UK Met Office first extreme heat warning.

[martin-w 3,242]

7 hours ago, dave2013 said:

There are people all over the world who deal with temps like this every summer, and many of them don't have air conditioning.  It is true that the Brits aren't used to it.  It will be uncomfortable.

If you stay hydrated and in the shade the overwhelming majority of people will be fine.

We're scolded for equating weather with climate, but every time there is a heat wave there are the usual people who blow it all out of proportion and raise the alarm.

 

Yes, other nations deal with these temps. But they are biologically adapted, they are taught from an early age how to cope with dangerously high temps. And homes are constructed acordingly. And people still die in those nations from heat stroke.

Most people will indeed be okay. But the authorites have a duty to warn us of very high tempreture that we arent adapted to or taught to cope with. Without such warnings, many will not think to check on the elderly, give proper advice to their kids, emphasis hydration etc. Simply because its not a danger we usually face.

Same applies to extreme cold. Dump an individual in the coldest regions of Siberia and they won't be cognizant of the required measures to stay safe.

[DD_Arthur 1,068]

1 hour ago, martin-w said:

Yes, other nations deal with these temps. But they are biologically adapted

?

My cousins live in Perth, western Oz. I live in South west England.

The temperatures we’re experiencing are completely normal for them and they seem to thrive. When did they become ‘biologically adapted’ to these temps?

[Antipodeslonghaul 80]

In some parts of India and Pakistan, there has apparently been the danger of wet bulb temps exceeding what any human can stand, regardless of what they're adapted to. For Europe at the moment though with no AC, one strategy might be to ensure you air out the place properly overnight, then close all the windows around perhaps 9 am, make sure all the curtains are blocking the sun, then air out again in the evening. It depends on the situatuon.

[Reader 2,030]

42 minutes ago, DD_Arthur said:

The temperatures we’re experiencing are completely normal for them

Isn't that the point?
Those who were born of native populations may well be ‘biologically adapted’ but the rest of us have to just get used to our environment, as I am sure that your cousins have.
Making it a bigger deal than it perhaps is in the UK may well save a few people who have no time to adjust and possibly no idea how to minimise the risks.
Tragically, every year there are those who die unnecessarily early because they don't heed the dire warnings, particularly about trying to swim in cold and deep water in an effort to keep cool.
Not to mention the tendency of the Met Office to always predict the worst-case scenario since Michael Fish's debacle.

 

Edited July 16, 2022 by Reader

[martin-w 3,242]

8 hours ago, cmpbellsjc said:

And yet a little farther north in Scotland, the players at the Open are wearing sweaters. 

Maybe time for a road trip north for the folks in the south.

 

 

350 miles further North than Birmingham, 476 miles further North than me.

Coastal so cooler. Nice sea breezes. 23 St Andrews today. 29 on Tueday.

[martin-w 3,242]

2 hours ago, DD_Arthur said:

?

My cousins live in Perth, western Oz. I live in South west England.

The temperatures we’re experiencing are completely normal for them and they seem to thrive. When did they become ‘biologically adapted’ to these temps?

 

Not sure how long it takes but adaptions include lower core temp, improved sweating, improved blood flow, lower metabolic rate, less cardiovascular strain, better fluid balance. 

I would guess there would be a primary adaption for those native to that location and a shorter term adaption by those that arrived later. Don't quote me though.

Edited July 16, 2022 by martin-w

[martin-w 3,242]

2 hours ago, Antipodeslonghaul said:

In some parts of India and Pakistan, there has apparently been the danger of wet bulb temps exceeding what any human can stand, 

 

Yes, high temp combined with extreme humidity has happened in a number of locations, that surpasses the human bodies ability to withstand. Luckily they've only lasted a few hours.

https://news.climate.columbia.edu/2020/05/08/fatal-heat-humidity-emerging/

"According to a new study, the projections are wrong: such conditions are already appearing. The study identifies thousands of previously rare or unprecedented bouts of extreme heat and humidity in Asia, Africa, Australia, South America and North America, including in the U.S. Gulf Coast region. Along the Persian Gulf, researchers spotted more than a dozen recent brief outbreaks surpassing the theoretical human survivability limit. "

Edited July 16, 2022 by martin-w

[dave2013 1,131]

12 hours ago, sightseer said:

Dave - I feel your crusade has stolen your compassion.  The majority will be fine.  well yes Im sure thats often the case.  Not everyone will be fine.  You know that it takes time to aclimate to the summer heat.  Those in the UK probably dont have to to do that very much.

and yes infrastructure - roads that melt and buckle..maybe runways at airports...who knows.  I hope they have large air conditioned places to go to aqnd ways to get there.  We do here but do they? do they all?

I'm not on a crusade.  I simply don't think this very short-term heat wave in Europe is anything to get alarmed about.  And I know all too well what the alarmism and exaggeration is really all about on the part of some folks.

I was in southern Italy for a few years in the late 90s and we had one summer where the temp hit 41C for several days, and temps were 37+C for several weeks for a couple summers.  We had no air conditioning.  It was so uncomfortably hot that I had trouble sleeping, so I had to get up at night and take a cold shower and go back to bed with the fan blowing on me.  I grew up with air conditioning and was not used to living without it.  We survived.  Again, the elderly and those with health issues should take special precautions.

Anyway, if the roads in the UK are going to melt and buckle and infrastructure is going to be damaged from 40C heat then something is very wrong with that infrastructure.  Like I said, there are places all over the earth where temps hit 40C+ every summer and there is no catastrophe.

This is just another in a long string of local and short-term weather events that are blown all out of proportion for a reason which I cannot go into. 

Dave

[dave2013 1,131]

6 hours ago, martin-w said:

Same applies to extreme cold. Dump an individual in the coldest regions of Siberia and they won't be cognizant of the required measures to stay safe.

You're equating very long, very cold and brutal winters in Siberia with a 3-day heat wave in Europe?

Really?

Dave

[birdguy 3,943]

Long term - short term phooey!

People who are not used to hot weather will suffer through it.  People not used to cold weather will suffer through it.  People not used to damp climates will suffer through it.  People not used to dry climates will suffer through it.

Put an Aleut in the Amazon and it will not be comfortable for him.  Likewise put an Amazon aborigine in Nunavut and it will not be comfortable for him.  But in either case each will adapt.

In any case acclimation is the key.  After a long period in any climate a person will adapt.

I was born and raised in the damp San Francisco Bay Area.  I joined the Marine Corps and went to Korea and Japan.  Certainly not desert climates.

Then, when I came back from Japan I was ordered to Twentynine Palms California in the middle of the Mojave Desert.  The first few days I was there going AWOL crossed my mind.  That became thoughts of how am I going to survive this heat?  Survive I did and in fact became a desert rat.  Vacations in Death Valley and Joshua Tree were as enjoyable as backpacks into the high Rockies.

Unless very old or infirm people survive climate changes such as moving from one part of the world to another.  It just takes time to adapt.  I'm sure the vast majority of sem-healthy to healthy Londoners will survive the heat wave.

Noel

[BillW 210]

20 hours ago, martin-w said:

 

Thanks for the advice Noel, much appreciated. Fluid intake is something that has been rather low for me lately, definitely something I need to increase. 

Affirmative re feline member of the family. He gets fresh water every day. Like most cats that have wet food he doesn't drink a huge amount, cat kidneys are more efficient than ours, but he has a large glass of water to drink from. That's right, he drinks out of a large glass tumbler. 😁 He prefers it to a dish so he doesn't have to bend down. 😺 He has no issue coping with the heat, cats are pretty awesome at such things, freezing cold or very hot, they cope well. Better than dogs I would say.

I'm coastal as you know, and further south now than the UK, so the UV here does blast you. I make sure that if I'm out for more than 30 mins I spray my self with factor 30 or 50 sun screen. 

If you are going to be outside a pediatric electrolyte replenisher, (Pedialite) here, is a must. I play golf in 105 F heat. It makes a huge difference.

Bill W

[sightseer 895]

@dave2013  

If something has very probable cause of being dangerous then, even without the concrete proof you seem to seek, it seems wise to move away from that danger.  Getting upset at those who feel threatened is illogical and a waste of time.

Are you less worried about the threat to human life from a heat wave than you were from the 'threat' of not enough energy?

[DD_Arthur 1,068]

1 hour ago, dave2013 said:

This is just another in a long string of local and short-term weather events that are blown all out of proportion for a reason which I cannot go into. 

Dave

Is it ‘space aliens’?😃

[birdguy 3,943]

39 minutes ago, BillW said:

If you are going to be outside a pediatric electrolyte replenisher, (Pedialite) here, is a must. I play golf in 105 F heat. It makes a huge difference.

At Twentynine Palms we used to go sidewinder hunting in 105 F heat with no more than a long sleeve shirt and a canteen full of water.

Noel

[Fielder 3,683]

On 7/15/2022 at 9:12 AM, Chock said:

Good of the Met Office to issue a Red Heat warning, but it's not really necessary; everyone knows it's not a great movie.

Walter Hill was really phoning it in on that one. 🤣

Two big stars, must have been forgettable, I don't remember it.