This week the Washington DC area is experiencing some of the hottest temperatures of the summer. The mid-west is also experiencing these hot temperatures. The daytime temperatures have hovered around 94 F or 35 C and the night-time temperatures have only fallen to about 80F.
It is nearly impossible to ride in your car with your windows down and over the next three to four days temperatures will approach 100 F and with humidity it will feel like 110 F. For those of you with middle aged to elderly friends and family you need to keep a check on them.
See the not so obvious thing with heat waves is that many of the deaths occur at night with the sun is down and on 2 or 3 floor of apartments or houses. Previous heat waves have had some big negative impacts on the black community over the last 2 decades but will also have an impact on impoverished communities. Also, if you live in the city, more heat is trapped because of the asphalt and concrete. If you don't have an air conditioner, because you cannot afford one or the electric bill, then you have a fan blowing around lots of hot air. Unfortunately, you are losing water through sweating and the body falls under increasing stress. The evening rolls around and you think that you are safe. NOT!! The evening temperatures remain warm and the body remains under stress. This can go on for days leading to dehydration, heat stroke or death. The other thing is that you may feel cool but your body is under severe stress. So, please make sure that everyone is hydrated during these times and those be watchful of those with fans blowing around hot air.
So we will get through this heat wave, but if global climate models are correct your children and grandchildren will face heat that will make this look like it just a warm day. If mean temperatures in DC are were to rise by 2-4 C or 3.6-7.2 F it would be a very bad look. The normal temperatures will be heading into the mid 90s on a typical day in July and the extremes would be at 105, 107, 109. Scary stuff to think about, but unless we do something to slow down the greenhouse gases going into the atmosphere it will become a reality by the mid to late 21st century. And it won't just be DC, it will be nearly all of the current US cities from the Great Plains to the Eastern Seaboard. It will stretch across to Europe, Africa and Asia.
When the temp hits 100, I think air conditioner. But that just means more electricity, more coal or oil to generate the electricity and more greenhouse gases. It means lower gas mileage because of the air conditioner and a faster trip to the pump and more greenhouse gases. This is like a habit that we can't seem to break out of. Well we can when law makers decide that renewable energies such as wind and solar, and electric cars can compete with oil, coal and gas prices. The market place must give these renewable and low emission tools a chance to compete which will give our children and grandchildren a chance to see 105 only a few times a summer in DC and not 10 or 15 times later this century.
Stay cool this week, but don't forget about future generations and the need to act on our energy usage. Keep an eye out on Grandma and those beautiful Grand-babies who may not be born yet!!
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