'Today is the hottest day in the history of France'
June 28, 2019 7:22 AM Subscribe
Europe is sweltering under a historic heat wave -- France has set a new all-time record high temperature with 44.3C (111.7F) recorded in Carpentras in the Vaucluse; Spain is battling a wildfire in Catalonia that has consumed over 6,000 hectares (15,000 acres) suspected to been started by a pile of manure that self-ignited; several deaths have already been attributed to the heat wave in Spain, Italy and France; Germany, the Czech Republic, and Poland have broken high temperature records for the month of June with temperatures of 38.6C (101.5F), 38.5C (101.3F) and 38.2C (100.8F), respectively; London could see temperatures of 34C (93F) on Saturday.
The heat wave is being caused by hot air coming north from North Africa. The UN's World Meteorological Organization has said it's too soon to definitely attribute the heat wave to climate change but that it is "absolutely consistent" with extremes and that heat waves will only become more intense, drawn out and start earlier and finish later.
Many national weather services have placed a record-high number of regions or departments on high alert: Météo France has placed 4 départements on the highest 'red' level and the Italian Ministry of Health has set 16 cities on the highest alert level, including Rome, Milan, Naples, Turin, Bari, Florence and Bologna. The eastern German state of Saxony-Anhalt has imposed speed limits of 100 km/h (62 mph) or 120 kph (75 mph) on stretches of autobahn that normally have no limit. And people aren't the only ones affected: zoo animals all across Europe have been sprayed down and eating ice cream and rope-suspended popsicles to cool off.
The heat wave is being caused by hot air coming north from North Africa. The UN's World Meteorological Organization has said it's too soon to definitely attribute the heat wave to climate change but that it is "absolutely consistent" with extremes and that heat waves will only become more intense, drawn out and start earlier and finish later.
Many national weather services have placed a record-high number of regions or departments on high alert: Météo France has placed 4 départements on the highest 'red' level and the Italian Ministry of Health has set 16 cities on the highest alert level, including Rome, Milan, Naples, Turin, Bari, Florence and Bologna. The eastern German state of Saxony-Anhalt has imposed speed limits of 100 km/h (62 mph) or 120 kph (75 mph) on stretches of autobahn that normally have no limit. And people aren't the only ones affected: zoo animals all across Europe have been sprayed down and eating ice cream and rope-suspended popsicles to cool off.
There is NO climate change happening but the Noah zoo boat for the great flood is undisputed
posted by robbyrobs at 7:40 AM on June 28, 2019 [24 favorites]
posted by robbyrobs at 7:40 AM on June 28, 2019 [24 favorites]
Oof. 45C is pretty hot especially when most buildings don't have AC to escape into. It's been as high as 44C here and I gotta say, I don't like it. It's only fun if you have somewhere else cooler to go.
posted by GuyZero at 7:47 AM on June 28, 2019 [4 favorites]
posted by GuyZero at 7:47 AM on June 28, 2019 [4 favorites]
That said, London getting to 34C, come on, gimme a break you big babies. Although they should probably cancel work as UK offices are going to be intolerable.
posted by GuyZero at 7:49 AM on June 28, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by GuyZero at 7:49 AM on June 28, 2019 [1 favorite]
Yes, we've had some warm days in Poland and apparently there are more to come. Not like Arizona or wherever, but we don't live in a damn desert and don't want to. I am physically and psychically constructed for a highland mist.
posted by pracowity at 7:50 AM on June 28, 2019 [22 favorites]
posted by pracowity at 7:50 AM on June 28, 2019 [22 favorites]
Yeah architectural styles created to retain heat over months of cool damp weather are going to be killing people over long weeks of endlessly beating down sun even if the airport temperature is mid 30s with a light breeze. In a maze of concrete and brick there's simply nowhere to go. And christ, I can't imagine how hot the tube is going to get. People are going to pass out during their commutes.
posted by seanmpuckett at 7:52 AM on June 28, 2019 [29 favorites]
posted by seanmpuckett at 7:52 AM on June 28, 2019 [29 favorites]
Those poor souls with no no air conditioning. I live in Texas (same latitude as Egypt), and work outside, but I always have the sweet respite of an artificially cooled environment I can walk into.
This heat wave sounds like hell for areas of Europe without A/C access.
posted by Gatyr at 7:54 AM on June 28, 2019 [9 favorites]
This heat wave sounds like hell for areas of Europe without A/C access.
posted by Gatyr at 7:54 AM on June 28, 2019 [9 favorites]
When your entire country is physically unprepared for the weather, as in nothing in the built environment was built to handle it, that's a hint that the climate is indeed changing.
posted by ocschwar at 7:58 AM on June 28, 2019 [103 favorites]
posted by ocschwar at 7:58 AM on June 28, 2019 [103 favorites]
We are approaching integer overflow at 1,300m in the Swiss Alps...
posted by lawrencium at 8:00 AM on June 28, 2019 [15 favorites]
posted by lawrencium at 8:00 AM on June 28, 2019 [15 favorites]
Just got back from a conference in Prague and it was murder for the past few days. Like, America levels of hot. Just swarming with glistening tourists and stinking Bohemians, everyone unhappy. I hate this timeline.
posted by dis_integration at 8:02 AM on June 28, 2019 [5 favorites]
posted by dis_integration at 8:02 AM on June 28, 2019 [5 favorites]
no sir i don't like it
posted by poffin boffin at 8:05 AM on June 28, 2019 [13 favorites]
posted by poffin boffin at 8:05 AM on June 28, 2019 [13 favorites]
It's also worth noting that the nighttime temperatures have been extraordinarily high (by European standards). On Wednesday night, Nice and Menton in southeastern France saw nighttime temperatures of 26C and 29C respectively (79F and 84F). The normal low for Menton in June is 18C (65F).
I grew up in a climate that is relatively similar to Menton's (Los Angeles basin -- it ain't called a Mediterranean climate for nothing!) without any kind of air conditioning, but a big part of that was because it was dry and because nighttime temperatures cooled off a lot at night. When you're used to summer nights in the high teens Celsius/mid-sixties Fahrenheit, sleeping in temperatures that are your normal midday highs is pretty unbearable.
posted by andrewesque at 8:06 AM on June 28, 2019 [9 favorites]
I grew up in a climate that is relatively similar to Menton's (Los Angeles basin -- it ain't called a Mediterranean climate for nothing!) without any kind of air conditioning, but a big part of that was because it was dry and because nighttime temperatures cooled off a lot at night. When you're used to summer nights in the high teens Celsius/mid-sixties Fahrenheit, sleeping in temperatures that are your normal midday highs is pretty unbearable.
posted by andrewesque at 8:06 AM on June 28, 2019 [9 favorites]
Yeah, In Toronto it gets hot and stays hot and trying to sleep when it's 28+ overnight is no fun. Most people have AC but I lived in an old house without it and it took fans and a few big glasses of water before lying down for the night (I hesitate to say "going to sleep" because it was really just lying there uncomfortably for several hours before the sun came back)
posted by GuyZero at 8:09 AM on June 28, 2019 [4 favorites]
posted by GuyZero at 8:09 AM on June 28, 2019 [4 favorites]
This is frightening. I have nothing else to say. It's just alarming and scary and I think we should be reporting it as such.
posted by Automocar at 8:17 AM on June 28, 2019 [22 favorites]
posted by Automocar at 8:17 AM on June 28, 2019 [22 favorites]
While Paris suffers a horrible unprecedented heatwave, police are teargassing peaceful Extinction Rebellion protestors.
Many of the places getting the heat are not Texas or Arizona or even Florida. The heat is humid and buildings are generally not built for coolness - they are often built to retain heat not disperse it - nor do people have A/C. So there is no escape. This is because summers rarely get this hot - it is the winters that people have historically worried about in the Northern lands so people are not prepared for this.
posted by vacapinta at 8:25 AM on June 28, 2019 [17 favorites]
Many of the places getting the heat are not Texas or Arizona or even Florida. The heat is humid and buildings are generally not built for coolness - they are often built to retain heat not disperse it - nor do people have A/C. So there is no escape. This is because summers rarely get this hot - it is the winters that people have historically worried about in the Northern lands so people are not prepared for this.
posted by vacapinta at 8:25 AM on June 28, 2019 [17 favorites]
It has been almost to 90*F here in Michigan and humid as all get out. They're just starting with the heat stroke public announcements but it looks to be a hot and difficult summer.
posted by skookumsaurus rex at 8:26 AM on June 28, 2019
posted by skookumsaurus rex at 8:26 AM on June 28, 2019
While Paris suffers a horrible unprecedented heatwave, police are teargassing peaceful Extinction Rebellion protestors.
(The guys protesting against a gas tax, on the other hand...)
posted by tobascodagama at 8:29 AM on June 28, 2019 [10 favorites]
(The guys protesting against a gas tax, on the other hand...)
posted by tobascodagama at 8:29 AM on June 28, 2019 [10 favorites]
I don't know if this is a thing elsewhere, but weather forecasters in the UK have a really irritating habit of saying "better" when they mean "hotter".
They can keep company in Hell with anyone who describes temperatures over 90 F as "warm".
posted by thelonius at 8:30 AM on June 28, 2019 [3 favorites]
They can keep company in Hell with anyone who describes temperatures over 90 F as "warm".
posted by thelonius at 8:30 AM on June 28, 2019 [3 favorites]
I have only experienced temperatures like that in Las Vegas, which is a desert aka dry heat. also everything is air conditioned into frigidity. I cannot imagine having to live through days of this with no AC, especially in urban heat islands. stay safe European Mefites, and stay cool if you can.
posted by supermedusa at 8:32 AM on June 28, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by supermedusa at 8:32 AM on June 28, 2019 [3 favorites]
I was living in France back in 2003 when they had a summer heat wave that killed almost 15,000 people in that country, alone. Most of the deaths were elderly folks who had frail constitutions. But it was exacerbated by the fact that it occurred in August, when many families take vacations and were not around to make sure their elderly relatives were taken care of adequately.
I had no AC at the time and definitely found it unpleasant, but was fortunately young and more resilient. I was also made more so by having survived a beastly summer a few years earlier in Tunis, also without AC, in which I thought the heat was going to make me crazy. That was the first time I welcomed sleeping on the bare concrete floor where I was living, because it was the only way to sleep without boiling.
A year later, I spent another AC-less summer in sweltering Cameroon. Now I am so over being without AC in the summer.
Here in Arizona, it’s good to know the tricks for keeping cool, in case the AC breaks. Tips I learned for keeping cool with no AC:
As far as that goes, pets need extra attention and water in extreme heat, too.
My heart goes out to all of you having to deal with this. Courage!
posted by darkstar at 8:33 AM on June 28, 2019 [25 favorites]
I had no AC at the time and definitely found it unpleasant, but was fortunately young and more resilient. I was also made more so by having survived a beastly summer a few years earlier in Tunis, also without AC, in which I thought the heat was going to make me crazy. That was the first time I welcomed sleeping on the bare concrete floor where I was living, because it was the only way to sleep without boiling.
A year later, I spent another AC-less summer in sweltering Cameroon. Now I am so over being without AC in the summer.
Here in Arizona, it’s good to know the tricks for keeping cool, in case the AC breaks. Tips I learned for keeping cool with no AC:
1. Freeze two large (2 liter) plastic water bottles the night before. Take one out in the morning and sip from it as the ice melts. Hold the icy bottle next to you as needed. When it’s used up, take the other one out of the freezer and repeat.Don’t forget to check on elderly and infirm people, as the heat is particularly dangerous for them.
2. Place a damp hand towel across your shoulders (if sitting) or chest (if lying down). Position an electric fan to blow on you. The evaporative cooling from the damp cloth is really effective at cooling you down.
3. A quick shower is also helpful. There were days in Tunis that I took six quick showers a day to cool off. Sitting in a bathtub with some water in it is also effective. Swim suit optional.
As far as that goes, pets need extra attention and water in extreme heat, too.
My heart goes out to all of you having to deal with this. Courage!
posted by darkstar at 8:33 AM on June 28, 2019 [25 favorites]
People used to sleep outside in the days before air conditioning, didn't they? Or is that just something they did in the movies?
posted by Automocar at 8:39 AM on June 28, 2019 [4 favorites]
posted by Automocar at 8:39 AM on June 28, 2019 [4 favorites]
I post this only because I found it helpful during a really terrible, humid heatwave with overnight "lows" of 80F/26.5C and no air conditioning:
If you can get the largest kind of reusable cold packs like these random ones, get two for each person in your household and freeze them (or at least refrigerate them; I know that Europeans have small refrigerators). Lying on top of one (with a thin towel or tee shirt over it) in front of a fan with a glass of ice water can cool your body temperature enough to sleep. When the one you're lying on reaches body temperature and you wake up, you can stagger into the kitchen to get the other one and replace the first in the freezer. Frozen is best.
I find extreme heat really viscerally scary and worry a lot about how to lower body temperature when there's no A/C.
posted by Frowner at 8:39 AM on June 28, 2019 [13 favorites]
If you can get the largest kind of reusable cold packs like these random ones, get two for each person in your household and freeze them (or at least refrigerate them; I know that Europeans have small refrigerators). Lying on top of one (with a thin towel or tee shirt over it) in front of a fan with a glass of ice water can cool your body temperature enough to sleep. When the one you're lying on reaches body temperature and you wake up, you can stagger into the kitchen to get the other one and replace the first in the freezer. Frozen is best.
I find extreme heat really viscerally scary and worry a lot about how to lower body temperature when there's no A/C.
posted by Frowner at 8:39 AM on June 28, 2019 [13 favorites]
There are four "départements" - analogous to counties - in southern France that have been under a "red warning" for high temperatures for a couple of days. My house is just to the west of that bloc. And yes, it's been hot during the last few days, but the night-time temperatures have been going down to around 20°. Everyone keeps their shutters and windows closed during the day, and at night all the shutters and windows are opened to let in cool air. It is the benefit of having dense stone and masonry houses. At 1730 today with a 40° outside peak temperature, the inside of my house is 25° with no air conditioning.
45.8°C at Gallargues-le-Montueux, western part of the departement of Gard, at 1600 according to Météo France.
posted by jet_silver at 8:42 AM on June 28, 2019 [6 favorites]
45.8°C at Gallargues-le-Montueux, western part of the departement of Gard, at 1600 according to Météo France.
posted by jet_silver at 8:42 AM on June 28, 2019 [6 favorites]
The 2003 European Heat Wave killed more than 70,000 people.
This one is hotter.
posted by darkstar at 8:49 AM on June 28, 2019 [11 favorites]
This one is hotter.
posted by darkstar at 8:49 AM on June 28, 2019 [11 favorites]
I don't know if this is a thing elsewhere, but weather forecasters in the UK have a really irritating habit of saying "better" when they mean "hotter".
I think it is a thing everywhere - even where it's hot they describe a clear, cloudless sky as 'better' than some clouds. Better for getting a sunburn I guess. I swear local weather people hate clouds.
posted by The_Vegetables at 8:54 AM on June 28, 2019 [2 favorites]
I think it is a thing everywhere - even where it's hot they describe a clear, cloudless sky as 'better' than some clouds. Better for getting a sunburn I guess. I swear local weather people hate clouds.
posted by The_Vegetables at 8:54 AM on June 28, 2019 [2 favorites]
It is important to note dense urban areas are heat islands (basic kids science article) which put people in urban areas more at risk.
Please listen to public announcements, know where cooling centers are and know the signs and symptoms of heat stroke(WebMD). While elderly and infirm are most at risk, these temperatures can and do take the lives of healthy adults.
posted by AlexiaSky at 8:54 AM on June 28, 2019 [7 favorites]
Please listen to public announcements, know where cooling centers are and know the signs and symptoms of heat stroke(WebMD). While elderly and infirm are most at risk, these temperatures can and do take the lives of healthy adults.
posted by AlexiaSky at 8:54 AM on June 28, 2019 [7 favorites]
My spouse is in France right now for a conference. The venue has no air conditioning.
It's been miserable.
posted by kyrademon at 9:02 AM on June 28, 2019 [4 favorites]
It's been miserable.
posted by kyrademon at 9:02 AM on June 28, 2019 [4 favorites]
People used to sleep outside in the days before air conditioning, didn't they? Or is that just something they did in the movies?
ON rooftops. In the parks.
THis is why in India the hard work gets done in the wee hours of the morning. This is why they do siestas.
posted by ocschwar at 9:02 AM on June 28, 2019 [11 favorites]
ON rooftops. In the parks.
THis is why in India the hard work gets done in the wee hours of the morning. This is why they do siestas.
posted by ocschwar at 9:02 AM on June 28, 2019 [11 favorites]
People used to sleep outside in the days before air conditioning, didn't they? Or is that just something they did in the movies?
yeah but with no a/c there was no exhaust from 15 million units is making it 12 billion degrees hotter so outside was probably like. bearable? maybe?
posted by poffin boffin at 9:07 AM on June 28, 2019 [13 favorites]
yeah but with no a/c there was no exhaust from 15 million units is making it 12 billion degrees hotter so outside was probably like. bearable? maybe?
posted by poffin boffin at 9:07 AM on June 28, 2019 [13 favorites]
Sleeping outside pre-car exaust was fraught only if there were any coal fires, unlikely in summer- today sleeping outside just isn't safe.
On preview: what poffin boffin said.
posted by Homo neanderthalensis at 9:11 AM on June 28, 2019 [2 favorites]
On preview: what poffin boffin said.
posted by Homo neanderthalensis at 9:11 AM on June 28, 2019 [2 favorites]
you know what's really funny*
More people need Air Conditioning.
Which uses more energy.
Which pumps out more CO2.
Which contributes to climate change.
Which means more people need Air Conditioning.
This is fine.
Renewables, right? RIGHT?
* by some definition of funny that I'm not privvy to
posted by lalochezia at 9:28 AM on June 28, 2019 [12 favorites]
More people need Air Conditioning.
Which uses more energy.
Which pumps out more CO2.
Which contributes to climate change.
Which means more people need Air Conditioning.
This is fine.
Renewables, right? RIGHT?
* by some definition of funny that I'm not privvy to
posted by lalochezia at 9:28 AM on June 28, 2019 [12 favorites]
a pile of manure that self-ignited
and they said there is no perfect analogy for human civilization under petrocapitalism
posted by Ouverture at 9:37 AM on June 28, 2019 [82 favorites]
and they said there is no perfect analogy for human civilization under petrocapitalism
posted by Ouverture at 9:37 AM on June 28, 2019 [82 favorites]
And it's still June!
Don't be shy about taking cold showers or soaking in a tub of cool water to help you get by.
posted by Bee'sWing at 9:39 AM on June 28, 2019 [2 favorites]
Don't be shy about taking cold showers or soaking in a tub of cool water to help you get by.
posted by Bee'sWing at 9:39 AM on June 28, 2019 [2 favorites]
People used to sleep outside in the days before air conditioning, didn't they?
It would probably be fairer to say that they spent the night outside, at best drifting in and out of fitful, shallow sleep.
yeah but with no a/c there was no exhaust from 15 million units is making it 12 billion degrees hotter so outside was probably like. bearable? maybe?
Nah. When I was an undergrad and dinosaurs ruled the earth, there were maybe 10 air conditioned buildings within a quarter-mile or so of the dorms. Even at Charlottesville's little bit of altitude, shit was guh-ross the first few weeks of class before things got reasonable towards the end of September.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 9:42 AM on June 28, 2019 [2 favorites]
It would probably be fairer to say that they spent the night outside, at best drifting in and out of fitful, shallow sleep.
yeah but with no a/c there was no exhaust from 15 million units is making it 12 billion degrees hotter so outside was probably like. bearable? maybe?
Nah. When I was an undergrad and dinosaurs ruled the earth, there were maybe 10 air conditioned buildings within a quarter-mile or so of the dorms. Even at Charlottesville's little bit of altitude, shit was guh-ross the first few weeks of class before things got reasonable towards the end of September.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 9:42 AM on June 28, 2019 [2 favorites]
Tips:
-- close all your windows and doors and draw heavy drapes as soon as the sun comes up. When the sun comes down, reverse this and run a fan to move air through your house. This is less effective in humid places but it does help enough to matter.
-- For added cooling, hang a sheet from the ceiling with the bottom dipped into a bucket of water. Blow a fan against it for a bootleg evaporative cooler.
-- soak and wring out your top sheet and sleep under that with a fan pointed at you. Or, soak some pajamas and sleep in them wet.
--turn off and unplug all the unnecessary electricals in your house, they generate heat.
The Bedfan is a product that works well for me, but you can make a DIY one with a very strong fan with the air directed through a piece of ducting under your top sheet.
posted by blnkfrnk at 9:46 AM on June 28, 2019 [15 favorites]
-- close all your windows and doors and draw heavy drapes as soon as the sun comes up. When the sun comes down, reverse this and run a fan to move air through your house. This is less effective in humid places but it does help enough to matter.
-- For added cooling, hang a sheet from the ceiling with the bottom dipped into a bucket of water. Blow a fan against it for a bootleg evaporative cooler.
-- soak and wring out your top sheet and sleep under that with a fan pointed at you. Or, soak some pajamas and sleep in them wet.
--turn off and unplug all the unnecessary electricals in your house, they generate heat.
The Bedfan is a product that works well for me, but you can make a DIY one with a very strong fan with the air directed through a piece of ducting under your top sheet.
posted by blnkfrnk at 9:46 AM on June 28, 2019 [15 favorites]
Could this discussion centre on Europe please? And we KNOW other parts of the world are regularly hotter, however the weather here is unprecedented and dangerous FOR US, IN THIS REGION, and people will die because of it. "Big babies" is not appropriate.
posted by runincircles at 9:47 AM on June 28, 2019 [58 favorites]
posted by runincircles at 9:47 AM on June 28, 2019 [58 favorites]
It's hot in Paris right now (32°C) but quite bearable and not at all comparable to the 2003 heatwave, which hit most of France for more than an week. Several southern Départements are under RED alert right now and over 40°C (and even 45°), but the rest of the country is more or less fine. Also, lessons were drawn from 2003 and people are more aware and better prepared. In urban areas, the main problem is with the assholes who vandalize fire hydrants, which is dangerous for all sorts of reasons (a 6-year old was serioulsy hurt after he was thrown in the air by a street geyser) and wastes tons of water.
posted by elgilito at 9:55 AM on June 28, 2019 [6 favorites]
posted by elgilito at 9:55 AM on June 28, 2019 [6 favorites]
Will the electric grid in Europe be able to cope with and extraordinary demand for air conditioning when people conclude that they can't live without it? I don't know what kind of reserve generation is available, and the fall-back plans of cut-offs that are in place.
Clearly, if this is the state of the future there will have to be plans in place to meet the demand for power. If the increase can be met with renewables, that is great. Old-fashioned generators that are kept in reserve, and dusted off when the demand peaks are fine to have, but they must be paid for somehow.
posted by Midnight Skulker at 10:03 AM on June 28, 2019 [5 favorites]
Clearly, if this is the state of the future there will have to be plans in place to meet the demand for power. If the increase can be met with renewables, that is great. Old-fashioned generators that are kept in reserve, and dusted off when the demand peaks are fine to have, but they must be paid for somehow.
posted by Midnight Skulker at 10:03 AM on June 28, 2019 [5 favorites]
Are deliberate brown-outs an option in Europe when electricity usage skyrockets?
posted by ZeusHumms at 10:05 AM on June 28, 2019
posted by ZeusHumms at 10:05 AM on June 28, 2019
Will the electric grid in Europe be able to cope with and extraordinary demand for air conditioning
During the French heat wave in 2003 they had to idle at least one nuclear power plant because there wasn't enough cold water to run the cooling towers. So yeah, there could definitely be a problem there. (Cooling is usually needed for conventional power plants too.)
posted by sjswitzer at 10:09 AM on June 28, 2019 [8 favorites]
During the French heat wave in 2003 they had to idle at least one nuclear power plant because there wasn't enough cold water to run the cooling towers. So yeah, there could definitely be a problem there. (Cooling is usually needed for conventional power plants too.)
posted by sjswitzer at 10:09 AM on June 28, 2019 [8 favorites]
Checking in from Milan. 38c ouside today, perceived 41. Polution horrendous. The whole sky sits on you, hot and sticky. The humidity is making everything worse. All the paper keeps just sticking to my skin in the office. There is no air conditioning there so 31c, and our only luck is there is no direct sun, we are always shaded by trees. Moths keep flying in, looking for water and cool.
I have ac at home, which i try to use sparingly. My brother is hosting some queer youth in the sitting room, they are here for tomorrow's pride march: it has been designated a safe space for because we have ac.
The local swimming pool is only issuing timed tickets, to avoid overcrowding.
posted by thegirlwiththehat at 10:19 AM on June 28, 2019 [14 favorites]
I have ac at home, which i try to use sparingly. My brother is hosting some queer youth in the sitting room, they are here for tomorrow's pride march: it has been designated a safe space for because we have ac.
The local swimming pool is only issuing timed tickets, to avoid overcrowding.
posted by thegirlwiththehat at 10:19 AM on June 28, 2019 [14 favorites]
Meanwhile in Lisbon it has been a cold and slightly rainy week, totally unseasonable (low 30s is the norm for June/July), and everyone's irritated. But it is supposed to warm up for the weekend, though still below 30.
posted by chavenet at 10:25 AM on June 28, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by chavenet at 10:25 AM on June 28, 2019 [3 favorites]
Reporting from Greece here. Temps in the upper 30s C, but muddling through. Big issue is high winds, combined with the hot dry air and dry grass everywhere makes for elevated fire danger. There have been a couple of public service announcements on TV about it.
posted by gimonca at 10:28 AM on June 28, 2019 [5 favorites]
posted by gimonca at 10:28 AM on June 28, 2019 [5 favorites]
One thing that looked weird: I pulled of a color map of high temperatures for the area. Greece itself was mottled with just a few hotspots, but Romania to the north was a sea of red.
posted by gimonca at 10:30 AM on June 28, 2019 [4 favorites]
posted by gimonca at 10:30 AM on June 28, 2019 [4 favorites]
For me the most effective way to cool off and yet maintain normal activities has been to stop eating.
posted by jamjam at 10:33 AM on June 28, 2019 [4 favorites]
posted by jamjam at 10:33 AM on June 28, 2019 [4 favorites]
Two men have died of heatstroke so far in Spain, several other people are in hospital.
Right now it's 41º outside at 19:30 and I'm working from home with a fan pointing at my kidneys so I'm doing ok.
Are deliberate brown-outs an option in Europe when electricity usage skyrockets?
I live in an urban area, it's more common that a transformer station collapses because of all the AC and we have fun blackouts for a few hours. I keep a bunch of LED camping lights at home just in case.
posted by sukeban at 10:46 AM on June 28, 2019 [4 favorites]
Right now it's 41º outside at 19:30 and I'm working from home with a fan pointing at my kidneys so I'm doing ok.
Are deliberate brown-outs an option in Europe when electricity usage skyrockets?
I live in an urban area, it's more common that a transformer station collapses because of all the AC and we have fun blackouts for a few hours. I keep a bunch of LED camping lights at home just in case.
posted by sukeban at 10:46 AM on June 28, 2019 [4 favorites]
It seems that Girona reached 44º today. This is northeastern Spain, more or less the zone in red alert here.
posted by sukeban at 10:51 AM on June 28, 2019
posted by sukeban at 10:51 AM on June 28, 2019
More people need Air Conditioning.
Which uses more energy.
Which pumps out more CO2.
Which contributes to climate change.
Which means more people need Air Conditioning.
Yes, but it also means less need for heating. In general, heating living spaces in cold areas requires more energy than cooling space in hot regions.
The net effect of climate change on heating+cooling costs is unclear.
Climate change is definitely an international crisis with potentially horrific consequences. The current suffering from this heat wave is real. But on a global scale, the need for (relatively rich) Europeans to buy more air conditioners is at the bottom of the list, both as a problem and a cause of additional warming.
It's the people in the countries that don't have the resources to adapt who will suffer the most.
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 10:53 AM on June 28, 2019 [8 favorites]
Which uses more energy.
Which pumps out more CO2.
Which contributes to climate change.
Which means more people need Air Conditioning.
Yes, but it also means less need for heating. In general, heating living spaces in cold areas requires more energy than cooling space in hot regions.
The net effect of climate change on heating+cooling costs is unclear.
Climate change is definitely an international crisis with potentially horrific consequences. The current suffering from this heat wave is real. But on a global scale, the need for (relatively rich) Europeans to buy more air conditioners is at the bottom of the list, both as a problem and a cause of additional warming.
It's the people in the countries that don't have the resources to adapt who will suffer the most.
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 10:53 AM on June 28, 2019 [8 favorites]
Gonna be staying in central Paris in a week and a half for 13 days. I hope things cool off now for Europeans and in the coming weeks for the Europeans AND me. The place I'm staying has no AC.
I was in Paris a few years ago in July and even though it wasn't an official heat wave, it was extremely hot. I walked past a wood-fired pizza restaurant there during the day, and it was fairly full of people eating, despite the weather, no AC and a murderously hot oven churning out sickening waves of heat.
Meanwhile here in Chicago, we've had a very crazy, cold, cloudy and wet spring. It seems like it's been raining every 8-12 hours for the past three months. Climate change indeed.
posted by SoberHighland at 10:55 AM on June 28, 2019 [4 favorites]
I was in Paris a few years ago in July and even though it wasn't an official heat wave, it was extremely hot. I walked past a wood-fired pizza restaurant there during the day, and it was fairly full of people eating, despite the weather, no AC and a murderously hot oven churning out sickening waves of heat.
Meanwhile here in Chicago, we've had a very crazy, cold, cloudy and wet spring. It seems like it's been raining every 8-12 hours for the past three months. Climate change indeed.
posted by SoberHighland at 10:55 AM on June 28, 2019 [4 favorites]
If you can, buy a portable USB fan, which holds a charge for at least six hours. It's great for public transport and for use at workplaces with no air conditioning. I got mine on ebay, but they also sell them at lots of places.
Be prepared for people to ask about it. I was accused of being 'posh' by using it, but at least I wasn't sweaty.
posted by Ms. Moonlight at 11:14 AM on June 28, 2019 [4 favorites]
Be prepared for people to ask about it. I was accused of being 'posh' by using it, but at least I wasn't sweaty.
posted by Ms. Moonlight at 11:14 AM on June 28, 2019 [4 favorites]
Here in Rome, we had the coldest May in the past 20 years, then *bam* straight into the sweaty summer swelter. It's not the hottest summer I've experienced here, though. Well, not yet anyways.
Public transport here has devolved over the years into a giant fucking mess and just gets worse with summer. Reduced frequency, stops out in the full glaring sun with the heat reflecting off the (crumbling potholed) road; getting a bus or a metro car with working AC is like a unicorn farting glitter and winning lottery tickets. Let's not discuss the bus fleet being so decrepit and unmaintained that they randomly burst into flame.
Shorts are no longer worn by just the tourists. I notice the younger generation gingerly embracing AC to a greater degree, in spite of the mythical cervicale. Still, AC for everyone will probably happen at the point our sun supernovas. Just from an architectural POV, walls are generally concrete cinder block and plaster, which makes rewiring a giant expensive pain in the ass.
I grew up in Texas, but this no AC thing is a bitch. We walk around the house in undies, have the fans going 24/7 and take lots of cold baths. Cooking is kept to a minimum. I'm about to bite the bullet and pull out the inefficient hand-me-down pinguino we got last summer and watch my electric bill skyrocket.
posted by romakimmy at 11:41 AM on June 28, 2019 [5 favorites]
Public transport here has devolved over the years into a giant fucking mess and just gets worse with summer. Reduced frequency, stops out in the full glaring sun with the heat reflecting off the (crumbling potholed) road; getting a bus or a metro car with working AC is like a unicorn farting glitter and winning lottery tickets. Let's not discuss the bus fleet being so decrepit and unmaintained that they randomly burst into flame.
Shorts are no longer worn by just the tourists. I notice the younger generation gingerly embracing AC to a greater degree, in spite of the mythical cervicale. Still, AC for everyone will probably happen at the point our sun supernovas. Just from an architectural POV, walls are generally concrete cinder block and plaster, which makes rewiring a giant expensive pain in the ass.
I grew up in Texas, but this no AC thing is a bitch. We walk around the house in undies, have the fans going 24/7 and take lots of cold baths. Cooking is kept to a minimum. I'm about to bite the bullet and pull out the inefficient hand-me-down pinguino we got last summer and watch my electric bill skyrocket.
posted by romakimmy at 11:41 AM on June 28, 2019 [5 favorites]
Several southern Départements are under RED alert right now and over 40°C (and even 45°), but the rest of the country is more or less fine.I'm in Lyon, and I don't feel at all fine. The temperature reached 39.8C yesterday, and my bedroom is at 33C. When I left the house this morning at 5:30, it was already 25C outside, and the air quality is horrendous.
posted by snakeling at 11:49 AM on June 28, 2019 [8 favorites]
Commenting from Texas here....
knowing FULL WELL the power of AC that comes with the climate here (where we live, work, and most activities being indoors in the summer) - this sounds like an utter hell. If you haven't been inside on a day as hot as this when your AC goes out, it is pretty nightmarish how quickly things heat up.
A word of caution - even if you can go to work or a place and get relief with AC, keep in mind your house pets need relief too.
posted by hillabeans at 12:04 PM on June 28, 2019 [4 favorites]
knowing FULL WELL the power of AC that comes with the climate here (where we live, work, and most activities being indoors in the summer) - this sounds like an utter hell. If you haven't been inside on a day as hot as this when your AC goes out, it is pretty nightmarish how quickly things heat up.
A word of caution - even if you can go to work or a place and get relief with AC, keep in mind your house pets need relief too.
posted by hillabeans at 12:04 PM on June 28, 2019 [4 favorites]
Just from an architectural POV, walls are generally concrete cinder block and plaster, which makes rewiring a giant expensive pain in the ass.
How are they at keeping things cool (or in the winter, losing heat slowly)?
posted by ZeusHumms at 12:06 PM on June 28, 2019
How are they at keeping things cool (or in the winter, losing heat slowly)?
posted by ZeusHumms at 12:06 PM on June 28, 2019
How are they at keeping things cool (or in the winter, losing heat slowly)?
Meh, this was a dumb thing to ask. Vox has a pretty good explainer on the heat wave.
posted by ZeusHumms at 12:22 PM on June 28, 2019
Meh, this was a dumb thing to ask. Vox has a pretty good explainer on the heat wave.
posted by ZeusHumms at 12:22 PM on June 28, 2019
How are they at keeping things cool (or in the winter, losing heat slowly)?
Depends on the amount of care with which the building was constructed and maintained. The older buildings in the historical center with super thick walls can be decent; walk into a foyer of one of those buildings can be like stepping into a giant fridge in this heat.
The 60’s cheap-ass concrete box we currently reside in is great at keeping the heat in summer and losing it in the winter. But we have a private garden, so that’s a giant plus with two little kids.
posted by romakimmy at 12:27 PM on June 28, 2019 [2 favorites]
Depends on the amount of care with which the building was constructed and maintained. The older buildings in the historical center with super thick walls can be decent; walk into a foyer of one of those buildings can be like stepping into a giant fridge in this heat.
The 60’s cheap-ass concrete box we currently reside in is great at keeping the heat in summer and losing it in the winter. But we have a private garden, so that’s a giant plus with two little kids.
posted by romakimmy at 12:27 PM on June 28, 2019 [2 favorites]
Sending sympathetic vibes & wishes for cooler winds for you guys soon. My only experience trying to sleep with no AC was when our place was only about 85F/30C and it was a miserable experience, so my heart goes out. Hopefully there is a way to have a breeze and get wet.
posted by yoga at 12:28 PM on June 28, 2019
posted by yoga at 12:28 PM on June 28, 2019
The Tube (London Underground) is best avoided tomorrow.
Most of the tunnels, especially in the centre, run deep—and they're cut through clay or chalk, both of which retain heat like crazy. Each train draws up to 6MW when starting up on a cold day, and every time they slow down for a station they have to dump that energy as waste heat via their brakes (some of the rolling stock is over fifty years old, regenerative braking isn't a thing). So the rock around the tunnels gets hot, and can't easily lose heat.
This is a design feature, normally, as is the lack of air conditioning in the trains, because London, right? Trains need heaters, not coolers. But when it's 34 celsius outside—a normal daytime temperature for Kuala Lumpur, not London—it's going to be a lot hotter, possibly in the mid-forties underground.
posted by cstross at 12:37 PM on June 28, 2019 [18 favorites]
Most of the tunnels, especially in the centre, run deep—and they're cut through clay or chalk, both of which retain heat like crazy. Each train draws up to 6MW when starting up on a cold day, and every time they slow down for a station they have to dump that energy as waste heat via their brakes (some of the rolling stock is over fifty years old, regenerative braking isn't a thing). So the rock around the tunnels gets hot, and can't easily lose heat.
This is a design feature, normally, as is the lack of air conditioning in the trains, because London, right? Trains need heaters, not coolers. But when it's 34 celsius outside—a normal daytime temperature for Kuala Lumpur, not London—it's going to be a lot hotter, possibly in the mid-forties underground.
posted by cstross at 12:37 PM on June 28, 2019 [18 favorites]
Man, heat like that is just so damn rough if you're not used to it. A useful tip for cooling off quick I still remember from growing up in the American south—assuming you have access to ice—is a big container of iced water held between the thighs. Cool the femoral arteries and you cool the body, fast. This can be a real sanity saver if you're stuck sitting somewhere in the heat.
posted by los pantalones del muerte at 12:39 PM on June 28, 2019 [17 favorites]
posted by los pantalones del muerte at 12:39 PM on June 28, 2019 [17 favorites]
So the rock around the tunnels gets hot, and can't easily lose heat.
I remember being astonished when I read this article (that I maybe found on Metafilter?) and learned that over the 100+ years that the London Underground has been running, it has managed to heat up the surrounding clay by up to a full 10 degrees Celsius, from 14 C to 20-25 C.
This is why there are posters that advertise that "it is cooler down below" from 1924 or that "the Underground's the only spot for comfort when the days are hot"
from 1926, which from a 2019 perspective would be an absolutely absurd advertising campaign. (I've been in London in February and found the Tube to be a bit warm.)
posted by andrewesque at 12:58 PM on June 28, 2019 [12 favorites]
I remember being astonished when I read this article (that I maybe found on Metafilter?) and learned that over the 100+ years that the London Underground has been running, it has managed to heat up the surrounding clay by up to a full 10 degrees Celsius, from 14 C to 20-25 C.
This is why there are posters that advertise that "it is cooler down below" from 1924 or that "the Underground's the only spot for comfort when the days are hot"
from 1926, which from a 2019 perspective would be an absolutely absurd advertising campaign. (I've been in London in February and found the Tube to be a bit warm.)
posted by andrewesque at 12:58 PM on June 28, 2019 [12 favorites]
Yes, but it also means less need for heating. In general, heating living spaces in cold areas requires more energy than cooling space in hot regions.
The net effect of climate change on heating+cooling costs is unclear.
The price tag for an increased need for cooling is not the thing that we're worried about.
....For those trying to cope: If you have access to the Dr. Bronner's brand of liquid castille soap, pick up a bottle of the peppermint soap in particular, and use it in a cool shower. There is so much peppermint oil in it that it has a cooling effect on your skin. (So much so that you may want to keep it away from your nether bits, in fact!....although, that effect is not completely unpleasant...)
Sometimes to sleep at night in summer I also get a big t-shirt damp, then put it on and go to sleep. It's like a personal swamp cooler.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 1:11 PM on June 28, 2019 [9 favorites]
The net effect of climate change on heating+cooling costs is unclear.
The price tag for an increased need for cooling is not the thing that we're worried about.
....For those trying to cope: If you have access to the Dr. Bronner's brand of liquid castille soap, pick up a bottle of the peppermint soap in particular, and use it in a cool shower. There is so much peppermint oil in it that it has a cooling effect on your skin. (So much so that you may want to keep it away from your nether bits, in fact!....although, that effect is not completely unpleasant...)
Sometimes to sleep at night in summer I also get a big t-shirt damp, then put it on and go to sleep. It's like a personal swamp cooler.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 1:11 PM on June 28, 2019 [9 favorites]
People used to sleep outside in the days before air conditioning, didn't they? Or is that just something they did in the movies?
There's a reason why sleeping porches are a thing on older houses in the US. And yeah, people used to sleep in parks or on fire escapes. That's heavily discouraged now.
Evaporative coolers or swamp coolers work surprisingly well. Here's a link that talks about how to make a few different types.
Ice at pulse points also works in a pinch.
Growing up we'd sometimes also put clothes in the fridge or freezer. And the times when I couldn't sleep in the basement, I remember walking up, taking a cold shower, and then falling back asleep for a few more hours. It sucked, and hoping for the best for Europe.
posted by dinty_moore at 1:15 PM on June 28, 2019 [4 favorites]
There's a reason why sleeping porches are a thing on older houses in the US. And yeah, people used to sleep in parks or on fire escapes. That's heavily discouraged now.
Evaporative coolers or swamp coolers work surprisingly well. Here's a link that talks about how to make a few different types.
Ice at pulse points also works in a pinch.
Growing up we'd sometimes also put clothes in the fridge or freezer. And the times when I couldn't sleep in the basement, I remember walking up, taking a cold shower, and then falling back asleep for a few more hours. It sucked, and hoping for the best for Europe.
posted by dinty_moore at 1:15 PM on June 28, 2019 [4 favorites]
Houses that are not built for passive cooling or which have thin or brick/cinder block walls are basically like wood-fired outdoor ovens, which hold heat for a long time. So even if it's cooled to 80F outside, that's still cooler than the residual heat inside the house a lot of the time. Hence sleeping outside. Those poor people, I've never had a/c until yesterday and heat is so awful to deal with.
posted by blnkfrnk at 1:37 PM on June 28, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by blnkfrnk at 1:37 PM on June 28, 2019 [1 favorite]
Left in my hols on Saturday, day one of the heatwave, northern France and now southern Germany. Had a lovely visit to Reims Notre Dame to soak up the cool. Spent longer in a swimming pool in one go yesterday than I ever have in a single sitting before. Had to do laundry today as getting through so many clothes. Pigging roasting. Glad I'm not working in it.
posted by biffa at 1:46 PM on June 28, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by biffa at 1:46 PM on June 28, 2019 [1 favorite]
This is fine.
Renewables, right? RIGHT?
Not sure what point you are making here. Why is Jevon's paradox relevant to renewables in this context?
posted by biffa at 1:49 PM on June 28, 2019
Renewables, right? RIGHT?
Not sure what point you are making here. Why is Jevon's paradox relevant to renewables in this context?
posted by biffa at 1:49 PM on June 28, 2019
Why is Jevon's paradox relevant to renewables in this context?
Because what is happening in the worlds energy usage is as renewables come online, we keep on burning fossil fuels at an increasing rate.
Effectively the world is using renewables as a source of more cheap energy, not as a replacement. We need to decarbonize 90% and we aren't even slowing down from our vast unsustainable levels. We're speeding up!
posted by lalochezia at 1:56 PM on June 28, 2019 [4 favorites]
Because what is happening in the worlds energy usage is as renewables come online, we keep on burning fossil fuels at an increasing rate.
Effectively the world is using renewables as a source of more cheap energy, not as a replacement. We need to decarbonize 90% and we aren't even slowing down from our vast unsustainable levels. We're speeding up!
posted by lalochezia at 1:56 PM on June 28, 2019 [4 favorites]
large medieval cathedrals are generally very slow to warm up. while traveling in hot Italy they were my go to place to rest and cool off.
posted by supermedusa at 2:01 PM on June 28, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by supermedusa at 2:01 PM on June 28, 2019 [2 favorites]
(The guys protesting against a gas tax, on the other hand...)
Definitely also got tear gassed? Or is the distinction you're making that they didn't exactly respond "peacefully?"
(I'm not sure it would be bad for the environmental movement to cultivate a bit more of a fighting spirit at scale, to be honest.)
posted by atoxyl at 2:18 PM on June 28, 2019 [1 favorite]
Definitely also got tear gassed? Or is the distinction you're making that they didn't exactly respond "peacefully?"
(I'm not sure it would be bad for the environmental movement to cultivate a bit more of a fighting spirit at scale, to be honest.)
posted by atoxyl at 2:18 PM on June 28, 2019 [1 favorite]
Just spent a few days in Prague and can confirm it was surreally hot. It was my first time there and I do want to go back, so it’s not like it put me off, but DAMN it was something else. I had flown there from a cold drizzly Canadian town that was 16 degrees Celsius when I left and Prague hit 36 C while we were there, so it was a bloody shock to the system to suddenly be 20 degrees hotter. Our apartment had no air conditioning and no fans! At one point we were just outside of Prague and the digital signs were saying 43 C. I have to wonder if that was an error and the signs were malfunctioning...
I worry particularly about elderly people and the homeless. This is the weather that kills people for sure.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 3:42 PM on June 28, 2019 [4 favorites]
I worry particularly about elderly people and the homeless. This is the weather that kills people for sure.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 3:42 PM on June 28, 2019 [4 favorites]
The 2003 European Heat Wave killed more than 70,000 people. This one is hotter.
For comparison, 4400 Allied soldiers died in the Normandy landings. The Climate Emergency merits at least as much urgency and effort as total war.
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 3:54 PM on June 28, 2019 [11 favorites]
For comparison, 4400 Allied soldiers died in the Normandy landings. The Climate Emergency merits at least as much urgency and effort as total war.
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 3:54 PM on June 28, 2019 [11 favorites]
The best solution to dealing with the heat and getting any resemblance of relief is to dampen your clothing and sit in front of a fan.
That kind of heat with no cooling is dangerous. Especially when you're not accustom to it.
posted by mightshould at 4:29 PM on June 28, 2019 [1 favorite]
That kind of heat with no cooling is dangerous. Especially when you're not accustom to it.
posted by mightshould at 4:29 PM on June 28, 2019 [1 favorite]
This is so scary. Hope the heat breaks soon and the fever of stupid that keeps us from taking climate catastrophe seriously breaks, too.
posted by zenzenobia at 6:30 PM on June 28, 2019
posted by zenzenobia at 6:30 PM on June 28, 2019
Another fresh hell you should watch out for, especially in France, is roadbeds buckilng. If the civil engineers specs'ing the concrete roadbed you're driving on didn't anticipate this heatwave, and didn't add in enough of a safety margin, then the concrete and rebar under your car will expand enough to turn two road segments from an m-dash into a lambda, and if you're driving too fast, you can wind up re-enacting a car jump from The Dukes of Hazard.
posted by ocschwar at 7:47 PM on June 28, 2019 [7 favorites]
posted by ocschwar at 7:47 PM on June 28, 2019 [7 favorites]
There's so much reporting of this that is missing a crucial piece of information for me - the usual summer temperatures. There are parts of Central France that are hitting 20 degrees Celcius above their usual summer averages - here in Australia we had summer heat waves that got us up to the mid forties in the urban centres, but it's ten degrees above normal and we do heat. We complain and we bitch, but coping with 35c isn't that different in practice to dealing with 45c, even if the latter is considerably more dangerous. 25c to 45c is people who just have no coping skills, the infrastructure isn't engineered to take sustained heat like that, and people die.
Like I don't think a lot of international readers really grasp how insane these temperatures are. Especially when you factor in that it's a humid heat. Swamp coolers and wet cloth on the skin in front of a fan simply stop working past a point. Brisbane gets to the mid thirties with very high humidity, and those tactics stop being effective past a point - and we're used to it.
Like, we're fucked. This is the new normal, kids, at least till the rest of the icecaps fall off.
posted by Jilder at 8:20 PM on June 28, 2019 [20 favorites]
Like I don't think a lot of international readers really grasp how insane these temperatures are. Especially when you factor in that it's a humid heat. Swamp coolers and wet cloth on the skin in front of a fan simply stop working past a point. Brisbane gets to the mid thirties with very high humidity, and those tactics stop being effective past a point - and we're used to it.
Like, we're fucked. This is the new normal, kids, at least till the rest of the icecaps fall off.
posted by Jilder at 8:20 PM on June 28, 2019 [20 favorites]
I used to love summer. I am absolutely dreading the one after next.
posted by pompomtom at 8:28 PM on June 28, 2019
posted by pompomtom at 8:28 PM on June 28, 2019
A reminder: Extreme heat can be dangerous for people taking psychiatric medication.
posted by MrVisible at 8:38 PM on June 28, 2019 [5 favorites]
posted by MrVisible at 8:38 PM on June 28, 2019 [5 favorites]
I‘m in Gemany, and luckily we haven’t gotten the most brutal of the temps. But the lack of escape from the heat is the biggest problem. There is almost no AC anywhere in the city, certainly not in most people‘s homes or Offices. The only place that has AC is grocery stores, maybe some bigger cinema chains. That’s it. Most people go outside to parks and lakes and stay outside in the shade, because there is nowhere else to go!
posted by exquisite_deluxe at 11:18 PM on June 28, 2019
posted by exquisite_deluxe at 11:18 PM on June 28, 2019
Many cities in the Czech Republic, including Prague, have decided to stop cutting grass in parks and other public spaces so that the vegetation has some chance of surviving the heat. It looks a bit untidy and there have been some complaints, but it also seems to be working and it's nice to see bees, bugs, and other small creatures in places that would have been scorched.
posted by brambory at 11:26 PM on June 28, 2019 [8 favorites]
posted by brambory at 11:26 PM on June 28, 2019 [8 favorites]
I've been dithering over installing AC for a few years here in Warsaw. I just asked for a quote - after local heatwaves that went over the first two weeks of June as well - and the soonest the installers can get here is end of August because they're absolutely swamped. Definitely gonna pull the trigger though, there's been too many of those tropical nights over 20C over the past few years.
I think this wave is hitting Europe extra hard because May was so unseasonably cool, so it's temperature shock on top of everything. I was absolutely dying for the first wave, especially since it was a wet tropical heat with storms. Thank heavens, this one only got us for two days of dry heat, and I seem to have adjusted to it somehow, I even managed to sleep on that one night that didn't go any lower than 22C at 4AM.
posted by I claim sanctuary at 11:48 PM on June 28, 2019 [4 favorites]
I think this wave is hitting Europe extra hard because May was so unseasonably cool, so it's temperature shock on top of everything. I was absolutely dying for the first wave, especially since it was a wet tropical heat with storms. Thank heavens, this one only got us for two days of dry heat, and I seem to have adjusted to it somehow, I even managed to sleep on that one night that didn't go any lower than 22C at 4AM.
posted by I claim sanctuary at 11:48 PM on June 28, 2019 [4 favorites]
Effectively the world is using renewables as a source of more cheap energy, not as a replacement.
I think this is arguable. Electricity production has been pretty flat in the US and in the EU for a while and with increasing RE share. Since electricity is really the only area where renewables have been adopted at scale this would seem to undermine Jevon's paradox applying. It's an interesting point though, definitely worth further investigation. It would be interesting to see how it goes with biofuels data.
posted by biffa at 2:43 AM on June 29, 2019 [3 favorites]
I think this is arguable. Electricity production has been pretty flat in the US and in the EU for a while and with increasing RE share. Since electricity is really the only area where renewables have been adopted at scale this would seem to undermine Jevon's paradox applying. It's an interesting point though, definitely worth further investigation. It would be interesting to see how it goes with biofuels data.
posted by biffa at 2:43 AM on June 29, 2019 [3 favorites]
I ruminate a lot on how totally inappropriate our built environment here in France--at least in our large cities--is for our coming climate dystopia. My building is from 1897, which means our entry hall feels like a meat locker compared to the outdoors, but my attic apartment regularly is 4-5 degrees Celsius hotter than the ambient temperature. Meaning that today I'm going to hit 40-41. I got heat stroke last year sleeping in my bed and I don't expect it to get any better. I've informed my landlord that I'm moving at the end of the year, because it's becoming physically dangerous to live in here in the summer.
Our transport infrastructure is also getting absolutely hammered. A catenary fucking melted on Wednesday, stranding thousands of people either directly or due to the related relays while the SNCF scrambled to fix it. I spent this week working outdoors in Val de Loire and by yesterday I was physically ill, despite downing 4L of water a day, big hat, loose clothes, regular breaks, etc. I then fought my way on to an overloaded TGV to get back home to Paris, sitting on the floor of an un-AC'd space between two cars because the heat had forced them to cancel the previous two Paris-bound trains, meaning all those passengers had to be placed on the 4:45. On a Friday. During vacation season. (God bless the controller who chose not to fine me for having lost my ticket in the scramble. 'You think I'm going to let you pay money to travel like this?' was his only response.)
Idk folks strap in, because everything is going to change and it's going to be hard (when it's not fatal).
Hope everyone is able to stay safe.
posted by peakes at 2:54 AM on June 29, 2019 [19 favorites]
Our transport infrastructure is also getting absolutely hammered. A catenary fucking melted on Wednesday, stranding thousands of people either directly or due to the related relays while the SNCF scrambled to fix it. I spent this week working outdoors in Val de Loire and by yesterday I was physically ill, despite downing 4L of water a day, big hat, loose clothes, regular breaks, etc. I then fought my way on to an overloaded TGV to get back home to Paris, sitting on the floor of an un-AC'd space between two cars because the heat had forced them to cancel the previous two Paris-bound trains, meaning all those passengers had to be placed on the 4:45. On a Friday. During vacation season. (God bless the controller who chose not to fine me for having lost my ticket in the scramble. 'You think I'm going to let you pay money to travel like this?' was his only response.)
Idk folks strap in, because everything is going to change and it's going to be hard (when it's not fatal).
Hope everyone is able to stay safe.
posted by peakes at 2:54 AM on June 29, 2019 [19 favorites]
Effectively the world is using renewables as a source of more cheap energy, not as a replacement.
I think this is arguable. Electricity production has been pretty flat in the US and in the EU for a while and with increasing RE share. Since electricity is really the only area where renewables have been adopted at scale this would seem to undermine Jevon's paradox applying. It's an interesting point though, definitely worth further investigation. It would be interesting to see how it goes with biofuels data.
We, as a species, are using more fossil fuels every year. Period. If renewables were impacting energy usage in the way intended, this amount would be decreasing. As it stands, the only question is how much of the increase has jevons paradox as a causative factor, not whether it is happening.
posted by lalochezia at 6:54 AM on June 29, 2019 [2 favorites]
Do French homes typically have basements? I grew up in an old house that had a/c, but it also had a basement that seemed to have been purpose built for occupation in the summer. It was built before a/c was common in homes. The first few summers we lived in it, there was no air conditioning and the basement would be literally thirty degrees cooler.
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 8:21 AM on June 29, 2019
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 8:21 AM on June 29, 2019
I ruminate a lot on how totally inappropriate our built environment here in France--at least in our large cities--is for our coming climate dystopia.
True story: the Paris building where I was raised (and where my mother still lives) was built in 1959. It's what the French call a "passoire énergétique" ("energy strainer"), with no thermal insulation whatsoever. It's very cold in winter, and can be unbearable in summer, even without heat waves. Cold water is never really cold because the cold water pipes were installed next to the hot water pipes. It's that stupid. The building turned into a furnace in 2003.
In the early 2010s, members of the HOA decided to make the building less wasteful and more energy-friendly, and commissioned an audit which resulted in a sensible proposal for energy upgrading. This caused a real uproar among many home owners, particularly elderly ones including my mom. They wrote an anonymous letter denouncing the whole thing as a scam orchestrated by the City of Paris and their "tree-hugging buddies". They said that there was nothing to fix - a real-life "THIS IS FINE" situation - and claimed that the energy upgrade work would actually kill them: they believed that the upgrade would take 6 months during which the building would be put under tight wraps with everybody over 60 slowly dying of asphyxiation in the dark. And it would cost money too, and people would end up in debt (in fact, environmental upgrade works receive subsidies and there are generous tax credits for home owners). This was completely infuriating - the people most at risk in case of a heat wave were on the front line of the anti-upgrade protest - and it took years of angry debate until cooler minds prevailed. The now-upgraded building is much better at keeping outside heat at bay and it's actually liveable this week. My mom sternly refuses to acknowledge that this improvement was due to the upgrade.
posted by elgilito at 8:23 AM on June 29, 2019 [17 favorites]
True story: the Paris building where I was raised (and where my mother still lives) was built in 1959. It's what the French call a "passoire énergétique" ("energy strainer"), with no thermal insulation whatsoever. It's very cold in winter, and can be unbearable in summer, even without heat waves. Cold water is never really cold because the cold water pipes were installed next to the hot water pipes. It's that stupid. The building turned into a furnace in 2003.
In the early 2010s, members of the HOA decided to make the building less wasteful and more energy-friendly, and commissioned an audit which resulted in a sensible proposal for energy upgrading. This caused a real uproar among many home owners, particularly elderly ones including my mom. They wrote an anonymous letter denouncing the whole thing as a scam orchestrated by the City of Paris and their "tree-hugging buddies". They said that there was nothing to fix - a real-life "THIS IS FINE" situation - and claimed that the energy upgrade work would actually kill them: they believed that the upgrade would take 6 months during which the building would be put under tight wraps with everybody over 60 slowly dying of asphyxiation in the dark. And it would cost money too, and people would end up in debt (in fact, environmental upgrade works receive subsidies and there are generous tax credits for home owners). This was completely infuriating - the people most at risk in case of a heat wave were on the front line of the anti-upgrade protest - and it took years of angry debate until cooler minds prevailed. The now-upgraded building is much better at keeping outside heat at bay and it's actually liveable this week. My mom sternly refuses to acknowledge that this improvement was due to the upgrade.
posted by elgilito at 8:23 AM on June 29, 2019 [17 favorites]
If the civil engineers specs'ing the concrete roadbed you're driving on didn't anticipate this heatwave, and didn't add in enough of a safety margin, then the concrete and rebar under your car will expand enough to turn two road segments from an m-dash into a lambda, and if you're driving too fast, you can wind up re-enacting a car jump from The Dukes of Hazard.
It can even happen in locations that expect temperature extremes, like this incident a couple years ago in the Twin Cities
posted by nathan_teske at 8:27 AM on June 29, 2019 [2 favorites]
It can even happen in locations that expect temperature extremes, like this incident a couple years ago in the Twin Cities
posted by nathan_teske at 8:27 AM on June 29, 2019 [2 favorites]
We just sat out front and shared some ice cream with the old woman who lives in the attic. It's down to about 27C/80F so far outside this evening, but I'm afraid to think how hot it gets up in her place.
posted by pracowity at 9:09 AM on June 29, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by pracowity at 9:09 AM on June 29, 2019 [2 favorites]
concrete and rebar under your car will expand...and if you're driving too fast, you can wind up re-enacting a car jump from The Dukes of Hazard.
Someday global warming may get 'em but the law never will.
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 10:43 AM on June 29, 2019 [1 favorite]
Someday global warming may get 'em but the law never will.
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 10:43 AM on June 29, 2019 [1 favorite]
> -- close all your windows and doors and draw heavy drapes as soon as the sun comes up. When the sun comes down, reverse this and run a fan to move air through your house. This is less effective in humid places but it does help enough to matter.I'd like to add: have sunscreens on the outside. If sunlight gets inside through your windows, it's pretty much a lost battle. Doesn't need to be anything fancy; you can improvise something with a clothesline, bedsheets and clothespins.
And then keep your windows shut as long as it hotter outside than inside.
posted by farlukar at 2:40 PM on June 29, 2019 [1 favorite]
We, as a species, are using more fossil fuels every year. Period. If renewables were impacting energy usage in the way intended, this amount would be decreasing.
We are using more fossil fuel but I don't see how this supports your argument. There is clearly an argument that people will consume more of something that gets cheaper and that cheap renewables might have a knock on effect, but the evidence from energy efficiency is that this falls well short of being a 100% rebound.
Just looking at the global level doesn't make for a reasonable case study. Renewables are a substitute for fossil fuels and in key areas where they have been adopted we are now seeing fossil fuel usage for electricity going down. We haven't seen any meaningful shift to renewable heat tech outside China so there's no reason why we would expect to have seen less fossil fuel consumption in global consumption of heat energy. Biofuel adoption is limited due to global resource limits and both heating and transport are impacted by rising population and personal levels of demand, pushing up FF consumption with currently little alternative.
The adoption of renewables has been a transition process so far, we are only recently at the stage where a small number of the technologies are viable and barriers to adopting remain despite this. We are seeing impacts on fossil fuel reduction as noted above, plus other benefits such as increased access to power. Any switch will continue to be a transition.
posted by biffa at 3:24 PM on June 29, 2019
We are using more fossil fuel but I don't see how this supports your argument. There is clearly an argument that people will consume more of something that gets cheaper and that cheap renewables might have a knock on effect, but the evidence from energy efficiency is that this falls well short of being a 100% rebound.
Just looking at the global level doesn't make for a reasonable case study. Renewables are a substitute for fossil fuels and in key areas where they have been adopted we are now seeing fossil fuel usage for electricity going down. We haven't seen any meaningful shift to renewable heat tech outside China so there's no reason why we would expect to have seen less fossil fuel consumption in global consumption of heat energy. Biofuel adoption is limited due to global resource limits and both heating and transport are impacted by rising population and personal levels of demand, pushing up FF consumption with currently little alternative.
The adoption of renewables has been a transition process so far, we are only recently at the stage where a small number of the technologies are viable and barriers to adopting remain despite this. We are seeing impacts on fossil fuel reduction as noted above, plus other benefits such as increased access to power. Any switch will continue to be a transition.
posted by biffa at 3:24 PM on June 29, 2019
Currently 21C, after midnight, on my last night in southern Germany. Been a lovely day, possibly cooler that previous but it's now pretty unpleasant and i am doing this instead of not sleeping. Moving into central Switzerland tomorrow, which promises 35C in the day, staying up at 23C into the small hours of Monday morning. It's a hotel though so hopefully will have meaningful AC.
posted by biffa at 3:31 PM on June 29, 2019
posted by biffa at 3:31 PM on June 29, 2019
A useful tip for cooling off quick I still remember from growing up in the American south—assuming you have access to ice—is a big container of iced water held between the thighs. Cool the femoral arteries and you cool the body, fast. This can be a real sanity saver if you're stuck sitting somewhere in the heat.
This is good advice. Where I live in Albuquerque it’s currently 34 C and while it’s hot it’s well within the range of normal for this time of year. Putting ice packs on your arteries—between the thighs, on your wrists, around your neck—works wonders for staying cool. I use clay ice packs like one of these, but a frozen bottle of water wrapped in a towel works in a pinch.
posted by joedan at 3:57 PM on June 29, 2019 [1 favorite]
This is good advice. Where I live in Albuquerque it’s currently 34 C and while it’s hot it’s well within the range of normal for this time of year. Putting ice packs on your arteries—between the thighs, on your wrists, around your neck—works wonders for staying cool. I use clay ice packs like one of these, but a frozen bottle of water wrapped in a towel works in a pinch.
posted by joedan at 3:57 PM on June 29, 2019 [1 favorite]
> More people need Air Conditioning.
Which uses more energy.
Which pumps out more CO2.
Which contributes to climate change.
Which means more people need Air Conditioning.
Air Conditioning Is the World's Next Big Threat - "With temperatures in Europe and everywhere else soaring, demand for air con is booming. The extra power demand may cause a vicious circle on warming."
also btw...
Which uses more energy.
Which pumps out more CO2.
Which contributes to climate change.
Which means more people need Air Conditioning.
Air Conditioning Is the World's Next Big Threat - "With temperatures in Europe and everywhere else soaring, demand for air con is booming. The extra power demand may cause a vicious circle on warming."
also btw...
- Fossil fuels produce less than half of UK electricity for first time - "National Grid is able to confidently predict the 2019 record just six months into the year."
- For the first time, clean energy surpasses coal in the US - "Hydroelectric dams, solar panels and wind turbines generated almost 68.5 million megawatt-hours of power in April, eclipsing the 60 million that coal produced that month, Energy Information Administration data released late Tuesday show. That's the most clean power the U.S. has ever made -- and the least coal it has burned for power in years."
- New York just passed the most ambitious climate target in the country - "Carbon-free electricity by 2040 and a net-zero carbon economy by 2050."
- The global transition to clean energy, explained in 12 charts - "Despite all the progress, we're still struggling to hit the climate emergency brake."
- Hydrogen-based projects offer jaded green investors fresh hope - "Breakthroughs in energy storage provide alternative to electric batteries."
- A Boston startup developing a nuclear fusion reactor just got a roughly $50 million boost - "Commonwealth Fusion expects to have its smallest possible reactor built by 2025 thanks to the research that MIT has done on proprietary magnet technology that the company uses to confine its nuclear reaction. In fact, most of the financing will go toward construction of the full scale magnet technology Commonwealth Fusion uses to contain its reactions. The ultimate goal is to build a fusion reactor that can generate 50 megawatts of energy either as heat or to create electricity using a steam turbine."
One issue that came out of some work i did i on renewable heat a few years ago was a concern that if there was a lot of uptake of ground source headlamps that domestic premises in the UK (and more widely across Europe) would install systems that could also be run as A.C. in the summer. This has some efficiency benefits but basically creates a demand where there wasn't one previously (~99%of UK domestic premises don't have AC currently). Due to government screw ups on policy that demand for heat pumps hasn't arisen as yet but it's still possible.
The mini tokamak seem to be an idea on the rise. Not the first venture I've come across this year.
posted by biffa at 12:50 AM on June 30, 2019 [1 favorite]
The mini tokamak seem to be an idea on the rise. Not the first venture I've come across this year.
posted by biffa at 12:50 AM on June 30, 2019 [1 favorite]
India heatwave kills ‘dozens’ of people as temperatures hit 50CAt least 36 in India.
2019 heat wave in India and Pakistan
Are parts of India becoming too hot for humans?
Exceptional Alaska Heat Wave Threatens All-Time Records, Notably in Anchorage
posted by theora55 at 4:37 PM on July 4, 2019 [2 favorites]
2019 heat wave in India and Pakistan
Are parts of India becoming too hot for humans?
Exceptional Alaska Heat Wave Threatens All-Time Records, Notably in Anchorage
posted by theora55 at 4:37 PM on July 4, 2019 [2 favorites]
ground source headlamps
autocorrect gone wrong?
At least solar output tends to peak at exactly the time that you have maximum air conditioning demand, so even if this does happen hopefully it’ll be mostly mopping up surplus solar capacity rather than generating extra CO2.
posted by pharm at 12:43 AM on July 5, 2019 [1 favorite]
autocorrect gone wrong?
At least solar output tends to peak at exactly the time that you have maximum air conditioning demand, so even if this does happen hopefully it’ll be mostly mopping up surplus solar capacity rather than generating extra CO2.
posted by pharm at 12:43 AM on July 5, 2019 [1 favorite]
Anecdata from Southern England.. I do Not Do Well in heat - which to me means anything over about 23C - and the last few summers have been increasing misery. Last year I pulled the trigger on getting domestic AC in my little semi-d estate box. One unit in the living space downstairs - one unit in the master bedroom - compressor in the garden. Everything whisper quiet (mustn't disturb the neighbours! With the open windows overnight!) Normal fans are too loud for me to sleep through - the AC units can be as near silent as it's possible to be.
It was expensive, and people think I'm nuts - right up to the point they step through the door. Then they want to stay. And I can function no matter what the weather does.
I get my energy from a supplier that only deals in renewables, so I don't feel too bad about the electricity use.
posted by Ilira at 5:06 AM on July 5, 2019 [1 favorite]
It was expensive, and people think I'm nuts - right up to the point they step through the door. Then they want to stay. And I can function no matter what the weather does.
I get my energy from a supplier that only deals in renewables, so I don't feel too bad about the electricity use.
posted by Ilira at 5:06 AM on July 5, 2019 [1 favorite]
A Ferocious Heat in Delhi
This spring in Delhi, the temperature reached 113 degrees Fahrenheit, the first time in almost fifty years that the city had seen that kind of heat; on June 9, the government issued a red alert, as the mercury reached 118 degrees. At that temperature, your eyes feel sandblasted, your skin feels on fire, the water is hot from the tap, and the leaves on the neem and amaltas trees wither and shrivel. The worst-affected of the city’s 1.98 million population are those in jobs far from the luxuries of air-conditioning or ceiling fans—construction workers, clerks who cycle for miles to their offices, delivery boys, the women who run pavement stalls. At least 100 deaths across the country have been attributed to the heat, and city hospitals have seen a spike in emergency room visits, mostly for heat stroke, severe dehydration, and lung problems—with parts of the country potentially becoming too hot to be inhabitable.posted by homunculus at 7:22 PM on July 8, 2019 [2 favorites]
Today at 14:10 in Deelen, the Netherlands: the national record of 42.1 °C.
Yay, or something.
posted by farlukar at 5:41 AM on July 25, 2019 [2 favorites]
Yay, or something.
posted by farlukar at 5:41 AM on July 25, 2019 [2 favorites]
41 degrees in Paris, I chose the worst to day to work from home with no air-conditioning!
posted by ellieBOA at 7:46 AM on July 25, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by ellieBOA at 7:46 AM on July 25, 2019 [2 favorites]
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