Scientists Studying Temperature at Which Humans Spontaneously Die With Increasing Urgency

[Javaman]

https://www.vice.com/en/article/93ynm5/scientists-studying-temperature-at-which-humans-spontaneously-die-with-increasing-urgency

"Wet-bulb" conditions are when heat and humidity can cause otherwise healthy humans to overheat and die. They're happening more often than ever.

Last week’s historic heatwave saw portions of the Northwest breaking all-time temperature records and gearing up for wildfire risk. The temperatures are now being attributed to an excess of 100 deaths across the region as it gears up for another week of extreme highs.

The heat can feel apocalyptic, and scientists are increasingly studying the heat and humidity conditions at which some humans suddenly die, a phenomenon that is becoming increasingly common as a result of extreme weather driven by climate change. This is perhaps best illustrated in a study published last year in Science Advances, alarmingly titled "The emergence of heat and humidity too severe for human tolerance."

Originally, conditions like this weren't expected until the mid 21st century, according to climate models. But they are actually already here. In that study, Radley Horton, Lamont Research Professor at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and co-authors surveyed weather station data from across the world, collected between 1979 and 2017, and found over 7,000 instances of so-called "wet bulb" conditions, which can lead to human deaths. Wet bulb temperature is the point at which humidity and heat hit a point where evaporation due to sweat no longer works to cool a person. Most of these wet bulb conditions were concentrated in South Asia, the coastal Middle East, and southwest North America (areas denoted in red and orange on a map Horton and his colleagues created, below).

more at link...

[Ziggysmom]

1. Apocalypse by heat is a recurring nightmare I have. Wish I had been born 50 years sooner.

Our ancestors lived in a fools paradise we can only dream about. Action is needed now, but I fear it’s too little too late.

[Ferrets are Cool]

13. It wasn't all peaches and cream 50ish years ago

https://www.insidehook.com/article/history/unforgettable-events-that-happened-50-years-ago

Fifty years later, 1968 is still arguably the most historic year in modern American history. It was a year of triumphs and tragedies, including two major assassinations, a moon orbit, and many protests worldwide. Below, we take a look at some of the biggest events from that year.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

17. Accept what you can't change & change what you have an effect on

Wishing to be born 50 years earlier is a waste of neuronal energy. Let it go. It's not helping you. Really let it go.

Don't fight the nightmarish thoughts. When they arise, say to yourself "Hello darkness my old friend" and let them go.

It's more about opening a window in your mind and letting the breeze waft them out. Trying to chase them around and trying to sit on them just makes them stronger, gives them more mindspace.

[quaint]

2. Yikes! It only takes 95% humidity at 88F

The conditions aren't actually that hard to imagine: Wet bulb conditions occur when relative humidity is above 95 percent and temperatures are at least 88 degrees F, according to the study. The human body, Horton's study found, is essentially unable to withstand wet bulb conditions at all once temperatures hit 95 degrees F. Under these conditions, it's possible for otherwise healthy people to die.

[Comfortably_Numb]

10. Allow me to present Houston, Texas. Blowing that metric away routinely.

I live it daily.

[Native]

25. Ditto in my part of Florida during the summer months.

I'd hoped the study addressed how long it took in a wet-bulb event before our bodies would start to have an adverse effect - minutes, hours, etc. - but didn't find anything.

And now with all the hacking that's going on, it looks like solar cooling will be the only safe route.

[róisín_dubh]

20. That seems weird...

have the authors of the study never been to Merida, Mexico? It's pretty much that on the regular and has been for awhile I reckon.

[Native]

21. The next paragraph is even more alarming:

“Even if they're in perfect health, even if they're sitting in the shade, even if they're wearing clothes that make it easy in principle to sweat, even if they have an endless supply of water,” Horton said. “If there's enough moisture in the air, it's thermodynamically impossible to prevent the body from overheating.”

[cilla4progress]

3. With this,

and the mass bird deaths, it isn't hard to imagine mass extinctions due to overpopulation - earth's tipping point.

[Loki Liesmith]

12. The data really isn't there to support that.

Things are getting worse but no sign we are near any tipping points in the technical sense.

[merrifield]

14. Umm. . .

http://arctic-news.blogspot.com/2021/07/a-temperature-rise-of-more-than-18-degrees-celsius-by-2026.html

[cilla4progress]

30. Well, that's fucking

terrifying.

[Chainfire]

4. That is a study you wouldn't want to participate in.

I was a Machinist Mate in the Navy when I was a kid. The MMs run the engine room of the ship and auxiliary equipment. Our working space when we were underway stayed about 120 degrees F. The air was funky with humidity and the smell of oil. We were surrounded by big (insulated) pipes that carried steam at 1200 degrees F. On the other side of the bulkhead (wall) was the boiler room where it got and stayed really hot! A person gradually becomes acclimatized to the extreme temps but it is rough to begin with.

At the beginning of my working career as a new construction plumber we would would do physically strenuous work outside daily in 90-95 degree heat combined with the steamy N. Florida humidity usually running about 85%. It wasn't to bad on a 22 year old, but now as an old man, it would kill me quickly. I believe, from personal experience that old people's cooling systems just don't work as designed.

What is the real killer is when people suddenly have those kinds of temps dumped on them. I have felt really badly for the folks in Canada who have recently been experiencing temps hovering around 110 F. when they are used to 75 F. If you have never been exposed to that kind of heat, you don't know how to handle it. (There is a reason that the people in the SE have the reputation of moving and speaking more slowly than people from the NE.)

As a species, we still continue to work to make the situation worse and even in the face of hard evidence and some basic understanding as to how the climate works. We still keep pumping our atmosphere full of heat trapping gasses. We may have destroyed our species already and are just now seeing the beginning of the die-off. We keep our heads buried in the sand we still have national leaders denying that man-made climate change even exists, much less demanding that we work to fix the problem. We will not let our survival interfere with short term profits.

It is a self-inflicted wound, when I was in the Navy, they could have court-martialed me for the same crime. If we don't get a handle on the problem we probably do not deserve to survive. Perhaps this is a test.....

[Bernardo de La Paz]

18. The all-time high in Lytton B.C. set this year is higher than all-time high in Las Vegas. . . . nt

[eppur_se_muova]

5. Here's the map referred to:

Original pub'n: https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/6/19/eaaw1838

[Buckeye_Democrat]

9. Everyone to the British Isles ASAP!

[ancianita]

24. Thank you.

[Random Boomer]

6. Faster than expected. Again

Originally, conditions like this weren't expected until the mid 21st century, according to climate models. But they are actually already here.

That has been the constant refrain from climate scientists for over a decade now. It's all happening so much faster than anyone imagined. I had hoped, given my age, that I would escape the coming End Times, but I have the very uneasy feeling that I'm not old enough for that.

[bucolic_frolic]

7. 95% humidity? Rain in the forecast, no?

[CaptainTruth]

8. Remember when 70,000 people died in a heat wave in Europe?

It was 2003, seems like everyone has forgotten it.

From Wikipedia:

"The 2003 European heat wave led to the hottest summer on record in Europe since at least 1540. ... The heat wave led to health crises in several countries and combined with drought to create a crop shortfall in parts of Southern Europe. Peer-reviewed analysis places the European death toll at more than 70,000."

[link:https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_European_heat_wave%23:~:text%3DThe%25202003%2520European%2520heat%2520wave,Europe%2520since%2520at%2520least%25201540.%26text%3DThe%2520heat%2520wave%2520led%2520to,toll%2520at%2520more%2520than%252070%252C000.&ved=2ahUKEwjFyufw0NPxAhVabc0KHYUhCzEQFjAHegQIBBAF&usg=AOvVaw1unbkHCBh_QoiNlqsGgntB|]

[Aviation Pro]

11. I've spent a good deal of time in some of the world's cauldrons

And those places include South Florida, SE Asia, the Middle East and the desert SW of the US. The one time I was a heat casualty was during a forced march back from a certain training area at Ft. Bragg to our tar shack cantonment in June.

Heat will kill you irrespective of your arrogance and stubbornness.

[NH Ethylene]

15. Alarming. (Commenting so I can find this thread later) n/t

[Marcuse]

16. Dramatization

[Klaralven]

19. Cooled clothing is probably needed

In the north we can live due to heated buildings, heated vehicles and warm clothing.

In the south we have air conditioned buildings and vehicles. The missing part seems to be clothing that cools the wearer. Something like a cooling vest with liquid-filled tubes cooled by a battery pack powered heat-exchanger should do the trick.

[Javaman]

27. Dune...

Dune's Stillsuits Explained: The Disgusting Yet Practical Function of Those Sci-Fi Suits

https://www.ign.com/articles/dune-remake-stillsuits-explained-arrakis-costumes-armor-weapons


Dune fans have been given an even closer look at Denis Villeneuve's upcoming remake. A new series of images debuted by Vanity Fair show off the barren desert world of Arrakis and the "stillsuits" its inhabitants rely on to survive its extreme heat. These stillsuits are one of the most iconic elements of the original novel, and it's exciting to see them brought to life in a new form.

This isn't the first time we've seen the stillsuits in live-action. Read on for an explanation of why these costumes are so important and how the new movie compares to past Dune adaptations.

What Is a Stillsuit?
The planet Arrakis is easily one of the most inhospitable places in the universe. Picture an even hotter version of Tatooine and you get some idea of what it's like to live on a world dominated by extreme heat and and roving sandworms and where few inhabitants have ever seen rain. If it wasn't for the fact that Arrakis is the only major source of the all-important spice known as melange, there'd be no point to colonizing such a dangerous planet.

Stillsuits are basically necessities for anyone who hopes to survive outside the heavily fortified capitol city. These form-fitting suits are designed to protect the wearer from the sun and sand while conserving as much moisture as humanly possible. Everything from sweat to urine to breath is collected, filtered and deposited into pockets the wearer can drink from. It's not pretty (and the book makes it clear these suits don't exactly smell great, either), but it's the only way to retain water in the open desert. The stillsuits designed by the native Fremen population are considered to be the best, as it's said they're able to recycle all but "a thimbleful" of water per day.

more at link...

[rickyhall]

22. I grew up in Texas mostly and have had many 110* summer jobs outside.

About 15 years ago on a 112* day, after working outside, sitting my friend's front office under the AC, I passed out and fell out of my chair. When I came to I was blind, all I could see was like vhf tv between channels, all snowy. My friend called 911. The EMT could find no pulse except a very weak one in my neck. My BP was nearly nothing. I was apparently just this side of dead. I spent the rest of the afternoon in ER on an IV.

Since that heat stroke, I can hardly handle 90*. Of course, I'm 65 a now, so that makes it worse. I'm working on an outside project now, but only in the mornings. I quit by noon and drink lots of gatoraide but still it takes me about 30 minutes to fully recover.

[Corgigal]

23. Anti vac people,

time to step up to help humanity. Since the delta gonna get a bunch of you anyway.

[ancianita]

26. Here's NOAA's wet bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) Tool linked in the article.

https://convergence.unc.edu/tools/wbgt/

It's a fascinating look at your humidity temperature index level for a wet bulb condition where you live.

[modrepub]

28. Bad Meteorology

...my old professor would have a fit reading this article. Not on its premise, but on its description of humidity. Contrary to the article and most people, air doesn't "hold" water. Long story...see link...

https://personal.ems.psu.edu/~fraser/Bad/BadClouds.html

[TexasBushwhacker]

29. Yup, I was moving in August in Austin

about 15 years ago. I was sweating like crazy, but I was drinking water and Gatorade so I thought I was okay. But then my chest started to hurt like it never had before. I sat down inside in the air conditioning for a while, but it didn't let up. I didn't feel nauseous or lightheaded, my chest just ached. I drove myself to the ER, which in hindsight was pretty stupid. They did an EKG and blood work. It turned out my potassium was 10% of what it should have been. I was in the hospital for 2 days on an IV. I got lucky. Never ignore chest pain - ever.