)
First, you experience a much colder weather in the UK, so your body becomes accumulated to being in that temperature range. So, a 25c outdoor temp will shock your body when you are used to 10~18c temp.
If you were living in India for a while and decided to travel to the UK, even if it was 25C outside, you won’t feel as hot, as you are accumulated to India’s temps
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