Why opening your windows during a heatwave isn't a great idea and what to do instead

When temperatures start to rise, it might seem like common sense to open up the windows to try and cool your house down.

However, if you live in the UK, there’s a chance that you could be making the situation worse.

Content creator Rahul Joshi, who posts on Instagram under the handle @greatvibesuk_rahul, shared a quick explainer revealing why ‘opening all your windows during a heatwave might be the reason your house feels like an oven’.

In the caption, he explained that most UK houses are designed to keep the heat in, and not push it out.

In winter this means that your home will likely stay a little more cosy, but during a summer heatwave it’s less than ideal.

And by opening up your windows during the hottest part of the day, you could end up trapping the warmer air in your house, which isn’t what you want during a heatwave, is it?

Some experts even suggest that as well as keeping your windows closed during the warmest part of the day, you should also keep your blinds or curtains shut, too.

Johanna Constantinou, an interior trends expert from Tapi Carpets and Floors, told the Express that it's wiser to block out sunlight completely when it's brightest and then open them up later on.

"In most homes, it's actually far more effective to keep windows, curtains and blinds closed from late morning through to early evening to stop warm air and direct sunlight building up indoors,” Constantinou explained.

“Then, once temperatures drop in the evening, open windows strategically on opposite sides of the home to create cross ventilation and let cooler air circulate naturally."

As well as cross-ventilating by opening windows on both sides of the house, you can also place a fan near the window to try and pull in some cooler air.

And it seems like this advice could come in very handy today with Brits set for another scorcher.

The Met Office has warned that there’s another ‘very hot day’ on Tuesday with a ‘rapid rise in temperatures through the morning’ with peaks of 35°C across some parts of the country, including London.

Yesterday’s bank holiday was a record breaker for May with a high of 34.8°C reached at Kew Gardens, exceeding the old record by 2°C.

“This heat is exceptional in the UK even in mid-summer, let alone in May,” a Met Office spokesperson said.

Advice for the heatwave

The most vulnerable to the heat are those over 65 and those under the age of five, along with people who have health conditions like heart problems, breathing problems, dementia, diabetes, kidney disease, Parkinson’s disease or mobility problems.

Pregnant women and people on certain medication like Sertraline, Fluoxetine, and Citalopram need to be careful too, and if you know someone who fits this bill who lives alone it's worth checking on them.

According to the UKHSA the best things you can do are:

• Keep windows closed and curtains drawn in rooms that face the sunlight
• Wear suitable clothing when going out, apply sunscreen and find shade
• Try to avoid going out during the hottest time of the day, between 11am and 3pm
• If you want to go out for exercise try to keep it for the morning or evening when it will be cooler
• Try to avoid direct sunlight