Live data from Hacker News

The emergence of heat and humidity too severe for human tolerance (2020)

advances.sciencemag.org

81–90 of 414 posts

Re: The emergence of heat and humidity too severe for human tolerance (2020)

#82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think we know based on the science we’re not going to see a stabilization in temperatures for at least 30 years under the best scenarios. We should focus on ways to save these lives. Solar powered swamp coolers is what is I’m thinking about. They require water however and that’s going to be as big of a problem as heat. Already is in many places.

Migration. Large parts of the taiga and permafrost are about to open up to human habitation. All the folks in the Middle East and India should move north in search of better weather. Human societies have been historically very bad at handling large scale migrations, but it's about to become necessary.

there was an article during the recent Oregon heat wave by someone who moved to the PNW as a hedge against climate change. that heat wave killed almost 200 people and is estimated to have killed a billion marine animals.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jul/08/pacific-nort...

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jul/08/heat-dom...

Migration is not going to cut it. Climate change is making weather more chaotic and unpredictable. Escape is impossible. The only place you can go where the planetary weather system’s disintegration does not pose a danger is space, where the absence of that same disintegrating weather system makes survival even harder.

Reversal is the only option.

Re: The emergence of heat and humidity too severe for human tolerance (2020)

#83

Kim 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…

> It turns out, in those temperatures, even young and healthy people can't survive. Of note: that’s literal, even doing nothing and sitting in front of a fan you can’t cool down. And do one of the issues 35 WBT “hides” is that any activity lowers the heat stress threshold. Sugarcane workers are already dying due to heat stress today, and have been for a while. There’s been an “epidemic” of “kidney disease” in central…

According to Wikipedia[1]:

"Even heat-adapted people cannot carry out normal outdoor activities past a wet-bulb temperature of 32°C (90°F), equivalent to a heat index of 55°C (130°F). 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), though the heat index does not go that high."

So the practical limit is indeed much lower than 35°C; that's the limit at which you're basically going to fall over and die.

[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wet-bulb_temperature

Re: The emergence of heat and humidity too severe for human tolerance (2020)

#84

It’s wild to me that even the Biden administration appears so cavalier on climate. $1.2T on infrastructure and a follow up $3.5T budget bill and in both the environmental provisions are lame. Still no carbon pricing or anything that might make Exxon execs too uncomfortable (yes, I know Exxon supports carbon pricing in public because they don’t think anyone will actually do it).

It's not as much what he would do as what he could do. Not everything is going to fly through the house and senate with ease.

Re: The emergence of heat and humidity too severe for human tolerance (2020)

#85
They make refrigeration systems for people who work outside. It’s a giant compressor that cools a liquid and moves that liquid through a tube and across a persons body via a vest. I remember one guy who owns a roofing business was saying that it’s totally worth the money to cool your crew down because your guys actually work faster and also you won’t have any heat injuries.

Re: The emergence of heat and humidity too severe for human tolerance (2020)

#86

It'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.

It's sadly probably more a societal wide mental illness. Big corps like the environmental movements can use the internet for wide spread control and have destroyed peoples minds.

You could argue the idea hot is bad meets expectations for hackers, computers should be kept air-conditioned. Although this is not quite true, I think uniformity is what matters (same as humans, sudden drops in cold like walking outside is what can kill)

And what runs better, a warm car or a cold car.

The number don't lie, but number don't matter. Telling people they will die in more and more crazy ways gets more control.

Re: The emergence of heat and humidity too severe for human tolerance (2020)

#87

Kim 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 if going underground can help (being realistic that we are not going to make any drastic CO2 related changes)

Re: The emergence of heat and humidity too severe for human tolerance (2020)

#88
There are two cities in India that are pretty close by where this difference is very clear. Chennai is on the coast, while Bangalore is inland at a higher altitude while they’re both pretty much the same latitude.

The difference in perception even if the dry bulb temperature is the same is insane. In Bangalore I can always find shade and it’ll be cool instantly, but in Chennai my whole body is always soaking wet, my clothes are drenched with my own sweat and I still feel like always about to faint.

I used to take long walks during the day when I lived in Bangalore (it has other man made problems like traffic which are still irritating) but here I Chennai I can’t walk or jog outside even if I wanted to. I step outside only to run to the car and turn the AC on.

Re: The emergence of heat and humidity too severe for human tolerance (2020)

#89

Kim 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.

I suppose the best available option for a lot of people if designated shelters aren't available would just be to walk to the nearest body of water and climb in, and wade around until the heat subsides.

Re: The emergence of heat and humidity too severe for human tolerance (2020)

#90

Kim 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 challenge anyone to read that chapter and not be moved. Absolutely brutal, visceral writing.
Post reply on HN