35C = 95F for those of us who are in the USA.
The emergence of heat and humidity too severe for human tolerance (2020)
11–20 of 414 posts
Re: The emergence of heat and humidity too severe for human tolerance (2020)
#12It's hilarious to me that people somehow think hot is MUCH more dangerous than cold. If you do any homework you will see which end results in more deaths.
Re: The emergence of heat and humidity too severe for human tolerance (2020)
#13Kim Stanley Robinson's recent book The Ministry For the Future starts with a very disturbing scenario: A heatwave with a "web bulb" temperature of 35 Celsius. It turns out, in those temperatures, even young and healthy people can't survive. Combined with power outages, as happens in the book, everyone living under such a heat wave will likely die. It's looking increasingly likely that such heatwaves are possible in t…
As an aside, would you recommend that book?
Re: The emergence of heat and humidity too severe for human tolerance (2020)
#14Kim Stanley Robinson's recent book The Ministry For the Future starts with a very disturbing scenario: A heatwave with a "web bulb" temperature of 35 Celsius. It turns out, in those temperatures, even young and healthy people can't survive. Combined with power outages, as happens in the book, everyone living under such a heat wave will likely die. It's looking increasingly likely that such heatwaves are possible in t…
I wonder how practical it would be to sink 30 foot deep concrete tube shelters with a ladder and a lid. They could serve as emergency daytime shelters and someone could climb out at night to search for a location with working power or cooler weather.
There'll be issues keeping that cool and the air fresh putting enough people into them. Also some of the most endangered places have huge populations that would make sinking enough shelters difficult. Depending on the soil composition that might be a short term solution too. The soil surrounding the London Underground is particularly bad for this and it's estimated that 80% of the heat ever generated in the Underground is still there in the walls.
Re: The emergence of heat and humidity too severe for human tolerance (2020)
#15Kim Stanley Robinson's recent book The Ministry For the Future starts with a very disturbing scenario: A heatwave with a "web bulb" temperature of 35 Celsius. It turns out, in those temperatures, even young and healthy people can't survive. Combined with power outages, as happens in the book, everyone living under such a heat wave will likely die. It's looking increasingly likely that such heatwaves are possible in t…
I wonder how practical it would be to sink 30 foot deep concrete tube shelters with a ladder and a lid. They could serve as emergency daytime shelters and someone could climb out at night to search for a location with working power or cooler weather.
Not practical on any Pacific island sitting just above sea level.
Re: The emergence of heat and humidity too severe for human tolerance (2020)
#16It's hilarious to me that people somehow think hot is MUCH more dangerous than cold. If you do any homework you will see which end results in more deaths.
Well, one can warm up by eatnig lots of food, wearing other critters' skins, and burning stuff; all of which are stone-age (or earlier) technologies. Cooling down requires air conditioning (modern tech) or access to natural cold water (privilege)
Re: The emergence of heat and humidity too severe for human tolerance (2020)
#17Kim Stanley Robinson's recent book The Ministry For the Future starts with a very disturbing scenario: A heatwave with a "web bulb" temperature of 35 Celsius. It turns out, in those temperatures, even young and healthy people can't survive. Combined with power outages, as happens in the book, everyone living under such a heat wave will likely die. It's looking increasingly likely that such heatwaves are possible in t…
As an aside, would you recommend that book?
Yes... But the first chapter the OP is talking about is truly horrifying, I honestly wish I hadn't read it. His other book New York 2041 also deals with climate change and is less traumatizing.
Re: The emergence of heat and humidity too severe for human tolerance (2020)
#18Kim Stanley Robinson's recent book The Ministry For the Future starts with a very disturbing scenario: A heatwave with a "web bulb" temperature of 35 Celsius. It turns out, in those temperatures, even young and healthy people can't survive. Combined with power outages, as happens in the book, everyone living under such a heat wave will likely die. It's looking increasingly likely that such heatwaves are possible in t…
Little pedantic, but you meant "Wet-bulb" temperature ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wet-bulb_temperature#Temperatu... ). I only know from owning a swamp cooler.
It is worth correcting, because I think most people haven't heard of wet-bulb, just as the methods and formulas that give us humidex "feels-like" temperatures aren't common knowledge.
A lot of ways we measure and describe the human experience of humidity and temperature are not standardized from location to location, so the non-local methods and terminology can be arcane for anyone who isn't a meteorologist.
Re: The emergence of heat and humidity too severe for human tolerance (2020)
#1935C = 95F for those of us who are in the USA.
Wet bulb 35°C, which feels like 160°F dry bulb for those of us who are in the USA with varying amounts of water in the air.
> The wet-bulb temperature is defined as the temperature of a parcel of air cooled to saturation (100% relative humidity) by the evaporation of water into it ... The theoretical limit to human survival for more than a few hours in the shade, even with unlimited water, is 35 °C (95 °F) – theoretically equivalent to a heat index of 70 °C (160 °F)
Re: The emergence of heat and humidity too severe for human tolerance (2020)
#20Earlier quoted context omitted.
I wonder how practical it would be to sink 30 foot deep concrete tube shelters with a ladder and a lid. They could serve as emergency daytime shelters and someone could climb out at night to search for a location with working power or cooler weather.
Not practical on any Pacific island sitting just above sea level.
Sit in the water instead? The ocean water tends to be cooler than the air due to oceanic currents.