To my northern neighbours suffering from the current heat wave.
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@Remittancegirl @vriesk @svenscholz When I used to live in NYC we had a whole complex jury-rigged system with both box fans and oscillating fans to maximize the effectiveness of our window AC unit. Definitely gotta have fans and air movement, always
@sidereal It also saves quite a bit of electricity, because you can put the AC on at a higher temp, since you're distributing the cooling more efficiently. @vriesk @svenscholz
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@vriesk @Remittancegirl @svenscholz also we don't have AC in Europe.
Not going to get into a big argument about why, because some entitled Yanks think their wars for oil are a good trade off for subsidised energy/oil costs.
We have really high energy costs, so even if the AC is cheap to install (it isn't but not the highest cost) then the energy cost will burn you, even if you're cool.
Also...most of our building were built before A/C was a thing, so hard to adapt, more expense.
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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 Thanks! Is this (finally) the explanation for why I crave very spicy food on hot days? The sweat triggering?
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@fietsria @Remittancegirl @vriesk @svenscholz
Yeah, the point is that keeping yourself wet enough for the fan to help is something you have to actively think about at those temperatures
@gbargoud @fietsria @Remittancegirl @vriesk @svenscholz
Living in the American Southwest in the 90s, they began to put misting fans on restaurant patios. It made a 100*F (37.7C) day so much more bearable. Moisture and a fan could drop the ambient air temperature enough to make it comfortable.
They became available at reasonable prices for home use too. The simple systems are just an atomizing watering ring in front of a fan.
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@vriesk I know, right? Do they not understand that hot air rises?@svenscholz
@Remittancegirl @vriesk @svenscholz
You find those floor vents in older houses built before AC was a thing. They are stupid. They make it impossible to put your furniture where you want it. They collect dust like crazy too.
Even after AC was a thing aome builders kept putting them in the floor because it was cheaper than adding enough duct work to put them in the ceilings. It really seems to be a regional problem in the US.
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@vriesk
FFS dude, no.@Remittancegirl
Sorry you got "akshually"d on your lived experience, good grief.@tarabara @vriesk @Remittancegirl
Jesus, really hoped the mansplaining would be better here. I recently had someone try to tell me you're supposed to sit on traditional Baltic swings...
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@vriesk @Remittancegirl @svenscholz I think the floor vents in southern homes are a combination of a hold-over of older houses that had a heater for the winter but relied on open windows and air flow in summer, people bringing northern building practices south without considering the local climate (more than half the US is in climates where heating is more important than cooling), and slow cultural change where floor vents and ceiling fans are seen as normal or classic and upper wall vents are seen as unsightly.
Also, many older houses built with floor vents are poorly insulated, and at least in Florida, many people *suffer* when it gets to 50-55 F (10-12C).
@Robotistry @vriesk @Remittancegirl @svenscholz
My folks had their house rebuilt after a tornado had hit it. They lived in the south. They had to fight with the builder to put R35 insulation in the attic. The damn man insisted it didn't get cold enough for it without realizing you want it as well for keeping a house cooler when running AC. It was also a fight for decent insulation in the walls.
I got up there when it was finished and added another layer and made sure the soffits were open.
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@vriesk
FFS dude, no.@Remittancegirl
Sorry you got "akshually"d on your lived experience, good grief.@tarabara I used the block button.
@vriesk@hachyderm.io @Remittancegirl -
@Remittancegirl I'm from Portugal, we also get a few toasty days over here. I'll also leave a tip. A small cotton wet towel around the back of the neck helps keep your head cool.
@bit That's my way to survive entering the baking oven of my old car (AC not really working). @Remittancegirl
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@bit That's my way to survive entering the baking oven of my old car (AC not really working). @Remittancegirl
@NatureMC @Remittancegirl Yeah being inside a car during hot days is a challenge too.
I once forgot to put the sunscreen on the windscreen of my car on a sunny day, and then had to use a towel to be able to touch the steering wheel to drive.
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@ApostateEnglishman
I'm just so sorry to see people having to go through this. Because I know how utterly unprepared most Northern Europeans are, and the infrastructure isn't built for it either.I do worry - especially for older people and children. They are very vulnerable.
@Remittancegirl And a lot of people we often forget. E.g. if you have no more thyroid, the "temperature center" of your body. You live easily with hormons in form of daily tablets but reactions to temperatures can differ.
Mentally ill people are very vulnerable in heat. It's not yet researched well why heat poses a big problem for schizophrenia and psychosis. In the radio, they also warned that medicaments can change their effects if kept too warm, eg anti-depressants.
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@radioclash @vriesk @Remittancegirl @svenscholz I remember when I was in Egypt and Jordan, "American-style" AC blasting straight arctic temperatures was super common there over ten years ago. Not everyone there lives in a historic building (most people in Cairo live in 20th century built high rises), and climate change has made it so that the historic buildings' passive heating systems are often overwhelmed
The good news is that heat pump ACs are actually reasonably environmentally friendly.
@sidereal @vriesk @Remittancegirl @svenscholz I was there in 2011...during the elections, it was fun *ahem*...I now know what tear gas smells like.
I didn't have A/C in my room. A/C was quite rare as I seem to remember?
You must've stayed in some posh hotels or been on a tour, I was on my own. I only remember A/C being on the tour bus to Abu Simbel. I think my room in Aswan had it, not the room in Cairo though.
But touring the mosques it was super cool - not cos of A/C but the design of them. Same in Moorish parts of Spain - those little squares with fountains and trees,, the square buildings, the windows with mesh vent holes, etc.
Amazing how it works.
And btw I wasn't talking about Egypt, I mentioned Islamic architecture as a model, so not totally sure why you brought it up?
Islamic style architecture exists in Europe, too!
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@Remittancegirl And a lot of people we often forget. E.g. if you have no more thyroid, the "temperature center" of your body. You live easily with hormons in form of daily tablets but reactions to temperatures can differ.
Mentally ill people are very vulnerable in heat. It's not yet researched well why heat poses a big problem for schizophrenia and psychosis. In the radio, they also warned that medicaments can change their effects if kept too warm, eg anti-depressants.
@Remittancegirl Another problem making vulnerable, is poverty. Poor people often live in worst conditions. Here in France we have a new word "energy poverty": people can't pay anymore the bills for heating in winter and cooling in summer because their flats are a horror (landlords didn't invest).
We just have a debate how dangerous these conditions have become for students.
We had some good political ideas but our recent chaos government destroyed them ... -
@radioclash @vriesk @Remittancegirl @svenscholz The point is that sunny days are when folks need the AC the most.
@sidereal @vriesk @Remittancegirl @svenscholz
And the point is...it's hard enough to get locals to agree to wind farms, solar is impossible. Everywhere I walk on my long hikes I see 'STOP THE SOLAR FARM' signs.
People are very resistant to it, oddly. In a way they aren't so much about antennas or data centres. (in the UK I am talking here, and we are talking about Europe, nowhere else)
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@tarabara @vriesk @Remittancegirl
Jesus, really hoped the mansplaining would be better here. I recently had someone try to tell me you're supposed to sit on traditional Baltic swings...
@aliide @vriesk @Remittancegirl
I read that, twice, and am just... wtf.
I'm sorry it's happened to you too. I also had high hopes that we'd have less of this behavior here.
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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.
Dehumidifiers are your friend. It's amazing how much cooler it feels, even at higher temperatures, if you can get the humidity down.
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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 as per tips - I dunno if it's been mentioned:
1. Wet tshirt - the evaporation cools you
2. Shutter or leave curtains closed. The sun through windows adds SO much heat. It might sound counter intuitive to black out windows etc but it works
3. I usually open some of the windows, but the jury is out whether it's a good idea...you can get a breeze, but it might bring hotter air in? I tend to find in my basement flat it's better to have some air flow, it's cooler usually.
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But, when I visit family in Italy, my first steep cycling climb fails (2 years in a row). Body gives up and says "no more". Then the day after (with legs that should be already tired) it's fine. Only explanation I have is that the 1st failure acts as a strong signal: body needs to adapt to the heat - right now.
I might be wrong, but it's the only explanation I have, and fits with the observations of how long it takes for bodies to adapt to the heat.
4/n@GraziosiSergio @Remittancegirl @noodlemaz I find this with hiking...it takes a while to get your 'legs' so to speak.
I think there is something about bodies taking time to transition and adapt as you say. Even rewire some neurons cos it sounds very much like what happens with learning a motor skill - you're better the next day after sleep cos the brain wires the process in?
It's why 'sleeping on it' is actually a good idea, as is breaks.
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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 I live in the Southeast US and a couple weeks ago it hit 95f and 90% humidity. Lasted a day or two til a storm broke out. I'm a heat loving reptile and even I wouldn't go outside. No breeze no nothing just sticky goopy air
We regularly hit 80f with at least 60%+ humidity.
Obviously it's dangerous why do you think we're here talking about it -
@Remittancegirl No, I absolutely don't think you're lying or anything like that. 38C dry-bulb is definitely happening in many places, also the humid ones.
Also, your hot-weather advice is very sound and good.
Just that during the peak-temperature hours, the relative humidity is likely even lower than 80% even during the wettests months, as 38C with even 80% is 34.8C, still on the edge of survival for humans. Vietnam is not listed to ever get above 34C in this list: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wet-bulb_temperature#Heat_waves_with_high_humidity
@vriesk sorry, my original post was ranty.
Weather reports often do not reflect reality. Monitoring stations are not necessarily where people are or under the same immediate conditions. They tend to be placed for convenience, not for accuracy. Do not rely on them to determine what's happening to real people.
