31°C in France Feels Completely Different
Introduction
I grew up in Thailand, where heat isn’t really a season — it’s more like a permanent setting of life.
So when I moved to France, I thought I understood heat.
31°C? I honestly laughed a little. That sounded like a normal afternoon back home. In Thailand, 31°C is basically what we call the “cool season.”
I was wrong.
Because in Thailand, we have hot, hotter, and hottest-as-hell. You expect it. You adapt. You survive on iced drinks, shade, and the quiet acceptance that everything is always slightly sweaty.
But French heat feels different.
It doesn’t announce itself loudly. It feels calmer at first — almost polite — and then suddenly your body realizes something is off.
This week in France, the temperature reached around 31°C.
My husband and I went to Saint-Malo for sightseeing, thinking it would be a nice little trip by the sea.
Then we discovered the cooling liquid for our car’s air conditioner had leaked out.
So yes — we ended up sitting inside a car with no cooling at all.
Basically an oven on wheels.
At first it didn’t feel dramatic. Just a slow shift — the air getting heavier, my head turning foggy, my energy disappearing like someone had unplugged me. Then suddenly both of us felt like we might faint.
We had to stop, search for shade, and sit there quietly trying to recover while the heat wrapped around us from every direction.
And I remember thinking:
This is 31°C? Really?
Back in Thailand, I’m used to heat that wraps around you. You sweat, you drink something cold, you keep moving. It’s uncomfortable, but predictable.
In France, it felt deceptive.
The sun was sharp. The air was dry. And my body didn’t know how to handle it.
Without even planning to, we started doing tiny survival rituals:
• avoiding walking during peak hours
• drinking water constantly
• slowing everything down, like life had suddenly switched to “low battery mode”
• searching for shade the way you search for safety
What surprised me most was how quickly your body can switch from:
“I’m fine.”
to
“I need to sit down right now.”
And how heat can feel completely different depending on where you are — even if the number on the weather app looks normal.
Now I understand why heatwaves in France are taken seriously.
It’s not just about temperature.
It’s about how quickly your body can be overwhelmed when it isn’t used to this kind of dry, intense heat.
Living here has taught me something simple:
Heat is not just heat.
It’s also familiarity, adaptation, and what your body has learned to survive.
And one more thing:
Never underestimate 31°C in France.
And never forget to make sure your car’s air conditioner is actually working properly before going on a summer trip.
