Why is everyone in the UK suddenly obsessed with air con? 🥵
I genuinely never thought I'd see this happen. Over the last few days, almost every WhatsApp group and group chat I'm in has turned into the same conversation:
Where can I buy a portable AC? Which fan is actually worth buying? Does anyone know a shop that still has them in stock?
Growing up in India, we have ceiling fans in every single household, and some have air conditioners. Living with hot summers is just part of everyday life, so cooling isn't really something you think twice about. When I first moved to the UK, I noticed how different things were.
I remember talking to a few local people who told me, " You don't really need air conditioning here. It's only hot for a couple of weeks each year. At the time, that made complete sense. Most homes don't have AC, many buildings were designed to keep heat in rather than let it out, and even public transport often has limited cooling compared with what I was used to. Then this week's heat arrived.
My student accommodation turned into what felt like a greenhouse. Even late at night, opening the windows barely helped because the room had absorbed heat throughout the day. Sleeping became surprisingly difficult, and I found myself constantly looking for the coolest spot in the room. It was one of those moments where you realise that temperature alone doesn't tell the whole story.
In India, many homes are designed with hot weather in mind. You're used to fans, shaded buildings, and cooling systems being part of daily life. In the UK, houses are incredibly well insulated because they're built to keep people warm during long winters. That's fantastic for most of the year, but during a heatwave, they can end up trapping heat inside.
So while someone from India might look at 30°C and think, That's a pleasant day, experiencing 30°C inside a UK home with no air conditioning feels completely different. I never expected that one of the biggest culture shocks I'd experience in the UK would be... the heat.
Now I completely understand why fans have disappeared from supermarket shelves and why portable AC units have suddenly become one of the hottest products. Sometimes living abroad isn't just about adapting to a new culture; it's also about discovering how the same weather can feel completely different depending on where you are and how a country is built.
And yes... after this week, even I'm seriously considering buying a portable air conditioner.