European Heat Wave. Why is it so bad?

[JoBelle]

Hey Y'all,

It's all over the news, it's all over the web. The heat wave creating a pressure cooker of Europe. I understand the dynamics of the weather, but what I don't understand is the human reaction.

Hundreds, if not thousands, of people are being reported dead in temps that hover around 98 degrees as the average. That's an average summer temperture where I live EVERY year. It was 109 in Arizona the other day, unless the Weather Channel was lying to me. 😉 How is it that people in Europe are having such a violent reaction to the heat. It's not qn unbearable temperature. It's hot, yes. Uncomfortable, yes. But, to be honest, in my obviously naive mind, I can't understand how it's killing people.

I realize air conditioning isn't widespread there, but most home where I grew up in these types of temps didn't have AC either. There has to be more to it than that.

Help?? Thoughts anyone?
😕

Jo

 

[Haltickling]

You just answered the question yourself, Joby: People here in central Europe are simply not used to those temperatures. Our bodies had no chance to get adapted to them. And now, mostly elderly people and many people with heart problems get into serious trouble. Over 100 people died last week in Paris alone.

People from Southern Europe are less afflicted, because those temperatures are quite normal there. But then, you should realize that Germany and France are on about the same latitude as Winnipeg or Vancouver in Canada, whereas you live in an area on the latitude of Cairo, Egypt.

Usually, we have only two or three consecutive days with temperatures above 95F, but this time the heat wave has lasted for more than a month, with temperatures rising above 105F (new all time record temperatures). That's why we are so much more affected by this heat.

Right now, there seems to be a brief cooler period ahead, and I can't wait till it arrives! How I would like to sleep in my fridge, but I'm too big... 😛

 

[The Pianist]

Uhhh... for the sake of everyone not stuck in the past (or america 😛) would you fancy translating these temperatures into Celcius?

Its just because I look at these temperatures and for half a second understand why people are dying, because water boils at 100?C and all.

Or if someone wants to do the opposite... whats 45?C in farinhieght? I think thats around about Australia's hottest temperature last summer... and yeah, that was pretty toasty.

 

[Haltickling]

Uhhh... for the sake of everyone not stuck in the past (or america 😛) would you fancy translating these temperatures into Celcius?

What? After I went through all the trouble of converting C to F? 😛

FYI: 100 F is about 38° C, and 45° C equals 113 F. The formula: F -32 x (5/9)= °C 😎

The climate in Central Europe is comparable to Tasmania (or southern New Zealand), whereas Northern Australia is more comparable to tropical regions like West Africa, and Central Australia equals about the desert climate of the Sahara.

 

[Limeoutsider]

Its karma. France was so opposed to the US going to war with Iraq, and all the bad things they said about US, have said before, and will keep saying, although I dont know what the other European countries did to deserve the heat wave

 

[Haltickling]

Oh Lime... 🙄

I'm sure that heat wave is Saddam's fault, or Bin Laden's! Or maybe the CIA manipulated the weather satellites to bring on the heat, in order to punish Europe for voicing a different opinion on war...

 

[grippedchimp]

We Brits have had equally opressive weather, and we helped you the most in the war. So it's ain't karma, it's just us needing to break the 100F barrier for the first time!

 

[4Pawz]

LOL Jobelle, the Weather Channel was lyin to ya! The temps here in Arizona have been well into the 110's and occasionally (about once a week) reaches the 120's. It has been a weeeeeeeeeeeeee bit humid as of late as well (at least for this area) but I rather enjoy the weather here Woo hoo Arizona!

Pawz

 

[The Pianist]

Well, I used to live in Tasmania for a while... and the highest I can remember it reaching was the high 30's.... and we thought that was pretty damn hot. 40 was a bigger shock though... the only way I can think people could die from that heat though is if they didn't drink enough water (the body can only naturally cool down using sweat at that temperature)... or ignored all the body's signs that they should really stop running around or sitting in the sun.

Its karma. France was so opposed to the US going to war with Iraq, and all the bad things they said about US,

Though I'm pretty thats tongue in cheeck... still a horrible thought that the weather or even karma could be controlled by America...

 

[JoBelle]

Now, back to topic. Thanks Hal. You answered my question. You're saying it's the fact that the people are not adapting to the change in environment as quieckly as the environment itself. Makes sense. I guess it would be like me moving to Alsaka. 😉

Thanks again.
Jo

(initial comment deleted, as were the posts it was about...all OT)

 

[Haltickling]

Completely correct, Joby. Add the fact that people with heart diseases (like me) don't get their circulation working properly, and as soon as the air rises above normal body temperature, we are unable to regulate our heart rate and sweating to cool off, regardless of how much we drink. It's like a heavy fever, sometimes resulting in heart or kidney failure. Tilt. Game over.

But it has cooled off today, temps dropping to 70-80 F, and even some rain. It's like Christmas and birthday combined for me! 😀

 

[TklDuo-Ann]

I was in Yugoslavia for several days in the summer of 88. Most of the week was over 100 while I was there. So, I knew it could get seriously hot over there. AFA the deaths, we've had that here in the US during serious heatwaves. Some folks simply can't adjust to it...no matter how much they hydrate. Factor in the added heat radiating back in larger cities and the poor air quality in many areas and it IS a deadly combination.

I also know how hot it can be in Arizona. I have an aunt out there who actually called my mom last night when she heard that they were without power. The first thing out of her mouth was..."You know what I'm doing right now? I'm standing in front of a nice cold AC!" My mom laughed. My dad wanted to smack her...in a friendly manner, of course. lol

Don't worry folks, winter is only a few months away. Then we can complain that we're too cold! 😉

Ann

 

[red indian]

Who said this?.................

.........and how do we know it is true? how can anyone be so sure that so many people died as a direct result of it being a bit hotter than normal? I think it is most probably a load of rubbish that got printed because at this time of year there is not much hard news about because all the big guys are on holiday.

The thing about hot weather that really pisses me off is the fact we are not allowed to enjoy it, even though it is still very rare in Britain. As soon as we get three or four days of hot weather the fucking media start with the hand wringing and brow beating about "Global warming" totally ignoring how shite the weather is the rest of the year. Next thing you know we have a bloody hose pipe ban!!! WHY??? it fucking pisses down all year!!!!

Then we get the wise sages telling us how if we are not carefull the U.K. will turn in to the Mediterranean if global warming continues. Well dear oh dear what a calamity that will be I,m sure.

 

[grippedchimp]

In my opinion though, it can't be global warming. Sure, months like August and even March and April were warmer than usual, but if it's so damn hot for people to take, how the hell did snow fall heavily at the start of this year in London? That said, I hear the ozone is healing up...

 

[JoBelle]

This is where I got it. FYI
Jo



French Heat Wave Overloads Cemeteries

By ANGELA DOLAND
The Associated Press

PARIS (AP) - Gravediggers were called back to work on a national holiday Friday to deal with the grim aftermath of a heat wave that left up to 3,000 dead in France.

With morgues full, authorities took over the vast storeroom of a Paris farmers' market or kept bodies in refrigerated tents - as temperatures subsided throughout Europe, ending one of the most severe periods of intense heat on record across the continent.

Morgues and cemeteries have been overwhelmed in the heat wave, which the health minister called ``a true epidemic.'' A Paris regional funeral official said families would likely have to wait 10-15 days to have relatives buried.

``We're explaining the situation to families,'' said Hugues Fauconnet of General Funeral Services, the country's largest undertaker. ``Our most important mission is to preserve the dignity of the deceased.''

Funeral officials claimed the 43,000 square-foot refrigerated storage area of the Paris area's wholesale market in the suburb of Rungis. They planned to place bodies on army cots.

Complicating matters for burials: Many priests were away on summer vacation in predominantly Roman Catholic France, which all but shuts down during August.

Doctors have said many victims, who were generally elderly, died of dehydration heat stroke in the punishing heat wave that has gripped Europe, where many homes and offices lack air conditioning.

Throughout Europe, temperatures settled back to normal Friday. At times, the mercury had hovered around 100 degrees, fanning forest fires and devastating livestock and crops.

Thunderstorms cooled Switzerland on Friday, while in the Netherlands, temperatures were down to 68 degrees. The heat eased in Germany, though officials were still on watch for fires.

France's political climate still simmered with accusations the government didn't do enough to prevent the crisis.

Despite warnings from emergency room doctors, Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin waited until Wednesday to order Paris hospitals to prepare more beds and call health care workers back from vacation.

If the government had acted sooner, ``many lives could have been saved,'' Patrick Pelloux, head of the association for French emergency hospital physicians, told Le Parisien newspaper.

Former Health Minister Claude Evin, a Socialist, also accused the center-right government for waiting too long.

Health Minister Jean-Francois Mattei toured a hospital Friday in the suburb of Longjumeau that set up a refrigerated tent to store bodies.

``We're on maximum alert,'' said Mattei, who has denied allegations of foot-dragging. ``The crisis is not over.''

Friday was a Roman Catholic holiday, the feast of the Assumption, and most of France had a long weekend. The Paris mayor's office authorized cemetery personnel to stay on the job.

If the preliminary French figures of up to 3,000 deaths holds, the death toll would be among the highest in recent years, officials at the World Health Organization in Geneva said.

About 2,600 heat-related deaths were recorded in India five years ago, and roughly 500 people died from heat-related causes in 1995 in Chicago, according to WHO experts.

No other European countries reported deaths anywhere near the scale of those in France. Spain, for example, has recorded 42. Germany and Italy haven't issued figures on heat-related deaths, saying such figures are difficult to come by because heat may be just one factor contributing to a person's death.

Copyright 2003 The Associated Press.

 

[red indian]

Ah! the Ozone........

......more "environmental nazi" bullshit. The hole in the ozone that was "discovered" was found by sophisticated machinery in the latter part of the 20th century. No one seems to have considered just how long the hole may have been there prior to the invention of the machinery. It may, for all we know, have been there for centuries.

A team of American oceanographers recently completed a ten year study of global ocean temperatures. Conclusion? no detectable change. The study was of course ignored by the environazis.