Europe swelters

[mr friendly guy]

https://www.news.com.au/technology/envi ... 30ee153e11

Europe swelters under ‘Sahara bubble’ heatwave
Authorities are warning of “thousands of deaths” as a scorching heatwave spreads over Europe, causing the mercury to spike.

news.com.auJUNE 27, 20196:55AM
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Brandenburg Police tweeted this picture of a motorist trying to cool off. Picture: Twitter.Source:Supplied

Europe is set to sizzle as temperatures skyrocket across the continent with potentially fatal consequences.

In France there are fears of a repeat of the horror heatwave of 2003 which saw 15,000 more people than usual die over the summer.

Three people have already died of suspected “cold shock” in the country after diving from the baking sun into the chilly sea and suffering cardiac arrest.

Spanish TV weather presenter Silvia Laplana warned “hell is coming” in a tweet with temperatures set to peak in the mid-40s.

“El inferno (hell) is coming,” she tweeted alongside a weather map which showed most of the country coloured scarlet later in the week.

“Of course it’s hot in summer but when you have a heatwave that is so extensive and intense, during which records are forecast to be beaten, it’s NOT normal.”

Temperatures are expected to be particularly sweltering in the northeast of Spain, with a stifling 45 degrees expected Friday in the city of Girona, and 44 degrees in Zaragoza at the weekend.

Five northern provinces were placed on an orange high alert for a heatwave on Wednesday, with another five to be added by the weekend.

Spanish forecaster Silvia Laplana tweeted a picture of an all-red weather map captioned: "El infierno (hell) is coming". Picture: Twitter/Silvia Laplana
Spanish forecaster Silvia Laplana tweeted a picture of an all-red weather map captioned: "El infierno (hell) is coming". Picture: Twitter/Silvia LaplanaSource:Twitter

Tourists in Rome have been struggling with the heatwave. Picture: Alberto Pizzoli/AFP.
Tourists in Rome have been struggling with the heatwave. Picture: Alberto Pizzoli/AFP.Source:AFP

Authorities in France have also issued urgent warnings.


The highest reliable June temperature previously recorded in France was 41.5C on 21 June 2003. And the country’s highest ever temperature — recorded at two separate locations in southern France on 12 August during the same 2003 heatwave — was 44.1C.

But Guillaume Woznica, a French forecaster warned: “The latest forecasts leave little room for doubt: we are heading for a new national record.”

Météo-France is predicting peaks of 45C in the southern towns of Nîmes and Carpentras on Friday.

A massive heatwave is sweeping across Europe. Picture: Tropic Tidbits
A massive heatwave is sweeping across Europe. Picture: Tropic TidbitsSource:Supplied

A bubble of Saharan air has brought scorching heat across the continent this week, with June records set to be broken in Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Switzerland.

Britain could also experience a scorcher with temperatures climbing into the low 30s over the weekend.

Tourists in Rome and Paris scaled back their sightseeing in sweltering temperatures on Tuesday, dousing themselves at fountains and cooling down with ice cream as a heatwave continued in continental Europe.

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Silvia Laplana
@slaplana_tve
El infierno is coming.

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COPS SHOCKED

Public nudists have come under fire in Germany as Europe sizzles in temperatures of up to 45 degrees.

In Brandenbug, police posted two pictures of a man riding a moped naked and called for captions of the images.

“Because we’re speechless,” said police, adding the hashtags #heat, #safetyfirst and #livingontheedge.

As contributions and queries poured in over whether the man flouted any rules, police clarified that it was not illegal to go around nude in public, but only so long as no one files a complaint.

View image on Twitter
View image on Twitter

Polizei Brandenburg
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@PolizeiBB
Weil wir #sprachlos sind : Wie würden Sie dieses Bild betiteln?

Als kleine Inspirationshilfe - ein #Zitat des Herren: „Et is halt warm, wa?“

Und jetzt Sie!#Hitze #safetyfirst #LebenAmLimit

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In Germany’s south, topless female sunbathers sparked a row after five fully-clad security men walked over to tell them to put their bikini tops back on, Sueddeutsche daily reported.

Several other sunbathers nearby stood up for the women, with one telling the newspaper: “We took off our bikinis out of solidarity.”

With debate over the incident that took place over the weekend heating up, the Greens party brought the issue to Munich’s city council.

“For me, it’s incomprehensible if men can lie in the sun topless but not women,” said Dominik Krause, among the initiators of the council debate.

The CSU, conservative Bavarian allies of Chancellor Angela Merkel, took another view, and instead tabled an urgent motion Wednesday requiring bathers to put on “swimwear that completely keeps their main sex organs covered” unless in an area specifically designated for nudists.

In Germany, where forecasters have warned a June record of 38.5 degrees could be smashed, speed restrictions were placed on some stretches of “autobahns” as the unusually warm weather raised the risks of “blow-ups” — the hot tarmac breaking up and shredding tyres.

A forest fire was raging north of Cottbus, the second-largest city in Brandenburg state, in an area that was just recovering from a fire in 2018.

It was deemed especially dangerous due to the risk of unexploded ammunition left in the area, which is home to a military training facility.

Young people enjoy the evening on lake Walensee, in Walenstadt, Switzerland. Picture: Gian Ehrenzeller/Keystone via AP.
Young people enjoy the evening on lake Walensee, in Walenstadt, Switzerland. Picture: Gian Ehrenzeller/Keystone via AP.Source:AP

A tourist adjusts her hair while walking under the sun in front of the Colosseum in Rome. Picture: Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP.
A tourist adjusts her hair while walking under the sun in front of the Colosseum in Rome. Picture: Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP.Source:AFP

In a rare gesture by FIFA on Monday evening, fans were allowed to bring their own bottles of water into the Paris stadium where Sweden took on Canada.

Phil Neville, the England coach, was sanguine about the impact of the weather on the tournament, however.

“There’s no excuse, the players are ready for it.” Meanwhile, French beekeepers and farming groups said they were bracing for a “catastrophic” honey harvest this year after frost damage in winter, an unusually rainy spring, and, now, unusually high temperatures.

“In the hives, there is nothing to eat, beekeepers are having to feed them with syrup because they risk dying from hunger,” added the union, which represents many small farms in honey-producing regions.

In the Baltic region of northeast Europe, crowds have flocked to lakes and rivers to cool down, leading to a spike in drownings.

Twenty-seven people were reported to have drowned so far in Lithuania where the temperature soared to an unusual high of 35.7 degrees Celsius.

Some of those temps are hot even by Australian standards. I remember the heat wave in 2003 in France, where the French weren't use to such temperatures and died. Then people blamed socialised medicine for that.

[LaCroix]

This morning, 8:30, we had 35°C (95F). Then it started rising... 11:00 (last check) we were at 37(99)...

I'm not saying it's hot, but I had two Hobbits showing up at my home and tossing some ring into my living room...

[The Romulan Republic]

"B-b-b-but climate change is a liberal hoax!"

[Broomstick]

Some of those temps are hot even by Australian standards. I remember the heat wave in 2003 in France, where the French weren't use to such temperatures and died. Then people blamed socialised medicine for that.

Huh. What I heard was that all the younger people were on vacation and left town, leaving the old folks in sweltering homes with no one to check up on their welfare and get them help when they needed it.

Whenever I hear about these heat waves I'm reminded of the one that struck Chicago in 1995, when more than 700 people died of heat in a mere 5 days and the morgue had to rent refrigerated trucks (11 of them!) to store the bodies because the morgue had run out of room to store them. I'm especially reminded of the mayor stating on TV that it wasn't heat that killed those people. I recall thinking well, if it wasn't heat you damn well figure out what because there are a LOT of people dropping dead.

Denial: all too common in these situations. The climate is changing and these heat waves are yet one more bit of proof.

[Jub]

I was in Australia when that 2014 heat wave hit. I don't think the area I was in got as hot as Melbourne but it was 4 days where temp just didn't drop below 40C. Thankfully I'd experienced similar heat before in Kelowna so it wasn't a massive shock to my system.

On days like that you stay indoors, keep hydrated, try to avoid too much activity, and maybe take a cool shower or two. If you have to go out and can't drive something with AC bring water with you, keep your trip short, and cover your exposed skin as much as possible. This is all doubly true if you're not used to highs in the high 30s let alone the mid 40s.

The deaths happen when you don't respect the heat you your body's water lose. Call in to work if you don't feel safe making the commute or working the job in that heat. Your life isn't worth it.

[Broomstick]

Having experienced 40 C heat waves in my younger years and "merely" 35 C the past few years I've noted that advancing age is really cutting down on my adaptability. The older you get it really is true the more serious weather extremes become.

[LaCroix]

Water is important, but it'S more important to drink cool water - having a pitcher in the fridge or something.

You sweat because your insides are hot. Your body tries to cool down core temperature via evaporative cooling at the skin, cooling the blood. At 30-35 degrees, that process breaks down because of the temperature gradient between you and the outside - you are pretty much only able to remove the heat you produce by just breathing and keeping perfectly still. A breeze might help, increasing the evaporative cooling, or so does dipping into water, even when it's warm - as long as it is colder than 37 degrees, it will cool you down due to it's bigger heat capacity than air.

Drinking anything that is colder than the outside temperature not only helps you regain lost water, but also cools down your body right where it matters, making you sweat less for a period of time. Drinking water from a bottle that was outside and warmer than 37 degrees will actually make you sweat more, net-hydrating you less than it's volume, and might even be harmful if you are already seriously overheated.

tldr; It's easier to keep hidrated if your drink is cool.

[LaCroix]

Having experienced 40 C heat waves in my younger years and "merely" 35 C the past few years I've noted that advancing age is really cutting down on my adaptability. The older you get it really is true the more serious weather extremes become.

Same here - metabolism slowing with age, and the fact that we all are gaining on insulation over the years adds to the effect. I lost 20 pounds, and it made hot weather sooooo much easier to stomach.

[SpottedKitty]

It's been nice and warm here for the last couple of days after lots of dull drizzly (or worse) chill. Last night the weather forecast showed an all-Europe map. The expected temperature for a band roughly from Portugal to Hungary was double what we'll probably get by the time the heat wave's over. Good grief.

[FireNexus]

What’s the heat index looking like? That can be the difference between being fine just spraying yourself periodically with water and sitting near a fan and nothing but full on AC and reflective everything to keep the sun off being able to help when it gets above 95F. The annoying thing they say during heat waves in the mid-Atlantic is “I was in Arizona and it was 102 but it’s a dry heat” or “It’s not the heat, it’s the humidity.” It’s true, but it’s the last thing you want to hear when the heat index is 107F

[Zwinmar]

I have gone down for heat exhaustion before, and have put on weight since then. So, I stay inside, drink plenty of water...in general, act like I wish I could when I was out in the Mojave for training...not having to wear body armor defiantly makes it easier.

[LaCroix]

What’s the heat index looking like? That can be the difference between being fine just spraying yourself periodically with water and sitting near a fan and nothing but full on AC and reflective everything to keep the sun off being able to help when it gets above 95F. The annoying thing they say during heat waves in the mid-Atlantic is “I was in Arizona and it was 102 but it’s a dry heat” or “It’s not the heat, it’s the humidity.” It’s true, but it’s the last thing you want to hear when the heat index is 107F

Dunno, but my indian coworkers are complaining about the humid heat we have now, and that it feels worse than in India.

[Iroscato]

Jesus Christ, we're like 3 years into climate change just doing a quick warm up (pun slightly intended) before it screws on its Split-o-matic 5000 dildo and guts us like the increasingly suffocated salmon we're responsible for.
How much higher does it have to go before shit just starts to fall apart at the seams? It's fucking scary to contemplate and I'm getting increasingly pessimistic about our chances of surviving it - I'm well past hoping we avoid like a lot of people seem to think is still possible.

[The Romulan Republic]

Jesus Christ, we're like 3 years into climate change just doing a quick warm up (pun slightly intended) before it screws on its Split-o-matic 5000 dildo and guts us like the increasingly suffocated salmon we're responsible for.
How much higher does it have to go before shit just starts to fall apart at the seams? It's fucking scary to contemplate and I'm getting increasingly pessimistic about our chances of surviving it - I'm well past hoping we avoid like a lot of people seem to think is still possible.

I very much doubt it will result in the entire extinction of the species- not by itself anyway. In conjunction with other things that will likely accompany it and the break down of society, like pandemics and nuclear exchanges, maybe.

The collapse of civilization as we know it, however, is looking increasingly likely, for this and other reasons. And we're already seeing a global mass extinction in progress.

[Broomstick]

Having experienced 40 C heat waves in my younger years and "merely" 35 C the past few years I've noted that advancing age is really cutting down on my adaptability. The older you get it really is true the more serious weather extremes become.

Same here - metabolism slowing with age, and the fact that we all are gaining on insulation over the years adds to the effect. I lost 20 pounds, and it made hot weather sooooo much easier to stomach.

I never really gained weight over the years - I can still wear clothes I wore 30 years ago, and do - so I didn't really add any insulation. I just find that nothing works as well as it used to - including temperature moderation and sweating. Which is why old people are so vulnerable to heat waves. Their cooling systems are not as efficient as when they were younger, or as efficient as those of the younger people around them.

[Broomstick]

Jesus Christ, we're like 3 years into climate change just doing a quick warm up (pun slightly intended) before it screws on its Split-o-matic 5000 dildo and guts us like the increasingly suffocated salmon we're responsible for.
How much higher does it have to go before shit just starts to fall apart at the seams?

I'm guesstimating 5-10 years.

We're already seeing war and mass migration prompted by climate change - that's a lot of what drove people from North Africa/the Middle East into Europe, and what's currently driving the migration from Central America into the US. The people doing this are desperate, which is why "discouraging" them doesn't work.

But I don't want to divert this into another discussion on the mass migration problems we're having so I'm going to stop there.

We're also going to start having problems with the food supply. In my area about half the fields are lying empty this year because the weather prevent the farmers from getting the seed in on time to have enough time to get a crop and harvest it. Granted, the world can get by with less popcorn (we supply about half of the world's crop each year, it's the major crop out here although a few other things are also planted) but if we start having that happen pretty much everywhere... yeah, it's bad. Working in a grocery store I've noted the price of food has definitely gone up.

It's fucking scary to contemplate and I'm getting increasingly pessimistic about our chances of surviving it - I'm well past hoping we avoid like a lot of people seem to think is still possible.

I've been saying for years now that we are past the point of stopping climate change, we have to start adapting to it.

Not everyone will.

There will be a very few winners and a LOT of losers. Which could result in the winners also being losers long-term.

[ray245]

"B-b-b-but climate change is a liberal hoax!"

Well heat wave occurs even without global warming. It's just the frequency of them that matters.

Problem is, many people are very good at having selective memories.

[SpottedKitty]

"B-b-b-but climate change is a liberal hoax!"

Well heat wave occurs even without global warming. It's just the frequency of them that matters.

Problem is, many people are very good at having selective memories.

Not to mention (perhaps deliberately) not understanding the difference between "weather" and "climate"...

[ray245]

Not to mention (perhaps deliberately) not understanding the difference between "weather" and "climate"...

I think most people were never taught about the difference in schools. The two words sound alike in meaning and that's what many people assumed they mean the same thing.

[EnterpriseSovereign]

Not to mention (perhaps deliberately) not understanding the difference between "weather" and "climate"...

I think most people were never taught about the difference in schools. The two words sound alike in meaning and that's what many people assumed they mean the same thing.

Clearly Trump is one of those people!

[ray245]

Clearly Trump is one of those people!

And that's partly why he got elected. Those that don't quite understand the difference believed Trump makes more sense to them.

But this is getting off-topic now.

[LadyTevar]

Yesterday in Anchorage Alaska, it was 90F.

West Virginia was only 87F.