Wildfires blaze in London during record heatwave

[admin]

Fires such as those caused by a recent record-breaking heatwave in Europe will likely become more common as the climate warms, scientists say.

Wildfires blaze in London during record heatwave : Read more

 

[Hayseed]

A decade or so earlier, there was a heat wave in Europe where over 10K people died from heat. I had a hard time believing this, still do.

More die in Europe from heat than from cold. Hard to fathom.

Most of the US is south of where Europe and England is. Maybe we are just use to 100 degree weather. But it still surprises me that so many in Europe die from it.

We are both in our 70s and are accustomed to air conditioning. We both were raised without it. We had a power failure for 11 days in 2016. And of course it was over 100 during that time.......the first 100+ temps we have seen here. With high humidity. We moved here in 2001. It was uncomfortable for us, but we were in no danger. We used to play and work in 100+ temps when young.

And it still puzzles us when we hear of deaths from it.

 

[Roj5]

A decade or so earlier, there was a heat wave in Europe where over 10K people died from heat. I had a hard time believing this, still do.

More die in Europe from heat than from cold. Hard to fathom.

Most of the US is south of where Europe and England is. Maybe we are just use to 100 degree weather. But it still surprises me that so many in Europe die from it.

We are both in our 70s and are accustomed to air conditioning. We both were raised without it. We had a power failure for 11 days in 2016. And of course it was over 100 during that time.......the first 100+ temps we have seen here. With high humidity. We moved here in 2001. It was uncomfortable for us, but we were in no danger. We used to play and work in 100+ temps when young.

And it still puzzles us when we hear of deaths from it.

I assure you that air conditioning in homes is not the norm ...

The BBC compares 1976 and the recent event as so many people were saying it was no different and to just have an ice cream.

UK heatwave: How do temperatures compare with 1976?

People have been comparing the current temperatures with 1976 heatwave. What does the evidence show?

www.bbc.com

 

[Hayseed]

The reason I mentioned AC was to inform readers that we were not use to the heat, like when we were young. And being older with chronic conditions and comorbidity from many threats. Just like a present older European with chronic conditions. Yet when exposed to the heat without any warning or preparation.....we were never in any danger.

See how I was making a comparison? And still puzzled why so many die in Europe from heat.

 

[Roj5]

And still puzzled why so many die in Europe from heat.

I dont think there is anything reliable, but a few things to consider (sure you have read these already) include:

City layouts prevent free flow of air, it remains more stagnant; in America the block system allows air to move freely.
Connected to the above, air pollution was able to build so air quality deteriorated massively.
Europeans just aren;t used to extreme temperatures and do not change their behaviour - They are likely to charge out to enjoy whereas mostly they are indoors.
It was holiday season so a lot of elderly and vulnerable people did not have the family/ relative check-ins as frequent.

 

[Hayseed]

I wonder what a 100 yr heat death map, worldwide, would look like. When the north has summers, we are farther away from the sun. When the south has summers, we are closer to the sun. So does Africa, Australia and SA have death heat waves? It's curious and seems to happen in the mid latitudes.

 

[Roj5]

I wonder what a 100 yr heat death map, worldwide, would look like. When the north has summers, we are farther away from the sun. When the south has summers, we are closer to the sun. So does Africa, Australia and SA have death heat waves? It's curious and seems to happen in the mid latitudes.

It would be difficult to compare 100 years ago, certainly for the 'developed' world as life expectancy then was around 56 and I would assume recording death by heat probably wasn't accurate but that is just a guess.

"At least 473 heat-related deaths were reported to a coroner in Australia in the 18 years from July 2000 to June 2018, 354 occurred during heatwave conditions, as defined by Nairn and Fawcett (2015) and, of these, 244 occurred within or near buildings. "

Heatwave fatalities in Australia: a new analysis

Increasingly frequent and intense heatwaves, in combination with Australia’s population growth, greater urbanisation and an aging populatio,n places an increased importance on research-based risk reduction strategies.

www.preventionweb.net

For me it is a combination of behaviour and city layout from what I have read, but I can;t really justify that position, only comes across that way with what I have found so far.

Should it be connected to air quality (on another note the 1783 eruption of Laki and the impact in Europe could be cited here?), it would be impossible to improve the situation as too many people would connect it to Green Taxes, population control or a general agenda to make people rich.

 

[Hayseed]

I was referring to a hundred yr plot, not a hundred yr point. The map covers a hundred yrs. Just to see where death heat occurs world wide.

In the situation that happened to us, we were without power. And in no danger. The past and present death heat waves in Europe, the people still had electrical power.

We couldn't find a bag of ice for 50 miles. We lost all of our refrigerator and freezer food. No fans. Only battery light. 11 days without power and very high temps. But this did not threaten our lives.

That's why the heat death rates in Europe is so puzzling to us. Do you see my comparison?

 

[Roj5]

That's why the heat death rates in Europe is so puzzling to us. Do you see my comparison?

Answered under the first post.