A lot of the news this week, when it hasn't been about politics, has been about the European heatwave hitting southern Sweden. We asked readers to tell us if they were affected, and if they had any tips for staying cool from their, perhaps typically warmer, home countries.
Many did. A Sweden reader currently in 35C+ temperatures in Italy said she advises having lunch in a shopping mall, where they usually have air conditioning, and another said a "cold wet wash cloth on the back of the neck or cold gel packs tucked into your bra straps across the chest" can work wonders.
If you don't wear bras, not to worry, readers had plenty of other tips!
Sonia, a Polish/German waitress in Skåne, recommended "Eating lighter food!! And whenever given the chance to cool down, it's best to use it, even when not overheating at a given moment. Lighter fabrics are also useful – linen seems to work very well for me."
Martin, a Spanish engineer from Ecuador now living in Stockholm, also recommends linen clothing, as well as jumping into one of Sweden's many lakes daily, if you can. He also points out the importance of water: "never leave home without a bottle of water; I see Swedes are fans of sweetened and energy drinks, which are not good with hot weather."
For Martin, the heat he's experienced so far in Stockholm has been simply nice. It's been, he writes, "rather sunny with a pleasant temperature during the day in general, but nothing dramatic. I never leave home without a jacket."
Similarly, Jeremy in Eskilstuna says the heat he's experiencing in Sweden has nothing on the 40C temperatures he left behind in North Carolina. He recommends good hydration too: "Plenty of iced tea and iced water, fans, keep the windows open as much as possible."
Ankit in Solna also advised "fluid intake at regular intervals, [including] fruits, especially the ones containing high water content like watermelon," along with "cold water, baths, and [keeping the] windows open for cross ventilation."
Chandima, who says he finds it hot now in Malmö even though his native Sri Lanka gets 40C+ temperatures, says that along with drinking water and cooling down whenever possible, "preparing mentally" for the heat is important.
"Expect the discomfort and prepare mentally," Chandima advises.
Overall though, when asked "are you currently affected by the heatwave in Sweden," most of the respondents to our survey chose not the "Yes, it's so hot!" option but either "Yes, the news says so. But it doesn't seem hot to me," or simply "What heatwave?"
Up where I live, in Umeå, there is indeed no heatwave: temperatures have yet to hit 20C so far this year. Given how genuinely miserable my Local colleagues in central and southern Europe have been these past few weeks, I try not to feel grumpy about needing a raincoat over my sweater when I take an electric scooter simply to protect against the cold wind.
And when I remember that my hometown of Toronto usually has at least one long stretch of 35C+ humidex every summer, with heavy car traffic and smoke blowing in from forest fires elsewhere in the country making the air increasingly polluted, I feel very lucky indeed to be here.
My own tip for the heat (from growing up in sometimes-suffocating Toronto summers without A/C)? Take a cold shower, and instead of towelling off afterwards, lay down on your towel beside a good fan. Letting the fan slowly dry you gets you marvellously cool, I find – usually long enough, on hot nights, to drift off to sleep.
What have we been writing about this week?
It's been a politics-heavy week, with the annual Almedalen political festival (held in Visby, on Gotland) pulling extra attention this year a few months out from the general election on September 13th. In that vein, we reported on the far-right Sweden Democrat election campaign launch, where they went with the slogan "make Sweden like Sweden again."
We also reported on the Almedalen speeches made by the leaders of Sweden's three biggest political parties (in terms of both current seats and polling numbers): Magdalena Andersson of the Social Democrats, who presented her party as one that would unite a country fractured by divisive rhetoric; Jimmie Åkesson of the Sweden Democrats, who used his time to accuse the Social Democrats of a wide variety of things; and Ulf Kristersson of the Moderates, the current Prime Minister, who promised that his party would make Sweden the richest country in the EU.
Two members of The Local's editorial team, Richard Orange and James Savage, were on the ground in Almedalen this week. In addition to recording a special podcast episode while there, Richard also had an interesting conversation with the Director General of the Swedish Migration Agency (at a "press fika") in which she said, among other things, that she is proud of how her agency has handled a challenging time for immigration in Sweden.
The big non-political news in Sweden this week has been the heatwave rolling up from central and southern Europe. We covered the heat warnings in effect for the (relatively heavily populated) southern parts of Sweden, and explained why even temperatures of 25C can count as a heatwave here.
If you're in the south, I hope you're able to stay sufficiently cool this weekend! And If you're in the north like me, I hope it's not too long until you get to go outside comfortably without a second layer.
Mandy
Inside Sweden is our weekly newsletter for members that gives you news, analysis and, sometimes, takes you behind the scenes at The Local. It’s published each Saturday and members can receive it directly to your inbox, by going to your newsletter preferences.