I’m Australian, so I know how to cope with heatwaves: here are my tips for keeping cool

Guardian journalism is independent. We earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more. As parts of the UK swelter, try these low-energy ways to cool down – from fly screens and no-cook meals to air coolers that use a fraction of the electricity of aircon Where I grew up, snow days were a foreign concept. Instead, children looked to the other end of the thermometer when hoping for a day off school. Playground rumour had it that when the temperature reached more than 40C, classes would be cancelled. I finished primary school at the turn of the century, so never saw that theory tested. But as the climate crisis intensifies, throughout much of south-eastern Australia, we’ve come to expect at least one 40C day each summer. That means subsequent cohorts of Australian children are learning that temperature triggers for school closure were only ever an urban legend. Instead, in many schools, hot weather means staying indoors during break and lunch. Meanwhile, Australians barely break a sweat at a string of 28C days, the UK Met Office’s highest threshold for a heatwave. This isn’t because our bodies are different, says Prof Ollie Jay, director of the H