Countries stock up on masks to prepare for future pandemics.
What can/do they stock up on to prepare for extended heat waves? Ground water reserves? Generators and fuel? Underground shelters?
Humanity Is Dangerously Pushing Its Ability to Tolerate Heat
81–90 of 296 posts
Re: Humanity Is Dangerously Pushing Its Ability to Tolerate Heat
#82Earlier quoted context omitted.
I grew up poor and without AC in Minnesota where we regularly get spells of 100°F+ (37.7°C) at VERY high humidity thanks to all the lakes. It’s survivable, it’s absolutely not pleasant though and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone. Fans and wet rags help some. I used to fill a 2-liter bottle with cold water and hold it against my chest. A lot of sleepless nights. When we got a local second run $2 movie theater, it was a li…
You do not understand the issue at hand. Whatever you experienced was way less severe, because evaporative cooling obviously was still possible. There is a point where you simply cannot cool yourself passively. That's the point where survival is at risk regardless of health. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wet-bulb_temperature
Having a rag of cold water on you will cool you regardless of evaporation. It is a thing that is cooler than the environment. The water from our taps at least is a pretty constant like 50°F
Re: Humanity Is Dangerously Pushing Its Ability to Tolerate Heat
#83A friend of mine who lives in Queensland (Sunshine Coast) was talking about a recent spell of 32° and 100% humidity and how oppressive it was. My understanding is that such weather is not survivable long term [1] without air conditioning. A power failure would be disastrous. [1] https://www.psu.edu/news/research/story/humans-cant-endure-t...
We had a run of five days at 45 C and near 50% humidity here in W.Australia last month - bit unpleasant. Later in the month the days that were 30 C and 90% humidity felt worse when working.
I've experienced 30-35 degrees at 70%-90% humidity while cycling. It's totally unlike 45 in a dry climate.
The former makes you feel like the activity ceiling is much lower, and cooling down through natural means is much slower. Sweating just doesn't work that well. That was at a wet bulb temperature of ~28 degrees.
Re: Humanity Is Dangerously Pushing Its Ability to Tolerate Heat
#84Fun fact I remember reading in some studies: increased heat increases tendency for violence. Ah, not the ones I had in mind, but these will do: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/07/16/two-new-s... https://www2.psych.ubc.ca/~schaller/308Readings/Anderson2001...
Entirely obvious for anyone living in a city that both heat and the full moon have a tangible effect on that.
Re: Humanity Is Dangerously Pushing Its Ability to Tolerate Heat
#85Earlier quoted context omitted.
Europe in general needs to get with the program. The States have AC'd everything - busses, elevators, train stations, etc. Ice coffee in Europe is not a thing! Ask for it and you will be looked at funny. And even the "cold" drinks from the fridge in a store are just below room temperature. I don't get it.
> Ice coffee in Europe is not a thing! What?! How long haven't you been here?? I can't remember not having wide varieties of iced coffee, frapuccinos etc. in basically any cafe I've been to in at least 10 years... Europe is not a single place though, so perhaps you mean a certain part of Europe (I am familiar with France, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Austria, Poland, Belarus and a few more surrounding these countries)!?
I ordered an ice coffee in Lviv and I was told - "this is not a thing". Lviv has hardcore coffee culture, too. After that I did not dare order it in other countries.
So, are we talking a nice pint of ICED coffee, with ice cubes jiggling in it?
Re: Humanity Is Dangerously Pushing Its Ability to Tolerate Heat
#86A friend of mine who lives in Queensland (Sunshine Coast) was talking about a recent spell of 32° and 100% humidity and how oppressive it was. My understanding is that such weather is not survivable long term [1] without air conditioning. A power failure would be disastrous. [1] https://www.psu.edu/news/research/story/humans-cant-endure-t...
That's a typical summer night in NYC. We did not have AC one summer, it was VERY unpleasant. I couldn't sleep, but - probably not fatal if you chug tons of water.
I'm from Montreal. The heat you have experienced is completely unlike humid heat. Your sweat cools you down. I've spent two weeks in 45 degree dry heat and did just fine with a wet shirt and a twist of the throttle.
Wet bulb temperature is the lowest temperature to which air can be cooled by sweating. Evaporative cooling does not work well if the air is nearly saturated with humidity. Humid heat feels a lot hotter because of that.
If the wet bulb temperature is 28 degrees, it means that drenching yourself in water in front of a fan will only cool you down to 28 degrees.
If it exceeds your maximum body temperature, you slowly die from heat stroke, no matter how much you sweat.
Re: Humanity Is Dangerously Pushing Its Ability to Tolerate Heat
#87Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is the plot of the Ministry for the Future [0]. Power failure during a prolonged wet bulb temperature above 35°C, millions of dead. [0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ministry_for_the_Future
Is it a plot? It's an event that happens in chapter 1 and paints a "this is what will happen" scenario. The whole chapter is available here: https://www.orbitbooks.net/orbit-excerpts/the-ministry-for-t...
The term of art is "inciting incident," I believe.
Re: Humanity Is Dangerously Pushing Its Ability to Tolerate Heat
#88This is why I think we should be seriously considering atmospheric aerosol injection already. Not sure why there aren't more large government funded studies of this.
I have zero confidence in that working without side effects worse than the disease.
Why? It's relatively well studied. Volcanoes erupt all the time and we've done it extensively ourselves as well: https://www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-how-low-sulphur-shippin...
Re: Humanity Is Dangerously Pushing Its Ability to Tolerate Heat
#89Cold kills more people according to the literature [1]. Heat deaths are rising, cold deaths are falling. Not in the same places though. Countries near the equator are going to suffer more than countries at higher latitudes.
Demand for air conditioning is expected to more than triple by 2050 (consuming as much electricity as all of China and India today). [2]
[1] https://www.thinkglobalhealth.org/article/hot-cold-and-deadl... [2] https://www.climatecentral.org/climate-matters/hotter-climat...
Re: Humanity Is Dangerously Pushing Its Ability to Tolerate Heat
#90People from Middle East and Northern Africa who have been living in harsh conditions for the last several THOUSAND years send regards to all climate change researchers.
They face dry heat, not humid, extreme heat. These are different problems. Dry heat easier to solve.
People in Southeast Asia, on the other hand...