I have been fortunate in being able to spend last week's soaring temperatures fanned by sea breezes amongst Scotland's sea lochs. Anchoring close to shore, all was quiet and peaceful; even the most noisy of tourist had been overwhelmed into a languid torpor by the heat.
Whilst we might feel lethargic in an extreme heatwave the metaphors associated with domestic violence would suggest otherwise.
The perpetrator is inevitably a firebrand with a hot temper whose inflammatory abuse and boiling rage result in a steaming cauldron of burning anger and aggression.
When the heat rises it isn't limited to air temperature.