The dangers of extreme heat explained - MSNBC Reports

[Rhiannon12866]

Is it getting hot in here? Spiking temperatures across the world have been causing a growing concern for some time now. MSNBC's Alex Witt spoke with Jeff Goodell, Climate Author: “The Heat Will Kill You First.”, to further explain the perils of these extreme temperatures. - Aired on 07/19/2023.

[cbabe]

1. Goodell's book is an easy excellent read. Lots of

science in manageable bites interspersed with stories of people and animals. Highly recommend.

[Rhiannon12866]

2. Thanks so much for the recommendation!

I was out and about today and it was not only the heat, but also the "air quality."

[cbabe]

3. You're welcome and stay safe.

[Rhiannon12866]

4. Same to you!

I'm in New York, but it seems like we're all facing different dangers no matter where we are in this country...

[orthoclad]

5. Iran had a heat index of 152F this week,

wet bulb temperature of 92.7. These numbers are right on the edge of what is survivable. I wonder how many died, elderly, children?

Thread on WaPo article plus some commentary on wet bulb temps:
https://www.democraticunderground.com/1016357372

[Rhiannon12866]

6. Wow! Excellent yet terrifying information, guess I have no reason to complain here in the Northeast

And you ask a very good question, how many in these countries, experiencing unprecedented heat and lack of water, have been unable to survive??

Good article, you might consider cross-posting it here in E&E.

[orthoclad]

7. Is there a process for cross-posting,

or do we just copy and paste?

[Rhiannon12866]

8. Yes, that's all there is to it.

It would get better exposure for those specifically interested in environmental issues.

[orthoclad]

9. Thanks, I'll do that.

[Rhiannon12866]

10. Much appreciated!

Powerful article.

[orthoclad]

11. Scary situation

That chapter from Robinson is worth reading. It could happen, in a densely-populated area - a Hiroshima-level event, or worse.

[Rhiannon12866]

12. Do we even know how many lives have been lost?

I'm guessing that there is no national entity charged with keeping track - or helping those who need help.

[orthoclad]

13. I haven't seen any reports

I wish WHO or another UN agency would track climate-change-related morbidity and mortality. The problem is that death certificates might say things like dehydration or heart failure, where the root cause is heat. Like with covid (where many coroners gave other causes of death and some State govts lied), we would have to rely on annual excess death statistics.

But the UN should make an attempt at counting the deaths. I think a lot of countries would support that effort, because it would strengthen their argument for climate reparations. Then we would have to deal with overcounts, rather than undercounts. Sigh.

[Rhiannon12866]

14. Well, someone needs to step up ASAP.

From what we've been learning, climate is the greatest threat to human existence on this planet - not to mention animals, marine life, forests, etc. It really is that essential.

[orthoclad]

15. Guardian says 61k died of heat last summer in Europe

It takes a while to tease out the stats. Challenging.

This is the death toll in a wealthy portion of the world where AC is common. Imagine India or Bangladesh. And now Iran.

Climate is one star in the environment's constellation, a big one.

edit for link: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jul/10/heatwave-last-summer-killed-61000-people-in-europe-research-finds

edit to add: and some of these countries have nukes. We're pissing them off.