Yale Climate Connections - Jeff Masters Weather Blog

Coping with high heat » Yale Climate Connections


If you have ever found yourself overheated, you know how unpleasant it is. But you may not know how dangerous it is – and how much more of this kind of danger we’re facing as the planet warms up.

Those who live where it’s often hot generally know what to do to protect themselves from overheating, though whether they are able to do these things is another matter. Those who live in more temperate places have much to learn – about the effects of high heat for a few hours or a few days and nights, effects both short and long-term, on both bodies and minds; about what makes some more vulnerable than others; and about ways to cope as both individuals and societies.

Let’s start with a few good overviews:

It’s easy to find information online about symptoms of and treatments for overheating, including from major health institutions, such as the Mayo Clinic, the CDC, and the NIH. Try searching health plus heat stress, heat waves, extreme heat, heat index, wet-bulb. Those last two terms are worth learning: heat index is basically how hot it feels in the shade, while the wet-bulb temperature takes humidity and other factors into account.

These newspaper pieces are also informative:

Here are two especially vivid pieces focused on the lived experience of extreme heat, followed by two slightly offbeat supplements:

Not unexpectedly, some individuals and groups of people are more vulnerable than others to the threats of extreme heat. These two pieces are especially well-done introductions to this huge problem:

Of course, many people all over the world are hard at work figuring out ways to reduce the damage done by extreme heat – for individuals and also for larger groups and places. Here’s one article to spur your interest in such adaptations: Record-breaking heat waves show we need to adapt to the climate crisis now, Beatrice Christofaro, DW, 2022. And, if you are in a position to do something on a larger-than-personal scale, try spending some time with the Global Heat Health Information Network.

This series is curated and written by retired Colorado State University English professor and close climate change watcher SueEllen Campbell of Colorado. To flag works you think warrant attention, send an e-mail to her any time. Let us hear from you.



Source link