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How hot is too hot for the human body?:
Some climate models predict that we're going to start hitting wet-bulb temperatures over 95 °F by the middle of the 21st century. Other researchers say we're already there. In a study published in 2020, researchers showed that some places in the subtropics have already reported such conditions—and they're getting more common.
While most researchers agree that a wet-bulb temperature of 95 °F is unlivable for most humans, the reality is that less extreme conditions can be deadly too. We've only hit those wet-bulb temperatures on Earth a few times, but heat kills people around the world every year.
[...] Heat acclimatization builds up over time: It can start in as little as a few days, and the whole process can take six weeks or longer, Hanna says. People who are more acclimatized to heat sweat more, and their sweat is more diluted, meaning they lose fewer electrolytes through their sweat. This can protect the body from dehydration and heart and kidney problems, Hanna says.
Acclimatization is why heat waves in cooler places, or heat waves early in summer, are more likely to be deadly than the same conditions in hotter places or later in summer. It's not just that places like Canada and Seattle are less likely to have air conditioning, although infrastructure is another big factor in how deadly heat waves will be. Residents of cooler places are also just less acclimatized to the heat, so wet-bulb temperatures below 95 °F can be deadly.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Runaway1956 on Monday July 19 2021, @04:38AM (2 children)
Society in the US has a long way to go toward acclimatization for hot weather. Few people in the US are willing to adjust their work day, to work in the cooler hours. I've spent much of my working life, listening to 'Muricans making fun of Mexicans for taking a siesta in the middle of the day.
I've CHOSEN to work third shift (11:00PM to 7:00AM) for more than 16 years, because the night hours are cooler. My candy ass would melt in the plant, if I had to work 2nd shift (3:00PM to 11:00PM), and 1st shift is little better than second.
I've worked under the noonday sun when there was no shade to be found, as a much younger man. You won't find me doing that again in this lifetime.
Did a few years in business for myself, in construction work that could almost never be done in the dark. Our days started an hour before sunrise, so that we could be on site, and tools ready to work at first light. Generally, we knocked off at 2:00, but I stayed flexible - on a cool day, we might work until dark. On a very hot day, we might knock off at noon.
Never saw the point of adhering to some rigid time schedule when the weather was killing you.
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 19 2021, @04:51AM
I will come and save you, runaway!
Signed AC :)
PS: No, not gonna do it. Ain't going all the way to Arkansaw. No way. Sorry.
(Score: 5, Informative) by Tokolosh on Monday July 19 2021, @07:04PM
In tropical climes there are certain times of day
When all the citizens retire
To take their clothes off and perspire
It's one of those rules the greatest fools obey
Because the sun is far too sultry
And one must avoid its ultry-violet ray
The natives grieve when the white men leave their huts
Because they're obviously, definitely nuts!
Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun
The Japanese don't care to
The Chinese wouldn't dare to
Hindus and Argentines sleep firmly from twelve 'til one
But Englishmen detest a siesta
In the Philippines they have lovely screens
To protect you from the glare
In the Malay States there are hats like plates
Which the Britishers won't wear
At twelve noon the natives swoon
And no further work is done
But mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun
It's such a surprise
For the Eastern eyes to see
That though the English are effete
They're quite impervious to heat
When the white man rides
Every native hides in glee
Because the simple creatures hope he will impale his sola topee
On a tree
It seems such a shame
When the English claim the Earth
That they give rise to such hilarity and mirth
Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha
Ho-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho
He-he-he-he-he-he-he
Hm-hm-hm-hm-hm
Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun
The toughest Burmese bandit can never understand it
In Rangoon, the heat of noon
Is just what the natives shun
They put their Scotch or rye down and lie down
In a jungle town where the sun beats down
To the rage of man and beast
The English garb of the English sahib
Merely gets a bit more creased
In Bangkok at twelve o'clock
They foam at the mouth and run
But mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun
Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun
The smallest Malay rabbit deplores this foolish habit
In Hong Kong they strike a gong
And fire off a Noonday Gun
To reprimand each inmate who's in late
In the mangrove swamps where the python romps
There is peace from twelve to two
Even caribou lie around and snooze
For there's nothing else to do
In Bengal to move at all
Is seldom if ever done
But mad dogs and Englishmen go
Out in the midday
Out in the midday
Out in the midday
Out in the midday
Out in the midday
Out in the midday
Out in the midday sun
Mad Dogs And Englishmen
Noël Coward