Hey, there! Log in / Register
The heat is on
By adamg on Fri, 07/19/2019 - 10:04am
With a National Weather Service excessive heat warning going into effect at noon today, Boston has declared a heat emergency through Sunday evening.
If you need help finding a place to cool off, call 311. The City of Boston operates outdoor and indoor pools, splash pads and spray decks, and several beaches in Boston at which you can cool off.
Neighborhoods:
Topics:
Free tagging:
Ad:
Support Universal Hub
Help keep Universal Hub going. If you like what we're up to and want to help out, please consider a (completely non-deductible) contribution.
Comments
If you have older folk in your life ...
Or people with mental illness issues or cognitive impairments ... please listen up.
This is a heatwave with mass casualty potential.
If you know someone like this who lives alone, check on them. Like, hourly. Better yet, go for a visit.
Elderly people who live alone die during heatwaves because their homes reach high temperatures and they don't notice or won't leave or won't use their AC if they even have it.
Last summer, Quebec lost over 100 people in a couple of days. Most were older, didn't have AC and died in their homes despite people calling them and asking if they were okay.
If you have someone in your life who lives alone, tends not to leave their home, doesn't have AC, or won't use AC, KEEP CLOSE TABS ON THEM. Bring a thermometer. Go to them and turn on their AC if they have it. Offer to pay their electric bill. Make sure their electricity is on. If their home is too hot or they don't listen, don't ask them if they want to come with you to cooler places - TELL THEM.
This is very serious. Be that mean b***ch who makes them leave their house if you must. My aunt and I had to do with with my grandmother - drag her out of her house. Older folks in particular have reduced ability to cope with heat. It may not seem like grave danger, but it is for them.
On the flip side
If you're active, watch out for hyponatremia which is a sodium deficit exacerbated by to excess water intake.
People not used to being in prolonged hot weather think they are doing the Right Thing by drinking far more water than normal. They sweat out the salt and don't replace it when drinking additional fresh water leading to critically low blood sodium levels. The effects can be severe.
Many adults who are otherwise in excellent health can develop to hyponatremia in short order in weather like this. Thankfully, it's preventable by upping the salt (electrolyte) intake along with the water.
water with electrolytes is excellent
a couple weeks ago, I had to suddenly sit down before I fell down. I had been feeling off. Weak and even kinda confused-like. Been drinking plenty of water, but still was off. New experience for me (probably because I'm now in handshake distance of old age).
The next day, I was buying a drink and decided to try Smartwater, which has electrolytes. I always thought it was a gimmick, but it really made me much better! Since then, I regularly drink it on a hot day.
I haven't tried other brands yet as the ones I've looked at have real or fake sugar in them and I don't need or want that.
So give 'am a try.
Truth
In the news today is the story of a 32-year-old retired NFL offensive lineman who died of a combination of hyponatremia and heatstroke. To emphasize: a guy in his early 30's, in elite physical shape, died from the heat. Do not mess with a high heat index.
Bullying
...and the heat can be one of many excuses for
bullying contributors at https://universalhub.com
Please avoid, limit some of the contributors that bully others
https://libreplanet.org/wiki/Anti-harassment_policy
Excellent post, SwirlyGrrl.
Elderly people are often more vulnerable to the detrimental affects of heat, especially if they live alone, and either don't have or won't use their A/C to cool their house down, but so are people of any age who have certain chronic conditions such as asthma, diabetes, etc., heart conditions, etc., or who are either severely overweight or severely underweight.
Finally
Great to have hot weather.
Ugh!
Not when it's this hot! Or are you just being snarky?
"Real feel" heat index is the
"Real feel" heat index is the biggest exaggeration in weather reporting.
Everyone in Boston knows what 95 degree weather feels like, because it happens every summer. "Real feel" assumes that "normal" 95 degree weather has like 20% humidity. Maybe that happens in the southwest, but it's never that hot and dry in Boston. Whenever the temperature in Boston is 95 degrees, humidity is like 60% not 20%. So just call it 95 degrees and everyone already knows what it feels like.
It's embarrassing when you see maps showing 107 degrees in Boston in the local news, because you know it's fake news.
Do you even know what it means?
Hint: it is an indicator of the ability of your body to shed heat. That is completely dominated by the COMBINED effect of heat and humidity. In order to put this on a comparable scale for issuing heat alerts or assessing the relative health risk of heat, we have the heat index.
It isn't about what you think about it or what is locally the dominant weather pattern.
Basic thermodynamics - that's what it is all about. Basic thermodynamics don't give a shit where you are - Austin, Boston, doesn't matter. The ability to cool off your body is relative to heat + humidity, not whether you understand science. It really does not matter that THIS IS BOSTON AND BOSTON IS HUMID WAHHHH. Your skin, your sweat glands, your prickly heat on your ass don't care about that. It is irrelevant. The Real Feel Temperature is an objective measure of The Real Danger.
Perhaps you should read something about what you are talking about before posting something this ignorant and silly?
The Southwest vs. the Northeast climates:
Due to the much dryer climate in the southwestern part of the United States, much of which is desert country, 80-90 some-odd degrees is pretty much the equivalent of 60-70 some-odd degrees here in the Bay State, and the northeastern part of the United States, generally.
Oh, come on now!
This:
is complete baloney, anon! It has gone up to 100 degrees or over here in Boston and in the Northeast, generally. Don't kid yourself.
Best Advice
I think the best advice to give any person vulnerable to a heat wave while indoors is: shower, bath, buckets! The power to cool your body is right there in your bathroom even if you have no air conditioning.
Cooling oneself in the bathroom is one way to do it.
One can't spend the whole day in their bathroom, however.
True
This advice is given to elderly people and others because people have died from their internal temp getting too high when a bucket and faucet were tragically just a few feet away. That’s why we spread the message.