I'm not trivialising anything, but outside of the tropics you don't need AC to survive those temps. Just keep wetting yourself down and stay out of the sun and you'll be right. Unless you're not in a good state prior.

[–] bouh@lemmy.world 9 points 11 months ago (1 children)

That's why we're starting to use wet bulb temperature to measure these things. This is the temperature measured with the measuring bulb of the thermometer wet, so it accounts for wind and humidity, and it reflects how humans would feel and survive.

38°C wet bulb is a deadly temperature. Not like you may die if you are unlucky or have specific condition, but like healthy you adult humans die in this weather. Because wind and humidity are such that your body cannot cool itself.

In more temperate or dry places the heat should not be an underestimated danger either. But indeed the danger comes more at 40°C and higher and specific circumstances (stupidity being one of them).

[–] naevaTheRat@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 11 months ago (1 children)

you could still survive by immersing yourself in cool water but yeah.

I think we had a 48 the other year with like 70% humidity and that was interesting. At one point I tried to get something done in the sun and almost immediately started experiencing heat stroke. I ended up going into the bush and lying down in a creek for a while. A surprising number of people had the same idea, it was almost nice except for the whole "wow the Apocalypse is starting" thing.

[–] bouh@lemmy.world 10 points 11 months ago

You can survive with many external means. But that's the thing: you need external means to survive because you cannot survive otherwise in this environment.

And yes, even in dry weather doing work in direct sun when temperature is over 40C is madness. Even a healthy adult can die in this environment. You should at the very least have proper garments and drink a lot.

[–] Thrashy@lemmy.world 4 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Keep in mind that a large chunk of the United States is considerably closer to the tropics than Europe is. Washington TC is on roughly the same latitude as Lisbon or Ibiza is. It's not tropical, but climatically it's still considered sub-tropical, and large chunks of the country have the summer heat and humidity to prove it.

[–] naevaTheRat@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 11 months ago

I'm not from Europe. I'm from Australia.

ATM I live in temperate rainforest, have spent time in tropical heat up in northern QL.

Until the air gets saturated a lot of ability to cope is a combo of adaptation and conditioning. I wear jeans all year round pretty much and generally don't run into problems as long as I'm drinking water. People less use to heat don't move as much blood to their perpheries, probably don't drink anywhere near enough water, and aren't used to feeling comfortable in wet clothing (from sweat or from wetting yourself down).

I spent some time in Thailand and felt like I had found my people when it was a 30 degree day and I put on a jumper, went outside and saw many others doing the same!

[–] ThisIsAManWhoKnowsHowToGling@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 11 months ago

Actually Europe's weather is pretty analogous to the Midwest, thanks to an ocean current dumping lots of warm water to their north. Although that might be changing soon idk