this post was submitted on 10 Oct 2023
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In the hottest parts of the world, high temperatures and humidity will, for longer stretches, surpass a threshold that even young and healthy people could struggle to survive as the planet warms, study says

The paper is here

Figure 1 shows the locations:

Annual hot-hours under (A) 1.5, (B) 2, (C) 3, and (D) 4 °C of warming relative to preindustrial level

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago (1 children)

That Post article seems unreasonably optimistic.

[–] somethingsnappy 2 points 1 year ago (2 children)

And if the Himalayas are in trouble... it seems like there is a serious problem with the model?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

I think the brightly colored area may be the comparatively lower land just south of the Himalaya. The mountains can act as a backstop that allows heat and pollution to build up to intolerable levels while the air is not able to easily mix with cleaner and cooler air to the north.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

It's the area just south of the mountains, not the high-elevation areas.

[–] rustycheesi3 5 points 1 year ago (2 children)

they forgot to take away the netherlands, it will be unliveable (for humans, not so much for fish), once they get succumbed by the sea.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

As an Italian currently staying in the Netherlands for work, let me tell you for now this is heaven compared to home. We'll see whether Poseidon will have what it takes to take the win over the Dutch in the future.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

I think they're only looking at places where the combination of heat, humidity, and duration will kill people.

[–] morphballganon 2 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Why is the eastern US (say, Tennessee) at greater risk than areas at the same latitude in the western US? Humidity?

You would think places like Nevada, New Mexico, Colorado would be high risk, being deserts.

Why does the eastern US have higher humidity than the western US? Lack of mountains?

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Humidity is a big part of it; it's the combination of temperature, humidity, and time that can make resting in the shade with access to drinking water lethal

[–] vivavideri 5 points 1 year ago

Tl;dr: gulf stream & Appalachian mtns

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

humidity is exactly it – the article mentions wet bulb temperature – your body relies on evaporation for cooling – you can survive insanely high temperatures in a desert (ex. Sahara gets up to 130°F) as long as you can sweat and cool off, but if the humidity is too high (ex. tropics), your sweat doesn’t evaporate, not only do you not cool off but you start heating up faster (article mentions that this can start as low as 88°F)

[–] Brunbrun6766 -1 points 1 year ago

Yeah yeah we've all heard of Gary, Indiana and Eugene, Oregon