As our Abrupt Climate Change Catastrophe becomes more extreme the leading cause of death on the planet will be humans hitting their Wet Bulb Temperature.
“It has been widely believed that a 35°C wet-bulb temperature (equal to 95°F at 100% humidity or 115°F at 50% humidity) was the maximum a human could endure before they could no longer adequately regulate their body temperature, which would potentially cause heat stroke or death over a prolonged exposure.”
“Wet-bulb temperature is read by a thermometer with a wet wick over its bulb and is affected by humidity and air movement. It represents a humid temperature at which the air is saturated and holds as much moisture as it can in the form of water vapor; a person’s sweat will not evaporate at that skin temperature.”
“But in their new study, the researchers found that the actual maximum wet-bulb temperature is lower — about 31°C wet-bulb or 87°F at 100% humidity — even for young, healthy subjects. The temperature for older populations, who are more vulnerable to heat, is likely even lower.”
Humans can’t endure temperatures and humiditie’s as high and previously thought”
Short cut to calculating Wet Bulb Temperature
“In a recent study with Matt Huber, we showed that it doesn’t take that many degrees of global warming to permit peak heat summertime heat stress to (occasionally) become unsurvivable, in many parts of the world that are currently highly populated.”
“We came to this conclusion by considering a meteorological quantity called the wet-bulb temperature. You measure this quantity with a normal thermometer that has a damp cloth covering the bulb. It is always lower than the usual or “dry-bulb” temperature; how much lower depends on the humidity. At 100% humidity (in a cloud or fog) they match. In Sydney and Melbourne, even during the hottest weather, the wet-bulb usually peaks in the low 20’s C. The highest values in the world are about 30-31C, during the worst heat/humidity events in India, the Amazon, and a few other very humid places.
Climate Change Research Centre (CCRC) – The University of New South Wales Sydney NSW Australia, paper shared here: ‘What is Wet Bulb temperature?‘
Orange – Heat stroke probable, Red – Heat stroke imminent
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Via Sam Carana on Facadebook!
New research explores future limits of survival, livability in extreme heat conditions
ASU Associate Professor Jennifer Vanos models variables that shape livability under extreme heat conditions https://news.asu.edu/20231130-new-research-explores…
A physiological approach for assessing human survivability and liveability to heat in a changing climate – by Jennifer Vanos et al. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-43121-5
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Sam’s latest on high temps in the tropics, the humid tropics.
https://arctic-news.blogspot.com/2024/02/tragedy-set-to-unfold-in-tropics.html?fbclid=IwAR3ap8iIdSqFZuNFki0krESymF2c-Ob4Tko7VHRZlHt7qLTGWzYD8NEGMAY
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“The heat-associated deaths confirmed in 2023 represented a huge jump from 2022, when there were 425 such deaths. There were 339 heat-associated deaths confirmed in 2021.”
The death rate from heat waves going exponential like all of our other graphs.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/mar/14/arizona-heat-deaths?CMP=twt_a-environment_b-gdneco&fbclid=IwAR3fj2LK04vihAxIZOtcMp-0MsOOg-FTMFyawrmTnsA6hIqCyRvswgxmhTI
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Sam Carana
Admin
· 9h ·
Tragedy set to unfold in Tropics (update)
Sam Carana
10h ·
TRAGEDY SET TO UNFOLD IN TROPICS (UPDATE)
Temperatures in the Tropics are rising rapidly. The image below shows the situation in the tropics (23.5°S-23.5°N, 0-360°E) through March 11, 2024, when the average daily surface air temperature was 26.7°C, i.e. 1.3°C above 1979-2000.
On April 24, 2016, it was 26.8°C, the highest temperature on record in the tropics and 1°C above 1979-2000, as the top image also shows.
The second image shows temperature anomalies over the past few years through February 2024.
Note that the anomalies in the above images are calculated from different bases. When calculated from a pre-industrial base, anomalies will be higher.
The danger is that tragedy will unfold over the next few months, as temperatures look set to exceed the 2016 peak in the tropics and cause widespread loss of life of people, livestock and wildlife, crop failure and ecosystem collapse in the tropics.
From the post ‘Tragedy set to unfold in Tropics (update)’, at:
https://arctic-news.blogspot.com/2024/03/tragedy-set-to-unfold-in-tropics-update.html?fbclid=IwAR2yUy9OPzxiVGSutFslRjbCgxX_GiJ1xg2-9pq3Ke_gKOHvSZOtQlEv3x8
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“A heatwave stifling Brazil has set new records with Rio de Janeiro’s heat index hitting 62.3 degrees Celsius (144.1 degrees Fahrenheit), the highest in a decade, weather authorities say.”
“The heat index measures what a temperature feels like by taking into account humidity. The actual maximum temperature in the city was 42C on Monday, the Rio Alert weather system said.”
https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2024/3/18/photos-record-heat-index-of-62-3c-scorches-rio-de-janeiro?fbclid=IwAR0tHmi-F4oyyl5fnq47pCMYPSzp77gqbhK5dY9ecwVnOinmvJyvu91sdyQ
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Soon, eh? Well, I guess it just became soon.
The Global South is getting hit…near the end of their summer in S. America. And it’s only March up here in the Northern Hemisphere but it hit 76’F yesterday.
So is this what we can expect by…Aug/Sept? A feel-like temperature of 140’F including wet bulb??? I’ve only experienced 120’F and it was barely survivable…and I don’t live in a humid climate as this is the dry side mountains of Washington State…
Besides, my mercury thermometer doesn’t go that high but then I guess it doesn’t matter as I barely made it outside once a day in the heat dome of 2021.
Brutal Heat Wave Packs Rio de Janeiro’s Beaches
https://weather.com/news/weather/video/brutal-heat-wave-packs-rio-de-janeiros-beaches
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sealinthe(soon to be burning again)Selkirks
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62C is what it feels like!
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/3/18/2230156/-Rio-de-Janiero-hits-a-record-heat-index-of-144-1-F-62-3-C?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=trending&pm_medium=web&fbclid=IwAR2JllbS8HuiCAaSmJXZC-sJmgRZpmh-oslDM2Xj4OmPBPwTjlXoTXOyaNA
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This just popped up on the weather site. Uh-oh.
UN Weather Agency Issues ‘Red Alert’ For The Planet
https://weather.com/news/climate/video/un-weather-agency-issues-red-alert-for-the-planet
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sealintheSelkirks
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“The World Meteorological Organization’s “State of the Climate” report issued Tuesday has a stern warning for the planet – curb global warming or it will soon be too late.”
How quaint, it’s not too late!
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And this was posted today. Simple explanation in 40 seconds, scary reality:
Study: Temperatures Rising, But Heat Index Is Rising Faster
https://weather.com/news/climate/video/study-temperatures-rising-but-heat-index-is-rising-faster
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I find it interesting that weather.com is throwing up more ‘climate danger’ short vids than ever before. But since it has been between 70 and 76’F the last few days in these mountains, in freaking mid-March, best to be warning people about what is going to hit us up here this summer, yes?
Somehow, I don’t think many people are thinking about that around here yet. I sure the hell am.
sealintheSelkirks
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Via Sam Carana
Romps, Heat index extremes increasing several times faster than the air temperature, ERL, 2024
Climate Physics (berkeley.edu)
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“To estimate the impact of global warming on the heat index, we need to know how its two inputs—temperature and humidity—are changing. Any realistic change to the climate will alter mean diurnal cycles as well as distributions of daily-minimum and daily-maximum temperatures.”
Heat index extremes increasing several times faster than the air temperature – IOPscience
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[…] Stalling? CheckExtinction Cascades? CheckA Minimum of Six Dozen Feedback Loops Triggered? CheckLosing a city/region to extreme Wet Bulb Temps? […]
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Record-breaking heat and humidity predicted for tropics this summer
Combination of global warming and El Niño could lead to extreme humid heat stress.
Record-breaking heat and humidity predicted for tropics this summer | Berkeley
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Now we are seeing the extremely quick breakdown of El Nino that looks to turn instantly back to the La Nina pattern of the last three years by this summer. It’s only been El Nino over this winter, about 5-6 months is all! Holy hell, how did it zip completely past ‘climate neutral’ so damn quickly?
I’m getting ice Frisbees in the dog water pans most morning still, and back to 5’C temps by 10am up to maybe 12’C at best in the afternoons. Warmer in the sun of course, when it breaks through the clouds. Have had groppel coming out of some of the larger dark cloud masses drifting overhead, too, the last few days. Splatters of raindrops also of course but no real rain showers since last week. 1May and it’s acting like early April where in early March it was acting like early July with nearly 30’C temps. Happened three times total in March & April.
Wild damn swings in the weather up here by Canada.
Fires are going above the border, too. And have seen a few of the wildfire water bombers heading west over the Columbia River but no smoke smell detected by nose nor visible in the air here yet. I have a bad feeling about this summer, dude.
La Nina has pounded us with heat the last three years as it has Canada. Every June it has been over 40’C by the second week, and up to near 50’C by the end of the month (2021). Then it stays that way right into November!
Washington State just declared drought conditions last week…snowpack levels have disappeared and especially bad here in the NE corner mountains. What little we had is just…gone. Not much of a Spring run-off that I noticed. Local rivers and streams never really went into what I’d call flood stage.
I posted that article about Mexico’s ongoing heat and drought on a different thread but it certainly applies here, too.
sealintheSelkirks
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Heatwave in Asia: How to cope with extremely hot weather? | DW News Desk (youtube.com)
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