In heat emergency, southern Europe scrambles for resources
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — A heat wave baking southeast Europe has fueled deadly wildfires in Turkey and threatened the national power grid in Greece as governments scrambled Monday to secure the resources needed to cope with the emergency.
Temperatures reached 45 C (113 F) in inland areas of Greece and nearby countries and are expected to remain high for most of the week.
Battling deadly wildfires along its coastline for a sixth day, Turkey broadened an appeal for international assistance and was promised water-dropping planes from the European Union. The fires have been blamed for the deaths of eight people in recent days.
[....] In Greece, an emergency was declared in fire-hit areas on the island of Rhodes, which is near the Turkish coast. Workers with health conditions were allowed to take time off work, while Greek coal-fired power stations slated for retirement were brought back into service to shore up the national grid, under pressure due to the widespread use of air conditioning.
Pregnant and other vulnerable workers in North Macedonia were told to stay home.
Dann Mitchell, a professor of climate science at the University of Bristol, said the heat wave in southeast Europe “is not at all unexpected, and very likely enhanced due to human-induced climate change.”
Will ICE vehicles overheat before you drive them?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 03 2021, @10:43PM (3 children)
Thanks, grand solar minimum...
Meanwhile, the next jetstream region over is unseasonably cool.
OMG nature WTF!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 04 2021, @12:01AM (2 children)
As a Michigander, I scoff at Texas being unable to handle a little cold weather!
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Wednesday August 04 2021, @02:57PM
The system wasn't prepared for it, because money, money, money. Which should have cost them money, because they were stupid. Instead they made out like bandits, which is sad. It was definitely very cold, especially for Texas. Shouldn't have been life threateningly cold, but when you aren't used to those kinds of temperatures. People do stupid things out of ignorance.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 04 2021, @08:13PM
I love me some personal drama when trying to ignore facts.
(Score: 2) by MostCynical on Tuesday August 03 2021, @11:11PM (13 children)
. . . no [idaoffice.org]
"I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
(Score: 4, Touché) by JoeMerchant on Tuesday August 03 2021, @11:36PM
possible, but you'll be dead before they overheat at rest so it's kind of a moot point.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 04 2021, @12:49AM (11 children)
Of course engines are designed to operate at temperatures well beyond human experience so they won't overheat; but performance is worse in warmer weather. You probably won't notice it though. Maybe you'll get slightly worse mileage or have to hit the gas a bit harder without even realizing it. Of course running the A/C will also tax your engine, but you should have known that.
All of this gets much more critical in aviation where less power *and* less air moving over the propeller and wings occurs on hotter days. There is a calculation called "density altitude", where you come up with a number based on conditions that corresponds to some normalized value where your plane could ordinarily fly. Failure to do this properly has resulted in crashes, some fatal. It should be basic piloting, but it gets missed sometimes. The pilot will get lulled in to a false sense of security from having landed on a cool day by himself. Then he'll try to take off on a hot day with passengers.
(Score: 0, Troll) by khallow on Wednesday August 04 2021, @02:05AM (9 children)
Can't say about your vehicles, but mine have seen better fuel economy even with AC usage and the warmer cold sink of the environment. I think it's warmer fuel means more power out of the same unit of fuel and maybe lower air resistance (I typically do highway driving when I'm making these fuel economy comparisons). Should work similarly for batteries in electric vehicles. So yes, somewhat less power, but power is notorious as being a metric compromised for fuel economy in the first place.
What works for ground vehicles works against airplanes.
(Score: 2) by EvilJim on Wednesday August 04 2021, @03:09AM (8 children)
cooler temperatures means the air is denser, the more air (more specifically oxygen) you can get in the cylinder on each cycle, the greater the power output.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by khallow on Wednesday August 04 2021, @04:56AM (4 children)
Well, it doesn't seem to be a significant effect (like many other power modifying effects). My old Honda Civic used to get a little over 30 MPG at 0C and a little over 35 MPG at ~35 C along the same highway route even with AC going.
(Score: 2) by shortscreen on Wednesday August 04 2021, @08:56AM
Full-load power and fuel economy during normal driving conditions are completely separate metrics, and in this case you tend to trade off one for the other. Racers build themselves a "cold air intake" while hypermilers build themselves a "warm air intake"
(Score: 2) by sjames on Wednesday August 04 2021, @08:56AM (1 child)
Power output and fuel economy are not the same thing. The hotter, less dense air causes less fuel to be injected. You get a lower maximum power. Less dense air also slightly decreases drag, so you might get a little better mileage, especially if the lower power output for a given accelerator position causes you to go a little slower.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Wednesday August 04 2021, @01:47PM
The original poster was stating that "performance" was reduced by hot weather. This turned out to include both power and fuel economy.
(Score: 2) by EvilJim on Thursday August 05 2021, @03:17AM
30-35mpg difference... I found similar when I put a working thermostat in a mitsubishi, the original thermostat stuck open so it never reached proper running temp, it had a little more go at the correct temp, there may be factors like oil viscosity changes, metal shrinkage (untill warmed up) and others when we're talking about 0deg
(Score: 2) by Unixnut on Wednesday August 04 2021, @09:18AM (2 children)
That applies for naturally aspirated engines, and yes with warmer air there will result in a loss of power (negligable IMO), as would going at higher altitudes where the air is thinner.
However most modern cars are forced induction, mostly turbo-supercharged with charge coolers. Those cars can compensate for air density by altering boost pressure, and the compression of the air can bring the air temps quite above ambient (e.g 75C), which the charge cooler will reduce. So in those cases the intake air temp being 25C or 45C makes little difference to the temp actually going into the cylinders.
(Score: 0, Disagree) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 04 2021, @01:13PM (1 child)
"However most modern cars are forced induction, mostly turbo-supercharged with charge coolers."
Disagree.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 04 2021, @08:15PM
OK.
(Score: 3, Touché) by sjames on Wednesday August 04 2021, @08:52AM
You're assuming a car in good condition. In my youth, a lot of people had overheats in the summer but not in the winter. This effect went away as we entered the workforce and could afford a non-beater as a daily driver.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 03 2021, @11:27PM (1 child)
Move everyone to Finland.
(Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 03 2021, @11:30PM
Finns hate Turks. Finns hate Greeks. Finns hate Muslims.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 03 2021, @11:58PM (2 children)
Er, it melted before I could finish the subject line.
Still, the fact that I had a snowball at the beginning of my subject line proves AGW is a hoax!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 04 2021, @04:49AM (1 child)
Yeah I thought the submission comment was a joke but everyone seemed to be replying seriously
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 04 2021, @07:23AM
That is one of the problems here. Everybody is reading to respond instead of reading to understand. This means that such an obvious joke goes over their head and you end up with a bunch of trolls trolling trolls.
(Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 04 2021, @01:12AM (3 children)
Atheists are just as bad as Bible bangers with this stuff: the end of the world is near, you have sinned grievously against God (Mother Earth)! REPENT NOW!
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 04 2021, @02:48AM
World? Naaah, it take a bit more to extinguish the life on Earth? Humans tho? I'm not so sure they are as tough as other lifeforms.
Near? Naaah, it will be a slow and painful death.
I'll invite you to volunteer for fire-fighting services, controlling forest fires will be more beneficial for this world than your S/N posting.
(Score: 2) by Unixnut on Wednesday August 04 2021, @09:25AM (1 child)
> Atheists are just as bad as Bible bangers with this stuff: the end of the world is near, you have sinned grievously against God (Mother Earth)! REPENT NOW!
Some people just have a deep seated need to believe in a higher power. Helps them make sense of the world and why things happen that are beyond their control I guess.
A lot of people who claim they are "Atheists" are not really that. They just replaced monotheism with some other philosophy (be it a political ideology, or a quasi religion like Gaianism, from where climate alarmism sprouts the most), and like every other philosophy, you have casual adherents, a core of faithful, and those on the edges who are extremist in their dogma and actions.
Of course, there are proper atheists out there, however they are more of a minority that you would think by looking at the numbers who identify as Atheist.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 04 2021, @08:19PM
There's also a sizeable fraction of don't-give-a-shit-about-your-false-dichotomy-ists.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 04 2021, @06:48AM (3 children)
They had temps up to 48+C in Italy in the late 90's.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Unixnut on Wednesday August 04 2021, @09:29AM (2 children)
Indeed, anecdotally having temps 40C+ has been something I have known of since the 80s in southern Europe. It is not for very long. Usually a month or so at summers peak. That is why everyone who lives in a city in southern Europe basically runs away to the coasts/countryside during peak summer. The concrete cities become ovens, and the smell from all the hot trash cooking is quite something.
Quite frankly, I miss it, up here in the UK we are barely touching 20C, with no real blue skies or sun to be seen anywhere. With the travel restrictions looks like I will miss a second summer...
(Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 04 2021, @08:22PM (1 child)
Careful what you wish for! In the UK, if there are 2 days of sunshine in a row, they declare a drought.
(Score: 2) by Unixnut on Thursday August 05 2021, @02:34PM
Oh I know, and if is tops 21C a heatwave is declared, the locals strip naked and frolic on any piece of flat surface they can find.
Pretty much happens every summer, even in 2020, although that year I had the added sight of them being chased about by burly coppers due to violating covid lockdowns.
Never understood how such a wet country can keep having droughts, but I suspect incompetence and lack of investment in infrastructure is the root cause.