American in the UK reveals why hot weather is worse here

While the hot weather of the past week has been a struggle for many Brits who don’t do so well in the heat, it pales in comparison to temperatures seen in some other parts of the world in the summer. But one man originally from one of the hottest states in the USA has explained why it’s not quite that simple, and it can actually feel much worse here in the UK.

Darrell Fishback is originally from Texas, but now lives in the UK with his British wife. Known as Some Bald Guy on TikTok, where he has more than 66,000 followers, he regularly shares insights into the differences between life in the two countries. In a recent video he explained why hot weather in Britain “hits differently“.

Opening his clip, he said: “I know I’ve talked about it before, but just in case any of my Texan or American friends are planning a trip to the UK, or you’re in a debate with someone in the comment section about whether it’s hotter in Texas than the UK, I thought I’d just update you and remind you that it is a different heat over here.”

He continued: “The thing about British heat over here is, you just can’t get out of it. Most homes don’t have air conditioning. They’re also built to hold heat, and so, unless you have a really good breeze, live on the coast, it can get really, really hot inside a house.

“I remember my very first trip to England was in 2018. You can look it up, it was August, it was one of the hottest summers you guys had had in decades, may still be one up there, and I just remember being so miserable at night. You can have a fan on, but you just can’t get comfortable, you can’t go to sleep because there’s no way to get cool.”

At the time 2018 was tied with 1976, 2003, and 2006 as the UK’s hottest summer on record, with temperatures hitting highs of 35.3 degrees in July, and an average of 15.76 degrees. This was later surpassed in 2025, when the average temperature was 16.1 degrees.

Although it is far too early to say if this record will be surpassed this year, Monday, May 25, was the hottest May day on record, with temperatures in London hitting 34.8 degrees. This also makes it the hottest bank holiday ever.

Darrell said, while temperatures in Texas may top 104 degrees Fahrenheit, or more than 40 degrees Celcius, during the summer, the widespread availability of air conditioning both in homes and in public places makes a real difference to how comfortable it really feels.

He added the best advice for Americans coming to the UK is to “talk to a local” to get the real picture on how warm it is rather than relying on temperature figures. “It may not look really, really hot, but it could still feel really, really hot,” he said.

Concluding, he said: “As they say, there’s no bad weather, just bad clothing. The problem is, the colder it gets, the more you can put on. The hotter it gets here, you can only take so much off until the police get involved.”

People in the comments added their own views. One said: “Our version of AC (air conditioning) is going to Tesco and standing in the freezer section.” Another said: “Just spent an hour in Asda in the frozen aisle. Didn’t buy anything, just went for some free cold.”

Someone else said: “It’s nearly 11pm and my bedroom is 30 degrees. I’m roasting.”

Another user pointed out how quickly the weather can change here in the UK. They said: “You’ll experience four seasons in one week. At the moment it’s summer, next week we are going back to spring and quite possibly experience wind and rain and temperatures back to normal.”

Someone else added a useful tip for keeping your bed cool. “Freeze a hot water bottle, wrap it in a towel, and shove it under your pillow before going to bed,” they said. “Makes a world of difference.”

And another wrote: “The heat in England is mind-blowing, you have to experience it to understand just how bad it is. You can’t work in it, you can’t sleep in it, but you can definitely get legless a lot quicker in it.”