The 1976 heatwave advice to listen to today (and what to ignore)

Writer Nick Harding combats the summer sun the 1970s way: with lager, crisps and a string vest - Andrew Crowley

Here come the hot weather preppers again, lugging gallons of water with them, faces caked with factor 50 death masks, ready for the apocalypse, otherwise known as plus-30C. With another heatwave forecast for the weekend the orders are flying in for emergency equipment. Cooling plastic neck rings that you dip in cold water and wear like a noose. Ice-pack slippers. Cool gel pillows. Neck fans. Ice vests.

Let me take you back to the heatwave of 1976

If, like me, you’re a child of the 1960s and 1970s, you will naturally baulk at this frenzy for frigidity. We lived through the great heatwave of 1976 after all, and we wear it like a badge of honour. I was seven and I managed to survive it just with a carton of Kia-Ora, an ice pop and a smattering of Hawaiian Tropic factor 2 tanning oil.

Telegraph journalist Philip Johnston remembers it well: “As radiators boiled over and engines seized up (remember that?), the AA was receiving emergency calls every two minutes. In Southampton, which broke the June record with a 96F temperature, a casualty doctor said: “One of the best things you can have in this weather is a pint and a packet of crisps to replace salt. Also, a string vest is ideal.”

The only government advice issued related to water rationing, not surviving the heat. We were told to share bath water and only flush number twos. Direct public health messaging (stay indoors, drink fluids etc) only became standard after the 2003 heatwave.

Boomers and Gen X didn’t grow up carrying water bottles to school. There was a single water fountain in the playground. Likewise, holidays abroad weren’t complete without third-degree burns. No one bothered with umbrellas so when you did burn you covered the affected area with a towel and got on with it.

Fast forward to 2025

Heatwave warnings are everywhere. Take drinks on public transport. Stay indoors. Test the pavement temperature before you walk your dog. Schools are banning children from playing outside during heatwaves. Even Glastonbury provided dispensers of SPF. You can’t walk down the street without seeing five different types of hand fans. Have we all gone heatwave mad?

Heatwave mad? Nick Harding deploys a range of methods to stay cool - Andrew Crowley

Through the prism of 1976, a Gen Xer like me may be tempted to see it all as overkill. And with all this madness going on it’s easy to forget what you really have to worry about. I speak to Dr Josh Foster, lecturer in environmental physiology at King’s College London. Rather frighteningly, after our conversation, I’m now not sure we are taking the warning signs seriously enough.

The 1976 heatwave was estimated to have led to 700 extra deaths in the UK. In the record breaking summer of 2022 there were an estimated 2,985 excess deaths associated with heat. Last year, TV doctor Michael Mosley is believed to have died of heat exhaustion after losing consciousness while walking in 40C temperatures.

Foster explains that an article in the journal Nature last year identified the United Kingdom as one of the most extreme-heat-vulnerable developed nations on Earth. “Part of the reason for that is because the frequency, intensity and duration of heatwaves in the UK is far exceeding what we projected five years ago,” he says.

Quite rightly, today’s advice reflects that and begs us to take heatwaves altogether more seriously. We’re advised to keep out of the sun between 11am and 3pm, the hottest time of the day, close curtains, wear hats, check on the elderly. Foster believes that the penchant for middle-aged people like me to dismiss well-meaning advisories on heat danger is indicative of a generational and cultural indifference.

The inconvenient truth about hot weather

The truth is that for vulnerable populations heatwaves are deadly. Particularly at risk are the elderly living on their own, people with limited independence, people with pre-existing health problems such as heart disease and impaired kidney function, and people with cognitive problems that hamper the ability to seek cooler environments such as Alzheimer’s and dementia.

“One of the most important aspects which increases someone’s vulnerability is lack of social contact,” explains Foster. “We need to be very aware of people who fall into those high-risk groups and ensure that they’re either removed from hot spaces, or that we are checking in on them regularly and ensuring that they have access to hydration and different cooling solutions.”

So, while we might well roll our eyes at the constant heat warnings, we really should be taking the heatwave more seriously than we did in 1976. As Foster warns: “The climate projections are honestly quite terrifying. The air temperatures that we’re experiencing have gone up exponentially in the last five years and I’ve heard some climate scientists in different meetings suggesting that in five years we realistically could get over 50C in London. And that’s a more conservative estimate.”

Still, that doesn’t mean you should rush to buy your granny a neck fan or a pair of cool gel slippers. (Some of us are simply taking it too far.) Below, Foster looks at the old-fashioned heatwave advice to help us decipher which pieces we should listen to and which we can ignore.

Anyone know where I can bulk-buy Kia-Ora?

The 1976 heatwave advice to listen to (and what to ignore)

Drink hot beverages: false

A 2012 study from the University of Ottawa’s School of Human Kinetics found that drinking a hot drink increases your body temperature slightly, which triggers more sweating. If that sweat can evaporate, you cool down more than you would from drinking a cold beverage. It only works in dry conditions where sweat can easily evaporate. In hot, humid weather, the sweat sits on your skin and doesn’t help. “It does induce a small heat-loss response,” says Foster. “But that’s only to counteract the fact that you’re putting hot fluids into the body. There’s no real evidence that this would have any meaningful cooling effect.”

Wear a string vest: true

The UK Ministry of Supply conducted a study in 1955 testing various string vests on soldiers stationed in Egypt’s Suez Canal zone where temperatures reached 37C. Soldiers reported that the string design stayed cooler, reduced the “dragging or sticking” sensation caused by sweat, and improved comfort. Foster agrees. “We recommend loose-fitting, breathable clothing. And the reason for that is that it will help the sweat to evaporate. Certainly, a string vest would be ideal for this.”

Nick’s string vest will actually help in a heatwave (but he can ditch the beer), says Dr Josh Foster - Andrew Crowley

Eat crisps: true (but healthier salty snacks are preferable)

According to reports, during the 1976 heatwave one piece of advice from a casualty doctor was to eat crisps. Foster explains: “We lose important electrolytes through sweating, such as sodium, potassium, chloride. Replacing them is important but I think you could do that through healthier means than eating a bag of crisps.” We shouldn’t exceed 6g of salt a day, according to government guidelines. Try sprinkling a few flakes of sea salt on freshly chopped tomatoes.

Drink beer: false

This was also included in the advice from the aforementioned doctor. A 2022 Spanish study suggested some truth in this, concluding that beer and water had an equivalent rehydration effect post-exercise in heat. Researchers cautioned beer is only hydrating in small doses (one to two drinks). Foster advises against it. “Alcohol may make you less thermally sensitive,” he says.

Eat ice cream: false (but iced slushy drinks are fine)

A nice thing to do in the hot weather but from a physiological perspective, ineffective. Foster explains: “It is not going to affect your temperature regulation per se. However, one of the things that does have a powerful cooling effect is iced slushy drinks.” When you drink a slushy your body has to melt the ice before it can absorb it. Melting ice takes energy, meaning it takes heat from your body to turn that ice into liquid water, therefore this process removes more heat from your body than drinking cold water alone.

Wear damp socks to bed: false

According to social media, wearing cold, damp socks in bed can help keep you cool on hot nights. Foster advises against this, explaining: “The hands and feet have important roles in thermoregulation. They have a high surface-area-to-mass ratio and can offload quite a lot of heat to the environment. It’s probably better to keep them bare.”

Wear woollen undies: false

According to one Edwardian home magazine, lightweight wool under suits was the coolest option, as wool absorbed bodily moisture and allowed evaporation. Foster is sceptical. “Breathable clothing is optimal,” he says and advises that cotton is not ideal as it has a high evaporative resistance. “It absorbs a lot of water, so you end up carrying more weight around and the water doesn’t evaporate from the skin as readily.”

Proven cool hacks for hot weather

Lie flat with feet in the air

The cardiovascular strain that accompanies heat stress will be reduced by lying flat with legs raised.

Fans

Fans are effective up to a certain temperature, above which they start to become hazardous. Foster explains: “For the most part, fans will be effective at cooling the body, but their effectiveness depends on how much cooler the air is compared to skin temperature, which is typically around 35C in a warm environment. If the air temperature starts to approach 35C, then the fan will have no additional cooling impact. If the air temperature starts to get into the high 30s and especially above 40C, there’s ample empirical evidence that fans can become very harmful, working in a similar way to how a convection oven works, pushing that heat back onto the body.”

Fans are only effective up to a certain temperature, above which they start to become hazardous - Andrew Crowley

Spraying water on skin

A mist of water sprayed on the body will evaporate and create the same cooling effect as sweating, but without relying on the body’s own production of sweat. Lukewarm water will evaporate faster and is more comfortable.

Limb immersion

A study published by the University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada, conducted on firefighters who were experiencing significant heat stress, found that immersing feet or forearms in cold water was an effective way of extracting heat from the body.

Official advice from the UK Health Security Agency

1. Keep out of the sun at the hottest time of the day, between 11am and 3pm.
2. If you are going to do a physical activity (for example exercise or walking the dog), plan to do these during times of the day when it is cooler such as the morning or evening.
3. Keep your home cool by closing windows and curtains in rooms that face the sun.
4. If you do go outside, cover up with suitable clothing such as an appropriate hat and sunglasses, seek shade and apply sunscreen.
5. Drink plenty of fluids and limit your alcohol intake.
6. Check on family, friends and neighbours who may be at higher risk of becoming unwell, and if you are at higher risk, ask them to do the same for you.
7. Know the symptoms of heat exhaustion and heatstroke and what to do if you or someone else has them.

Recommended

How hot is the Tube during a heatwave? I jumped on board to investigate

Play The Telegraph’s brilliant range of Puzzles - and feel brighter every day. Train your brain and boost your mood with PlusWord, the Mini Crossword, the fearsome Killer Sudoku and even the classic Cryptic Crossword.