For those of us who haven’t yet lived in a hot place, how do you strategize for heat (not counting air conditioning)?
In a recent thread about the heat deaths in France, someone stated that above about 100 degrees F, ‘evaporative cooling’ doesn’t work well. I interpret this to mean when the air is so hot, it transfers enough heat to the person that the evaporation of perspiration doesn’t make up for it.
What precipitates this, on Friday I drove down I-5 in California’s Central Valley, from San Jose to Los Angeles. Resenting the I-5 gasoline prices, which are 30 cents a gallon higher than at either end of the trip, I left off the airconditioning (kept the fan on) and made it on one tank of gas with a gallon to spare. Left at noon, arrived at 6:00 pm, temperatures 99-102 outside, higher in the car. Stopped once for 1.5 liters of chilled water, of which the last .5 liter was warmer than body temperature.
By the end of the trip, stupidity may have reigned, I came in very flushed and mentally muzzy and no doubt would have been better off to turn on the AC for the last 30 minutes. But it was educational that heat can be a real problem.
So, setting aside dumb car trips, what do people do?
Lots of water, shade, and A/C when you can get it. Once evaporative cooling fails, you have to lower your temperature any way you can. One thing to consider; if the air temperature is below that of your body, moving air will cool you. If it is above that of your body, it will heat you.
BTW, what is the straight dope on the power draw of A/C in your car? I don’t notice the RPM of my car go up when I turn it on, so does it make an impact?
The CDC recommends: “The most effective measures for preventing heat-related illness and death include reducing physical activity, drinking additional nonalcoholic liquids, and increasing the amount of time spent in air-conditioned environments.”
Probably pretty obvious, but it’s something.
I think in that France thread, someone mentioned something about how sipping even lukewarm water was better than gulping down the same amount of cold water at once. I’m not going to flog the hamsters right now trying to pull it up, though, as the board timed out enough trying to retrieve that CDC link I’d posted in that thread.
The CDC recommends: “The most effective measures for preventing heat-related illness and death include reducing physical activity, drinking additional nonalcoholic liquids, and increasing the amount of time spent in air-conditioned environments.”
Probably pretty obvious, but it’s something.
I think in that France thread, someone mentioned something about how sipping even lukewarm water was better than gulping down the same amount of cold water at once. I’m not going to flog the hamsters right now trying to pull it up, though, as the board timed out enough trying to retrieve that CDC link I’d posted in that thread.
Wear white cotton clothing, stay away from booze (but a cold beer does feel good after a hot day) and drink a lot of cold water. Be lazy (hense the “lazy days of summer”), don’t mow the yard in the middle of the day, play basketball or anything like that. This is why baseball is a summer sport, because there is reletively little action in an inning as opposed to football, soccer, or basketball.
Hats are good too. I lived most of my life in Memphis, Tennessee, known for its hot summers. I have also lived in Las Vegas Nv. and Jackson, Ms. so I know what I am talking about.
I live in Oklahoma and lately our heat has been just oppressive. I resort to doing errands, etc only in the morning but that doesn’t even keep me cool (just less hot) because it’s 90 degrees by 9 am. I live in an old house with an old air conditioner that works overtime. I don’t cook much in the evenings or I use my crockpot or electric skillet to prevent the kitchen from getting too hot. Keep the lights off as much as possible and don’t run the dryer. In other words, avoid anything that might heat up the house.
Other than that, I drink lots of water. And I sweat…A LOT!
Thanks all, I see a consensus here. And there’s something from the CDC, if you are in heat stress for a long time, it works to get into air-conditioning for an hour or two, then apparently you’re good for x hours more heat, so you don’t need constant AC. That’s why in the Chicago heat wave, it was realistic to recommend a visit to the mall, library, etc.
Hats are good, got it. How about Arabs etc in the Sahara etc whose clothing covers the whole body? Must be OK or they would stop, but how does that work?
Is there something to acclimating? ie, people who live in a hot area wouldn’t die off like people who just got into those conditions?
[Tangent] gotta wonder, if you were in France and understood what was happening, would you use your industrial chiller to chill the tent where the dead bodies were piling up, or would you use it for another tent for people to come cool off?
I know what I’d do, but how upset would people get about the putrifying corpses, and would they fire you from your position later?[/tangent]
