44 minutes ago, birdguy said:

How's that for long lasting?

You're in Roswell, NM, the hottest part of the State and one of the hottest parts of the country.  It's been that way for a long, long time.

Maybe you are hitting records for number of >100F days in a year, but does that mean it has never happened before in history?  Unfortunately, the native Americans from a thousand years ago didn't leave behind any records.

Anyway, 100F in the UK is a lot different than 100F in New Mexico due to the humidity.  Plus, those folks in the UK ain't used to temps that high and many don't have air conditioning, so they are going to suffer for a few days.

Dave

7 minutes ago, Bob Scott said:

Relative humidity makes a huge difference.  I'll take 108F at 5% RH over 98F at 90% RH any day...I've lived and worked in both.

So have I and I agree.  I would rather live with what I have now than what they have in the UK.  300+ days of sunshine a year is worth the heat.

Noel

31 minutes ago, birdguy said:

Oh, those poor babies.  Not even 100F.

 

10 minutes ago, birdguy said:

I'm not dismissing it Ray.  Only responding to those who are and say you should be prepared for it.

I realize those who are not used to weather extremes suffer more than those who are.  I didn't mean to make light of your situation.

I reacted to your comment above Noel which appeared to scoff at high temps in NW Europe. Our houses are designed to retain heat, not lose it like those in Southern Europe.

Outside it’s 31C, inside it’s 30C with windows and a patio door open. Tonight will not be pleasant.

2 minutes ago, dave2013 said:

but does that mean it has never happened before in history?

Not in recent history.  June was our hottest month on record.  July will almost certainly surpass June to be the hottest month on record.

For most of us history goes back as far as we remember.  For many of us far back was we have read about in our areas if interest.  

Tree rings can give us a lot of climate information too as wells core samples from Greenland.  The evidence of the rapid disappearance of glaciers left behind from the last ice age.  They all tell us something of what it was like then and what it is like now.

Noel

Although it is no surprise, here is confirmation of typical and sometimes tragic human stupidity:

Camber Sands beach queues for miles as amber heat warning begins - BBC News

Salford Quays: Boy dies after swimming with friends - BBC News

Ardsley Reservoir: Search for missing man continues - BBC News

And here is yet another example of how we apparently will never learn.

Several arrests at protest over dying Iranian lake - BBC News

The Aral Sea suffered the same fate years ago, yet here we are again, ruining the only place that we have to live in.

 

Edited July 17, 20223 yr by Reader

possibility of blue-green algae.

That's something to be aware of anywhere in the world.  Blue-green algae was reported here in a New Mexico lake yesterday.

Noel

 

You lives where you lives!   This is why I lives here! 🤔

 

3 hours ago, dave2013 said:

What's the baseline, the reference?  More frequent than when?  More frequent where?  More long lasting since when?

The *forecast* high temps in the UK are *forecast* to last about 2-3 days.  Does that qualify as "long-lasting"?

Anyway, let's see what actually happens first.

Dave

 

More frequent than when is... over time, start at the beginning of the industrial revolution if you like or 1990 or 1960, doesn't matter, its over time. And where is globally. Obviously!

 

Quote

The *forecast* high temps in the UK are *forecast* to last about 2-3 days.  Does that qualify as "long-lasting"?

 

That's one heat wave. Heat waves "on average" are increasing in severity and duration and frequency. Obviously doesn't mean they ALL will. 🙄

 

Quote

 

As global surface temperatures have increased, heatwaves are becoming more frequent. Coumou, Robinson, and Rahmstorf 2013 found that record-breaking monthly temperature records are already occurring five times more often than they would in the absence of human-caused global warming. This means that there is an 80% chance that any monthly heat record today is due to human-caused global warming.

Figure 1: Observed record ratio (the increase in the number of heat records compared to those expected in a world without global warming) for monthly heat records as it changes over time (thin red line is annual data, thick red line smoothed with half-width 5 years). This is compared with predictions from a simple stochastic model based only on the global mean temperature evolution (blue line with uncertainty band directly comparable to the smoothed red curve)

 

 

 

Edited July 17, 20223 yr by martin-w

1 hour ago, dave2013 said:

Maybe you are hitting records for number of >100F days in a year, but does that mean it has never happened before in history?  Unfortunately, the native Americans from a thousand years ago didn't leave behind any records.

 

Of course its happened before in history. I've already explained this many times. We know why  warming  has occurred in the past. None of those factors responsible are present now. And we know its our CO2 in the atmosphere responsible due to its isotopic signature. Heat waves come along with the warming. We know that in a warming world heat waves should increase in severity, duration and frequency. It was predicted. Its happening. 

2 hours ago, Bob Scott said:

My point is that history--from pre-industrial times to the modern era, is replete with examples of periods of extreme heat in the UK, and that people should prepare for the possibility like any other uncommon but historically-demonstrated weather threat.

 

And that's precisely why the authorities have warned us of the upcoming high temps and offered advice, some people here seem to see that as something to criticise, god knows why.

For "prepare", depends what you mean by "prepare". Having measurers in place like roads capable of handling the occasional heatwave without melting, air conditioning to handle the occasional heat wave (nobody would do that or could afford that, for an occasional occurrence)  education in place to teach people how to look after themselves in a heat wave, systems in place to help the vulnerable... obviously doesn't happen for "occasional" occurrences. The authorities wouldn't deem it cost effective and spend the money. Same applies to cold spells we have in the UK, in that every time they happen the country is at a standstill, whereas colder countries abroad have systems in place to cope. We pay the price for being a temperate climate that gets all seasons and "occasional" extremes. 

Again though, severity, frequency and duration of heat waves are increasing. that's the issue. Predicted and now happening. 

Edited July 17, 20223 yr by martin-w

OK, I think enough of this heat wave/global climate change has been hashed about.  You are all heading towards forbidden subject matter.

14 hours ago, Bob Scott said:

Relative humidity makes a huge difference.  I'll take 108F at 5% RH over 98F at 90% RH any day...I've lived and worked in both.

Anyone who has been in a sauna will know all about this. Pouring water on the coals actually reduces the air temperature but it increases the humidity. Anyone sitting in one will feel it getting a lot hotter. That’s the effect of an increase in humidity.

I got up nearly two hours ago and opened all the downstairs windows and patio door. The internal temp dropped from 25.8°C to a comfortable 24.1°C. Outside it’s now 19.6°C at 07:45. I’ll soon be closing all windows and drawing the curtains on S and E facing windows until afternoon. With a max of 37°C forecast it’s going to be an interesting day.

I’ve unlocked this topic because the really hot air has now arrived over the British Isles and records are being broken.

Please do NOT discuss climate change or you’ll be taking a holiday rather than the topic being locked again.

My station has recorded 36.1°C (97°F) this afternoon with relative humidity of 21%. That is unusually dry air coming all the way from North Africa via Spain and France.

Even hotter tomorrow with an uncomfortably warm night ahead when temps may not drop below 20°C here breaking another record.

30 minutes ago, Ray Proudfoot said:

Even hotter tomorrow with an uncomfortably warm night ahead when temps may not drop below 20°C here breaking another record.

 

Currently 35C  in Guernsey, 24% humidity. Upstairs in our cottage its 30C.

Tomorrow is only 25C though according to the Met Office. 

Edited July 18, 20223 yr by martin-w

Martin, the humidity has made it bearable - just. Too hot to sit in the sun though. Max looks to be 36.8°C beating the previous record by 1.4C.

Might be slightly less hot tomorrow here but cold front arrives Tuesday night and Wednesday onwards looks to be back to normal. Hooray!