Deadly Headshot
Laura ✨🎨Here’s a thought on the current heatwave that is absolutely destroying humankind across Europe atm: maybe we should push for a regulation to allow people — ALL people — to stop working in temperatures above 30C. The economy would collapse and finally politicians would take fighting the climate crisis as a priority, rather than leaning into the bullshit narrative that “summer is summer” from their air-conditioned ivory towers.
David Ginn@alicetragedy As someone who works from home without an air conditioner I support this. If it gets too hot I will absolutely lie on the floor and wait for it to pass.
@david yeah this is what my dog does each day every day 😭 he’s absolutely destroyed by this heat.
@alicetragedy Your dog has the right idea!
them#tic@alicetragedy Make the duplicitous, conniving energy companies pay for it.
Paweł Świątkowski@alicetragedy I always found it puzzling that we have regulations forbidding work in offices when it's below 18°C (inside), but there are no regulations on the other side and people can be forced to work in 40°C theoretically, the employer just needs to provide water.
@katafrakt I had no idea about that regulation forbidding work in offices *under* a certain temperature! TIL
And yep I totally agree with you. It also seems a bit easier to counter cold temperatures indoors (by wearing thicker clothing, using blankets, hot water bottles, etc) than hot temperatures. Past a certain temperature my brain just doesn’t want to think anymore 🥵
@alicetragedy actually the 18°C rule is probably our national regulation, not EU-wide. Sorry for confusion.
And yes, I think the root cause of not having max temperature is because it's the old law when AC was not at all popular. But I also just read that they are trying to change that and impose maximum of 35°C inside, which is still very high, but better than nothing.
commonst@alicetragedy as someone working in a space with no AC, I can wholeheartedly endorse this.
We have had execs out where I work complaining about heat in front of us and thwy do not get that when they get to leave we don't. No work at all would give them an excellent perspective
Rob van Kan🔻@alicetragedy People up in northern regions should stop acting as if *their* normal is *everyone's* normal. 30°C is nothing. Get a grip.
@edgeofeurope sure. I’m Italian, and in my childhood it still wasn’t common to have 40 degrees in the middle of June though, even in Rome, where my family has lived all their life. ✌️
@edgeofeurope and while I agree that parts of the southern regions are more used to higher temperatures (and I still remember as a kid hearing on the news that people were dying in the heat every year) the temp average rising year by year still takes a toll on the population, and governments aren’t doing anything about it.
@alicetragedy that is obviously true. I was just struck by this 30° threshhold which sounds exactly like my fellow countrymen, the Dutch, begging to be allowed to wear shorts to the office. Get a f_ing grip!
But then if you're from Rome... ho sbagliato. Sorry.
But then if you're from Rome... ho sbagliato. Sorry.
@edgeofeurope I know what you mean though, my original post didn’t take that into account at all, obviously the “baseline” should be different from country to country and as someone else pointed out, temperature can be very subjective based on location and external factors. Nevertheless there has to be something we can collectively do 😩
@alicetragedy There's one thing we should try to do, and that is to get the media to stop showing pictures of happy people playing in the water when talking about this emergency.
This is on the front page of Dutch broadcaster NOS.nl right now.
This is on the front page of Dutch broadcaster NOS.nl right now.
@edgeofeurope agreed!!!!!! It’s the same here in Austria — with every heatwave, you get happy pictures of women in bikinis on the front page of newspapers 🫠
🔥Cassandra🔥@alicetragedy @edgeofeurope Photos of labourers in the heat instead?
Robotistry@edgeofeurope @alicetragedy It depends on local conditions.
When we lived along the Florida coast, 35C (95F) was hot but workable if we were hydrated, shaded/hatted, and taking adequate breaks. However, if we were indoors in a building that wasn't designed for airflow and that didn't have air conditioning, conditions degraded quickly. My employer routinely found alternative air conditioned workspaces or sent people home in outdoor temperatures well below 35 when the inside of the building became too hot because the AC was off.
Here in the Canadian Maritimes, 30C (86F) is sticky and unpleasant and worse than 35C in Florida. It feels like a reasonable local threshold since cooling here is still a patchwork of open windows and AC systems, and people here don't cool their buildings to frigid temperatures in the summer like they do in Florida.
Maybe base a threshold on the "feels like" heat index?
@Robotistry @edgeofeurope I agree and know that this is a grey area. I remember being in the Death Valley years ago, and the air was so dry that the heat, even in a van with no AC, didn’t bother me as much as the sticky asphalt heat of New York or Vienna. Generally also being by the coast, while humid, can also be “refreshing” because of the wind. :)
@alicetragedy @Robotistry We came fresh from the Calabrian summer to a hotel in Scotland where they were celebrating a wedding. The receptionist complained to us that it was far too hot to do weddings.
It was a lovely 24°C outside.
It was a lovely 24°C outside.
Reverend Elvis@alicetragedy How about putting an end to capitalism once and for all? Then you could enjoy the summer too.
Michal Špondr@alicetragedy Why would politicians push a regulation that forces them to fight the climate crisis? :)
Tak!@alicetragedy we actually have a law in denmark that requires workplaces to provide an environment (for "sedentary" workers) where the temperature needs to be between 18C and 25C - but it is largely ignored in my experience, and it has special provisions for "heatwaves" which basically amount to "🤷 whaddya gonna do"
ref: https://www.retsinformation.dk/eli/retsinfo/2025/10207#:~:text=Kapitel%209 (in danish)
reynir@Tak I see that DMI (Danish Meteorological Institute) defines heat wave in a way that it should be relatively easy to maintain temps below 25°C inside if your building has sufficient thermal mass and is not a greenhouse https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedeb%C3%B8lge#I_Danmark @alicetragedy
PointlessOne 
@alicetragedy What's more likely is that working day would turn into working night as hours are not regulated and it's easier for businesses to implement.
@pointlessone 🫠🫠🫠 anything to please capitalism 🙃😩🙈
Boud@alicetragedy The #EuropeanTradeUnionConfederation #ETUC [1] called for EU-wide working temperature regulations in July 2022 [2]. Existing rules cited for BE+HU+LV+SI+ES (+ME non-EU).
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Trade_Union_Confederation
[2] https://www.etuc.org/en/pressrelease/climate-crisis-requires-eu-law-maximum-working-temperatures
Randulo.com (Randy)The Decree was published on 27 May 2025 and reflects the intentions of the French government for increasingly frequent and intense heatwaves to form an integral part of the risk assessment and prevention measures that must be taken by employers.
https://iuslaboris.com/insights/too-hot-to-work-france-introduces-new-heatwave-law/
GJ Groothedde 🇪🇺@alicetragedy I agree. And if such legislation does not pass (since these are of course the same politicians who put business interests ahead of climate), there's always the good old Gandhi method of civil disobedience.
Madeleine MorrisWell said.
Dianora (Diane Bruce)@alicetragedy We (Ontario Canada) have had more tornado and tornado warnings than we used to get. The longer growing season and less snow does not compensate for this. Also the extreme heat coupled with humidity is not fun. I wish our Canadian politicians would pay attention.
Instead, lobbyists: "Europe must prioritize artificial intelligence over its immediate climate ambitions or risk surrendering its tech sovereignty to China."
https://www.politico.eu/article/europe-choose-ai-climate-goals-data-center-chief-warns/
(Data centre computers get better conditions than labourers.)
kaiserkiwi 
@Cassandra @alicetragedy It's funny (aka sad) how China was able to do both and the EU isn't even able to do one of these half as good.
@alicetragedy Holy mother of Christ. They are rising up. Not the degrees, the people. Both, actually, but still, we need to fast track automation. Forget the energy requirements, burn the oil if you have to. We cannot be without labor.
WesDym@alicetragedy I will agree, that is a thought.
jerBut I'm a delivery driver for a wholesaler in the #netherlands , so I deliver fresh food and cool drinks to oh so many people who really need it. The point being, if I were to not do that and all of my colleagues with me, how would that end for our customers and their customers/patients?
@jerrej I get that and truly understand it and understand your perspective ❤️ I mean, the pandemic has shown us how much our system relies on essential workers, and how much governments counted on those people to keep showing up to help and support most of society (while putting themselves at risk). 😞
So I'll just keep on doing what I have been doing, because in this heatwave and any other coming heatwave, even burning some diesel to get cooled goods to people in need is more important than politics.
Also note that when "the economy collapses", many people will needlessly die, regardless of politics.
Pete Alex Harris🦡🕸️🌲/∞🪐∫"The economy collapses" is hyperbole. What would happen is the externalities of it being miserably or even dangerously hot would be taken back into the economic equation and start affecting "shareholder value" and "economic growth".
If you don't make something Capital's problem, Capital will happily let it continue to be your problem until you die.
Lappenjammer@jerrej Thanks for your work ❤️
ĞÖKÜ👻👻™@alicetragedy 🚿 4 times a day 😇... 🔥 🔥.. Drink lots of lots of water to avoid dehydration. Try to eat watermelon 🍉 if available to balance ur water lvl. Cucumber 🥒 also a good source of water... Onion is the best heat resistant and keep u safe from heatwave... Rest is in god hand 🤗🤗
Damiano Gacík@alicetragedy Honestly, in this heat it’s even hard to think, let alone work
@Damiano_Chech yeah right? 🫠🫠🫠
katalogeurmaybe we should push for regulations to allow people — ALL people — to stop driving. Forever.
Rob WilliamsonAt least somewhere below 35 WT (C), where even a young fit healthy hydrated person dies of hyperthermia, would be good.
Terrifying that the weather at a few places on earth has already briefly exceeded this, luckily not for long enough to kill anyone. Still, death zones will start becoming a thing. Where it does, AC will become as vital to sustaining life as clean water, food and oxygen.
Have you ever been in Spain in the summer?
Also make sense to check average temperature at South of China, Taiwan, Mexica, USA.
Carina C. Zona@alicetragedy I LOVE this idea, and we don't have to wait for politicians to come around. Unions should lead the way, by getting member resolutions to write this into contracts, or strike for it if necessary. Normalize not working in extreme heat, until the law catches up with us as employers scream at politicians to increase the number of days they have a workforce. (I'm fine with that being laws that target the major polluters who are driving climate change, so that the union contract provisions rarely need to kick in.)