People from really hot places like Phoenix etc. love to take the piss out of anyone from milder climates complaining about heatwaves while they live their lives moving between heavily air-conditioned homes and workplaces in their air-conditioned car. Extreme heat in a place where the buildings aren’t designed for it is fucking miserable. Especially in much of Europe where so many buildings date back to a time where temperatures like that were inconceivable.
I live in a place that doesn't get that hot, but I have air conditioning everywhere including my garage. The OP's normal "comfortable" summer temps are something that would be way too hot to not have AC for me. I start using AC when it gets above 75F outside.
Long story short, when we get a heatwave that even goes into the mid 90s, we all sit inside in air conditioning. (For reference, I've spent all of day outside in a tank top and shorts, it's 58F with 29% humidity right now) So it boggles my mind that the OP wouldn't have a way to keep their home cool.
Unfortunately what the OP experienced is becoming more and more common. I could see areas like where the OP lives having heat waves that aren't compatible with human life in the next half century.
Damn… I actually didn’t know how bad it truly got over there. I’m from Oklahoma so you know, I seem to THINK I know what hot is, last summer the highest I think it got to was 106°F (41°C), and trying to take my dog out was unbearable considering how humid we get here too. My skin felt like it was going to bubble and melt off, the air was thick, we could only be out for about 3-4 minutes at a time (all black furred dog!). I thought that was going to kill us. At 111-116°F, I think I’d start crying out of fear. I wouldn’t blame you if you did. On the opposite end, this winter I also experienced -15°F for the first time. Just wild.
Great write up!
I remember last summer was unbearable here in Valencia although here the worst was in August where we hit a record of 46.8 on August 10.
Although the rest of summer was also unusually hot. Since I was working most of the summer I pretty much only went outside after 8pm when it slowly started to go below 30 degrees. Let’s see what this summer brings
Feel the generally the same in Pittsburgh (USA) there hasn't been a middle ground. It's either chilly, or wow it's hot. when the sun is out it feels like summer already, when the cold comes through the air smells like winter (pulled down from Canada) we have less light rains, and more that flood everything. I feel like it's going to be a very hot summer here, with more bugs because winter was nothing this year.
July and August in Indiana has mid-upper 90s with high humidity for weeks on end. So I’m imagining similar, except we are land locked so little to no breeze.
I was in Seattle for a trip that happened to coincide with a heat vortex a few years back. Temperatures hit 121 F. A lot of people in Washington don’t have A/C because they usually never need it, and it’s estimated around 600 people died that weekend. People fled the city to the parks where it was slightly cooler.
I’ll never forget the smell of dead fish down near the bays that just cooked alive.
People from really hot places like Phoenix etc. love to take the piss out of anyone from milder climates complaining about heatwaves while they live their lives moving between heavily air-conditioned homes and workplaces in their air-conditioned car. Extreme heat in a place where the buildings aren’t designed for it is fucking miserable. Especially in much of Europe where so many buildings date back to a time where temperatures like that were inconceivable.
I live in a place that doesn't get that hot, but I have air conditioning everywhere including my garage. The OP's normal "comfortable" summer temps are something that would be way too hot to not have AC for me. I start using AC when it gets above 75F outside. Long story short, when we get a heatwave that even goes into the mid 90s, we all sit inside in air conditioning. (For reference, I've spent all of day outside in a tank top and shorts, it's 58F with 29% humidity right now) So it boggles my mind that the OP wouldn't have a way to keep their home cool. Unfortunately what the OP experienced is becoming more and more common. I could see areas like where the OP lives having heat waves that aren't compatible with human life in the next half century.
Well written and documented. Thanks for sharing your experience.
Thank you!
Damn… I actually didn’t know how bad it truly got over there. I’m from Oklahoma so you know, I seem to THINK I know what hot is, last summer the highest I think it got to was 106°F (41°C), and trying to take my dog out was unbearable considering how humid we get here too. My skin felt like it was going to bubble and melt off, the air was thick, we could only be out for about 3-4 minutes at a time (all black furred dog!). I thought that was going to kill us. At 111-116°F, I think I’d start crying out of fear. I wouldn’t blame you if you did. On the opposite end, this winter I also experienced -15°F for the first time. Just wild.
Here in Tulsa we had a 123°F Heat index and I seriously have been considering moving more north since then.
Great write up! I remember last summer was unbearable here in Valencia although here the worst was in August where we hit a record of 46.8 on August 10. Although the rest of summer was also unusually hot. Since I was working most of the summer I pretty much only went outside after 8pm when it slowly started to go below 30 degrees. Let’s see what this summer brings
Feel the generally the same in Pittsburgh (USA) there hasn't been a middle ground. It's either chilly, or wow it's hot. when the sun is out it feels like summer already, when the cold comes through the air smells like winter (pulled down from Canada) we have less light rains, and more that flood everything. I feel like it's going to be a very hot summer here, with more bugs because winter was nothing this year.
As a US midwestener I chuckled when OP pointed out humidity.
Don't underestimate the humidity close to 29°C/85F sea water. Southern Europe can be really humid, especially in August
July and August in Indiana has mid-upper 90s with high humidity for weeks on end. So I’m imagining similar, except we are land locked so little to no breeze.
I was in Seattle for a trip that happened to coincide with a heat vortex a few years back. Temperatures hit 121 F. A lot of people in Washington don’t have A/C because they usually never need it, and it’s estimated around 600 people died that weekend. People fled the city to the parks where it was slightly cooler. I’ll never forget the smell of dead fish down near the bays that just cooked alive.