India is currently experiencing a severe heatwave, with very high temperatures in many areas. The heat is so intense that a TV presenter fainted live on air.
#ClimateDiary Note to #Freedom lovers: stop shouting about climate laws restricting your driving or flying. It’s nothing compared to the loss of freedom #Heatwaves and #Floods bring
‘She says being kept indoors by the prolonged extreme temperatures feels reminiscent of the early days of the pandemic. “It’s like being in lockdown again. It brings back the old feeling of staying out as little as possible.”’
Why #nighttime#heat can be so dangerous and why it’s getting worse
On average, nights are warming faster than days in most of the United States, a national climate assessment found.
By Rachel Ramirez, CNN, Jun 30, 2023
"Summers are getting hotter than ever, shattering all-time high temperature records, straining the energy grid and damaging critical infrastructure.
"#HeatWaves also are coming to include another increasingly dangerous element: overnight temperatures that don’t cool down enough to offer sufficient reprieve from stifling heat, particularly for people without access to #AirConditioning.
“'Most people don’t realize that hot nighttime temperatures have been outpacing daytime temperature increases across most populated regions worldwide in recent decades,' Columbia University’s Data Science Institute postdoctoral research scientist Kelton Minor told CNN.
“'We think it’s because as the days grow warmer, there is more moisture in the air that traps the heat,' the Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health’s executive director, Lisa Patel, told CNN. 'During the day, that moisture reflects the heat, but at night, it traps the heat in.'
#Increasing nighttime heat is even more common in #cities because of the #UrbanHeatIsland effect, in which #metro areas are significantly hotter than their surroundings.
"Places with a lot of #asphalt, #concrete, buildings and #freeways absorb more of the sun’s heat than areas with ample #parks, #rivers and #tree-lined streets. At night, when temperatures are supposed to cool down, the retained heat is released back into the air, said University of Washington climate and health expert Kristie Ebi.
"Areas with a lot of #GreenSpace – with grass and trees that reflect sunlight and create shade – are cooler on summer’s hottest days, she said.
“'Many cities put together #CoolingShelters, but people have to know where they are, how to get to them and what hours they operate,' Ebi told CNN, noting city officials must rethink #UrbanPlanning to consider #ClimateChange."
#Heatwaves have long been known to impact children's learning. But the intensity & duration with which they strike now are leading to much greater cumulative impacts
#ClimateChange is directly causing educational gaps worth years across the world
For policy makers who care about GDP than #education, what happens to the economy when your workforce cant keep up?
This is as true in the west as in the #GlobalSouth
"Deadly global heatwaves undeniably result of climate crisis, scientists show" - "The human-caused climate crisis is undeniably to blame for the deadly heatwaves that have struck Europe and the US in recent weeks, scientists have shown.
Both would have been virtually impossible without the global heating driven by burning fossil fuels, their analysis found. Another searing heatwave, in China, was made 50 times more likely by the climate crisis.
The results make it crystal clear that human-caused global heating is already destroying lives and livelihoods across the world, making the need to cut emissions ever more urgent. Such brutal heatwaves are no longer rare, the scientists said, and will worsen as emissions continue to rise. If the world heats by 2C, they will happen every two to five years.
A report by leading climate scientists in March endorsed by the world’s governments, said: “There is a rapidly closing window of opportunity to secure a livable and sustainable future for all.” The latest analysis demonstrated how rapidly that window is closing.
Earlier in July, temperature records were shattered in many places in southern Europe, the western US and Mexico and China, bringing heat-related deaths and wildfires. The first week of July saw the hottest global temperatures in history. The researchers found that greenhouse gas emissions made the heatwaves 2.5C hotter in Europe, 2C hotter in North America, and 1C hotter in China than if humankind had not changed the global atmosphere."
"July is on track to be Earth's hottest month on record - Early July set daily heat records, and now experts say it is "virtually certain" the month will be the hottest since records began in the 1940s."
...
"The World Meteorological Organization and the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service on Thursday proclaimed July’s heat is beyond record-smashing. They said Earth’s temperature has been temporarily passing over a key warming threshold: the internationally accepted goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degree Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit)."
Heatwaves involve a chunk of extra energy arriving where it's not wanted/expected. But it is energy. Is anyone talking about extracting and using that energy to feed into the grid (and perhaps cool the surroundings down a bit)? Obviously it's technically "only" a few degrees so hard to run a heat engine off it, but has anyone heard of any actual work to turn it into electricity? #climate#heatwaves#energy
"The era of global warming has ended; the era of global boiling has arrived." says Antonio Guterres, UN Secretary General in launching a new World Meteorological Organisation report on record high July temperatures, #Heatwaves and climate signals. A powerful speech calling for leaders to lead in accelerating #climateaction, phase out #FossilFuels.
Full transcript and video, plus six graphs from the #WMO report.
This article has some good cooling methods (listed below) and lots of #HeatWaveTips.
Keeping cool in blistering hot weather
by Dana Sparks, July 1, 2018
"If you suspect heatstroke, call 911. Then immediately move the person out of the heat, remove excess clothing, and cool him or her by whatever means available. Cooling methods include:
Placing in a tub of cool water or a cool shower
Spraying with a garden hose
Sponging with cool water
Fanning while misting with cool water
Placing ice packs or cool wet towels on the neck, armpits and groin
Covering with cool, damp sheets
"Let the person drink cool water to rehydrate, if he or she is able. Don't give sugary, caffeinated or alcoholic beverages to a person with heatstroke. Also avoid cold drinks, as these can cause stomach cramps.
"Begin CPR if the person loses consciousness and shows no signs of circulation, such as breathing, coughing or movement."
The great outdoors
was the outdoors, particularly in reference to a large park or wilderness area, especially when expressed as healthy or favorable.(wiktionary.)
The great outdoors at 56.7 °C (134.1 °F)?
The effects of climate change on workers
When heat kills (documentary) is "the story of the many migrant laborers who arrive in Qatar in good health, but who die on the job. The deaths are officially put down to natural causes. But they are linked to the inhumane temperatures that prevail in the region."
NOAA: April 2024 was Earth’s warmest on record "The average global temperature in April was 2.38 degrees F (1.32 degrees C) above the 20th-century average of 56.7 degrees F (13.7 degrees C), making it the warmest April in the global climate record. April 2024 also marked the 11th-consecutive month of record-high global temperatures." https://www.noaa.gov/news/april-2024-was-earths-warmest-on-record#climate#heatwaves#heat
If you are in Florida, warning has been sounded on the massive heat issues that may be approaching. Banning mention of the cause will not keep bad things from happening... Be prepared! #FLwx#heatwaves
NOAA HeatRisk is a new, experimental color coded scheme showing:
How unusual the heat is for the time of the year
The duration of the heat including both daytime and nighttime temperatures
If those temperatures pose an elevated risk of heat-related impacts based on data from the CDC