To my northern neighbours suffering from the current heat wave.
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To my northern neighbours suffering from the current heat wave.
I lived in approx 38C with 90% humidity for 20 years, and I have a few pieces of advice.
1. Don't do anything fast that you can do slow.
2. Umbrellas aren't just for rain. They work for sun, too.
3. Sweat is your friend. Drink lots of liquid, eat and drink things that trigger sweating.4. Cold showers and baths trigger your body to warm up. Room temp showers work best - and don't bother drying off.
All really good advice.
If you have air conditioning keep it at 25C.
If you have to go out in the heat, it is less of a shock to your system.
If overheating, a wet facecloth to the back of the neck can help cool you down.
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@vriesk
Yes, absolutely. They help evaporate sweat, even if just a little, even if they're not cooling you down directly.I notice that fans really stop helping at about 40. But it never got that hot in Vietnam where I was. But when I was in Cordoba, which is very dry heat, I noticed that fans started to feel like a hair-dryer on hot at 40C. If anything, it made it feel worse.
@Remittancegirl @vriesk @svenscholz good to know!
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To my northern neighbours suffering from the current heat wave.
I lived in approx 38C with 90% humidity for 20 years, and I have a few pieces of advice.
1. Don't do anything fast that you can do slow.
2. Umbrellas aren't just for rain. They work for sun, too.
3. Sweat is your friend. Drink lots of liquid, eat and drink things that trigger sweating.4. Cold showers and baths trigger your body to warm up. Room temp showers work best - and don't bother drying off.
@Remittancegirl I learned about umbrellas for the sun when I lived outside of Hong Kong. It was miserable a lot of the time there.
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Are you sure about those numbers? 38C with 90% humidity is 36.5C wet-bulb.
That is not survivable by a human and sweating does not cool one down at all in such a temperature. Also, according to Wikipedia, the highest recorded wet bulb temperature ever was 36.3C in UAE.
@vriesk @Remittancegirl That's cool, I wasn't familiar with the concept of "wet-bulb temperature". It's pretty scary that heat that is not unusual in many parts of the world can kill you under the right circumstances.
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To my northern neighbours suffering from the current heat wave.
I lived in approx 38C with 90% humidity for 20 years, and I have a few pieces of advice.
1. Don't do anything fast that you can do slow.
2. Umbrellas aren't just for rain. They work for sun, too.
3. Sweat is your friend. Drink lots of liquid, eat and drink things that trigger sweating.4. Cold showers and baths trigger your body to warm up. Room temp showers work best - and don't bother drying off.
@Remittancegirl
Best advice I've seen so far. Thankyou x -
To my northern neighbours suffering from the current heat wave.
I lived in approx 38C with 90% humidity for 20 years, and I have a few pieces of advice.
1. Don't do anything fast that you can do slow.
2. Umbrellas aren't just for rain. They work for sun, too.
3. Sweat is your friend. Drink lots of liquid, eat and drink things that trigger sweating.4. Cold showers and baths trigger your body to warm up. Room temp showers work best - and don't bother drying off.
@Remittancegirl I hate the Irish weather most of the time.... but not this week.
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I was on a zoom reading meeting and my friend in Singapore also reminded me - rightly so - to pass on that high levels of heat are not just physically draining. They can be psychologically draining too.
So, if you are feeling anxious or overwhelmed, please know that you can indeed breathe and you aren't dying - that feeling of panic will pass if you just sit quietly, sip some water, and breathe evenly.
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@radioclash The very best advice I got when I first moved to HCMC was to learn to sleep without aircon. With just a fan. Because it really helps the body to acclimatise faster. Luckily, I didn't have aircon, so I had no choice. But I must admit, my body adjusted pretty quickly.
But I think for what people are going through in Europe right now, it's a serious shock, and it is not like the change is permanent.
@Remittancegirl @radioclash @GraziosiSergio yeah sleep is mostly OK for me
But I was up at 4am for our giant storm..! https://mstdn.games/@noodlemaz/116798298730139143 -
@radioclash The very best advice I got when I first moved to HCMC was to learn to sleep without aircon. With just a fan. Because it really helps the body to acclimatise faster. Luckily, I didn't have aircon, so I had no choice. But I must admit, my body adjusted pretty quickly.
But I think for what people are going through in Europe right now, it's a serious shock, and it is not like the change is permanent.
@Remittancegirl @radioclash @noodlemaz
Having slept through it (with a fan!), I think that my motivation for participating / writing this (I rarely do) was: yes, sudden heatwaves in places where 30+°C temperatures don't happen regularly are truly *worse*, and dangerous, *because* our bodies aren't ready for it.Moreover, unsuitable buildings and lack of know how make it even worse.
[Managed to cycle into work, to find my naturally cool office in the basement!
] -
@Remittancegirl @radioclash @noodlemaz
Having slept through it (with a fan!), I think that my motivation for participating / writing this (I rarely do) was: yes, sudden heatwaves in places where 30+°C temperatures don't happen regularly are truly *worse*, and dangerous, *because* our bodies aren't ready for it.Moreover, unsuitable buildings and lack of know how make it even worse.
[Managed to cycle into work, to find my naturally cool office in the basement!
]@GraziosiSergio @Remittancegirl @radioclash the lack of hat wearing in this city when it's hot astounds me. People are so ignorant of sun safety.
No wonder melanoma cases are rising. Always spot the British tourists a mile away, blinding bright red. -
@radioclash The very best advice I got when I first moved to HCMC was to learn to sleep without aircon. With just a fan. Because it really helps the body to acclimatise faster. Luckily, I didn't have aircon, so I had no choice. But I must admit, my body adjusted pretty quickly.
But I think for what people are going through in Europe right now, it's a serious shock, and it is not like the change is permanent.
@Remittancegirl @radioclash @GraziosiSergio @noodlemaz it should not be New for Europe.
You could foresee it for 20+ Years. -
@Remittancegirl @radioclash @GraziosiSergio @noodlemaz it should not be New for Europe.
You could foresee it for 20+ Years.@abuerkl @Remittancegirl @radioclash @GraziosiSergio it being foreseen (and ignored) doesn't make it not-new.
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@radioclash The very best advice I got when I first moved to HCMC was to learn to sleep without aircon. With just a fan. Because it really helps the body to acclimatise faster. Luckily, I didn't have aircon, so I had no choice. But I must admit, my body adjusted pretty quickly.
But I think for what people are going through in Europe right now, it's a serious shock, and it is not like the change is permanent.
@Remittancegirl @GraziosiSergio @noodlemaz
Yup, it's currently 62% humidity and 28C INSIDE atm, and 35C and 47% outside.
Was hoping that the humidity levels might stabilise if I opened the windows but kept the curtains closed...not really.
I have tried the windows closed and humidifier on in the past, that just means the place gets super hot AND stifling...so it's off atm. Needs to be, the import/agile energy prices are doing this atm:
I really don't think those in the US pay 0.27p per kWh, which is the standard fixed rate for my green supplier, let alone 84p....gas is extra too, 5p per unit and service charge on top of that. I pay £104 pm, that's normal.
Aircon would CRIPPLE me financially, it's bad enough with the dehumidifier! Most don't need that, but I live in a damp basement flat that wasn't really occupied much for years, so it basically sweats water and mould.
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@Remittancegirl @radioclash @GraziosiSergio yeah sleep is mostly OK for me
But I was up at 4am for our giant storm..! https://mstdn.games/@noodlemaz/116798298730139143@noodlemaz @Remittancegirl @GraziosiSergio that was fun in London.
annoyingly I had to getup at 7:30am to meet the plumber - who was then over 30 mins late, so hot night + regularly awakened by thunder and flashes...I only got a few hours sleep.
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@radioclash It does indeed. And even in Cordoba, in the height of summer, the Mesquita is probably one of the coolest spots in the city without any artificial cooling at all. @sidereal @vriesk @svenscholz
@Remittancegirl @sidereal @vriesk @svenscholz I was thinking of Cordoba! And the cathedral in Seville. So cool...but same with the large mosques in Egypt. The cool shaded courtyards and water features do work.
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To my northern neighbours suffering from the current heat wave.
I lived in approx 38C with 90% humidity for 20 years, and I have a few pieces of advice.
1. Don't do anything fast that you can do slow.
2. Umbrellas aren't just for rain. They work for sun, too.
3. Sweat is your friend. Drink lots of liquid, eat and drink things that trigger sweating.4. Cold showers and baths trigger your body to warm up. Room temp showers work best - and don't bother drying off.
> eat and drink things that trigger sweating
Is that why chili is so enjoyable in the heat?
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To my northern neighbours suffering from the current heat wave.
I lived in approx 38C with 90% humidity for 20 years, and I have a few pieces of advice.
1. Don't do anything fast that you can do slow.
2. Umbrellas aren't just for rain. They work for sun, too.
3. Sweat is your friend. Drink lots of liquid, eat and drink things that trigger sweating.4. Cold showers and baths trigger your body to warm up. Room temp showers work best - and don't bother drying off.
Thanks for the reminder about hot (spicy) food - I had forgotten about it and am now stocked up with chilli flakes, fish sauce and limes.
My sister in law used to cook the most delicious Thai food in long ago, hot German summers.
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@vriesk @Remittancegirl @svenscholz
It's shit for the environment anyway. That's the thing the AC freaks pass by. You're just making everyone else hotter.
Open a fucking window, build your houses for heat and with water features, keep the shutters closed, and drink cold drinks!
Islamic countries know how to do this, it's an ancient art.
@radioclash In general non-AC cooling >>> AC cooling for the environment, yes. But I would never give anyone the advice to just use non-AC cooling methods without knowing if they have any good (health) reason to use an AC. Since Covid I have a lot of friends with ME/CFS, constant heat can lead them to very fast down cycles with no chance of regaining the energy they had before. @vriesk @Remittancegirl @svenscholz
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@vriesk @Remittancegirl @svenscholz
It's shit for the environment anyway. That's the thing the AC freaks pass by. You're just making everyone else hotter.
Open a fucking window, build your houses for heat and with water features, keep the shutters closed, and drink cold drinks!
Islamic countries know how to do this, it's an ancient art.
@radioclash Opening a window in the middle of day at 35+C is mad. Quite the opposite. Close your windows when you wake up, and draw your blinds.
It keeps the cool of the night in.
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> eat and drink things that trigger sweating
Is that why chili is so enjoyable in the heat?
@holsta Honestly, I do not know the science of it. But many millions of people in SE Asia and the Indian Subcontinent who eat spicy food in the heat can't be insane.
Personally, I think it's because it makes you sweat. But it could be many other things.
