It is so hot society is ending, help!

[Valka D'Ur]

One challenge at a time.

Cran-Grape is good. It's not really sweet or sour, and quenches one's thirst quite nicely. I used to take a couple of 250mL cartons of it with me to SCA feasts, as my goblet held exactly 250mL of liquid and by candlelight it looked and smelled like wine, and not fruit juice (there were some people in the Shire who would take digs at me for never drinking alcohol).

 

[Aiken_Drumn]

Hottest night on record in the UK was last night.

 

[Farm Boy]

This is why I don't watch nature documentaries anymore, too stressful when my boi gets eaten

Oh put them back on. Acclimate to more pain than that. You don't want all new skin on your soles when the path hardens before you.

Or not. It's not like I know what I'm doing.

 

[AmazonQueen]

Well the heat has broken here. Down to a more bearable 23 C, raining and thunder in the distance

 

[EgonSpengler]

Hottest night on record in the UK was last night.

It's worth noting that the UK has the longest, continuous record of temperatures, the Central England Temperature Series, which began recording monthly maximums, minimums and means in 1659, and daily maxes, mins and means in 1772. The Wiki page notes that the hottest Summer on record is 1972, when the daily mean temperature was 17.77C/63.99F. Have to imagine they're going to blow that out of the water this year.

Well the heat has broken here. Down to a more bearable 23 C, raining and thunder in the distance

[/URL]

It's only just begun here. A "heat advisory" was issued this morning for most of the region. Predictions are for temps of 95-98F / 35-37C for the rest of the week. I saw one warning that predicted a "heat index" (heat + humidity) of 100F/37.6C for the city of Lowell tomorrow... at 6:00am.

 

[Zardnaar]

Deep.

 

[Birdjaguar]

If you can bypass the paywall this is a cool European heat article with graphics.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/interactive/2022/europe-heat-wave-melting/?itid=hp-top-table-main-t-2

 

[EgonSpengler]

From the website of the London Fire Brigade. This is all just today. Incidents I've marked with an asterisk are ongoing, as of the timestamp of this post.

Flat fire - Hornchurch
00:55 - Fifteen fire engines and around 100 firefighters tackled a flat fire on Mavis Grove in Hornchurch.
Fire crews from Hornchurch, Harold Hill, Romford, Wennington and surrounding fire stations were at the scene.

Restaurant fire - Southgate*
09:22 - Ten fire engines and around 70 firefighters are tackling a fire on Green Lanes in Southgate.
Fire crews from Southgate, Hornsey, Finchley and Tottenham fire stations are at the scene.

Grass fire - Upminster
11:23 - Thirty fire engines and around 175 firefighters tackled a grass fire on Pea Lane in Upminster.
Fire crews from Hornchurch, Harold Hill, Wennington and surrounding fire stations attended the scene as well as colleagues from Essex Fire and Rescue Service.

Grass fires - Croydon
12:07 - Eight fire engines and around 60 firefighters dealt with a fire on Oaks Road in Croydon.
Fire crews from Addington, Biggin Hill, Wallington, Croydon and surrounding fire stations attended the scene.

Another four fire engines also dealt with a grass fire on Chapel View in South Croydon.
Fire crews from Purley, Plumstead, Greenwich and Lambeth fire stations attended the scene.

Large fire involving houses and scrubland - Wennington*
13:06 - Fifteen fire engines and around 100 firefighters are tackling a fire on The Green in Wennington.
Fire crews from Dagenham, Deptford, Bethnal Green, Woodford, Lee Green, Forest Hill and surrounding fire stations are at the scene.

Fire involving houses, workshop and grassland - Dagenham*
13:48 - Fifteen fire engines and around 100 firefighters are tackling a fire on Ballards Road in Dagenham.
Fire crews from Whitechapel, Leytonstone, Millwall, Clapham and surrounding fire stations are at the scene.

Outbuilding fire - Wembley
14:09 - Twelve fire engines and around 80 firefighters tackled a fire on The Broadway in Wembley.
Fire crews from Ealing, Wandsworth, Poplar, Mill Hill, Tooting and surrounding fire stations attended the scene.

Shop fire - Sidcup
14:24 - Six fire engines and around 40 firefighters tackled a fire at a shop on Sidcup Road in Eltham.
Fire crews from East Greenwich, West Norwood, Shadwell and Orpington fire stations were at the scene.

Grass fire - Uxbridge*
14:46 - Ten fire engines and around 70 firefighters are tackling a grass fire on Western Avenue in Uxbridge.
Fire crews from Hayes, Richmond, Twickenham and surrounding fire stations are at the scene.

15:14 - London Fire Brigade declared a Major Incident. I haven't been able to find what a Major Incident is or what it means. It may mean off-duty & reserve personnel are recalled; maybe it's something akin to a General Alarm in U.S. emergency services; or maybe it activates something like the "mutual aid networks" we have here, in which fire companies from surrounding cities and towns are dispatched to assist and relieve. The press release asks people not to call 999 except to report new fires, or if there's an immediate risk to life.

Fire involving car wash, houses and vehicles - Kenton*
16:18 - Ten fire engines and around 70 firefighters are tackling a fire on Hawthorne Avenue in Kenton.
Fire crews from Paddington, Heathrow, Ruislip, Harrow and surrounding fire stations are at the scene.

Sky News report:

Spoiler :

 

[Farm Boy]

Best wishes to the fire departments. Hope it goes as best it can, and you all manage some better sleep tonight.

You got this, London.

 

[Aiken_Drumn]

Rain has passed through my city, so at least its suddenly dropped back cold. Plants really needed that water too.

 

[EgonSpengler]

Wikipedia notes that a "major incident" for the London Fire Brigade "is defined as any emergency that requires the implementation of special arrangements by one or more of London's emergency services and will generally include the involvement, either directly or indirectly, of large numbers of people." An example of a previous Major Incident they cite is the Buncefield Fire of 11 December 2005, at the Hertfordshire Oil Storage Terminal.

 

[Takhisis]

Well, down in the land where everything is upside-down we're having it wetland fires and it's midwinter, so I wonder how big our summer fires will be.

Cran-Grape is good. It's not really sweet or sour, and quenches one's thirst quite nicely. I used to take a couple of 250mL cartons of it with me to SCA feasts, as my goblet held exactly 250mL of liquid and by candlelight it looked and smelled like wine, and not fruit juice (there were some people in the Shire who would take digs at me for never drinking alcohol).

I'll take it as a positive reference, but it's still one at a time.

 

[EnglishEdward]

Just a few miles from me:

Two homes 'gutted' in Norfolk village blaze

Two homes 'gutted' in Norfolk village blaze

Two homes have been "gutted" by a fire which spread from a nearby field into a Norfolk village.

www.edp24.co.uk

 

[Spidernova]

We had a couple of the drivers get really bad heat exhaustion this week and have to go home. I don't understand how expecting people to jog 20k+ steps in 42c heat index is legal. Even heat adjusted folks can only take so much.

 

[Birdjaguar]

We had a couple of the drivers get really bad heat exhaustion this week and have to go home. I don't understand how expecting people to jog 20k+ steps in 42c heat index is legal. Even heat adjusted folks can only take so much.

I am pretty heat adjusted living in NM, but I don't do my walking if the temperature is 100 or more.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

We had a couple of the drivers get really bad heat exhaustion this week and have to go home. I don't understand how expecting people to jog 20k+ steps in 42c heat index is legal. Even heat adjusted folks can only take so much.

It shouldn't be legal, unless you're in a job like a first responder or other emergency services. We kept getting reminders all the time to stay cool, stay hydrated, go to cooling centres if we didn't have access to AC or fans, and not to exercise outside. The Weather Network had extreme weather warnings going for weeks.

I had to go out twice during the heat dome last year. My age group was finally approved for the 2nd covid shot in July and I didn't want to miss my chance (the pharmacy bookings were filling up crazyfast).

So I arranged a ride through the local seniors' centre and we went to the pharmacy... only to be told they were out of doses, but if I'd stick around, they should be in by 4 pm (their driver was picking them up in Edmonton).

Well, it was only just after 2 pm and my driver had other appointments to keep. Neither of us were inclined to sit around in a grocery store pharmacy's waiting area for 2 hours even if store security had let us (they expected people to wear masks and get in and out ASAP). And it was absolute torture wearing a mask in that heat.

So I told them I couldn't stay, I wasn't happy that they hadn't warned me in time to cancel my ride - since I had to pay; the drivers for this place don't do it for free - and to put me on the shortlist for after they did get the stuff in, keeping in mind that I'd need time to arrange another ride (they suggested I try another pharmacy, but the reason I'd chosen this one in the first place was because the others were either booked up solid and not taking new appointments, or had no clue what was going on and were really rude over the phone).

About a week later I did get my shot. But at least the pharmacy staff felt guilty about the wasted trip, so they gave me a $10 gift card to cover the cost of the ride. I ended up using it to buy Maddy a box of kitty litter.

 

[Spidernova]

It shouldn't be legal, unless you're in a job like a first responder or other emergency services. We kept getting reminders all the time to stay cool, stay hydrated, go to cooling centres if we didn't have access to AC or fans, and not to exercise outside. The Weather Network had extreme weather warnings going for weeks.

I had to go out twice during the heat dome last year. My age group was finally approved for the 2nd covid shot in July and I didn't want to miss my chance (the pharmacy bookings were filling up crazyfast).

So I arranged a ride through the local seniors' centre and we went to the pharmacy... only to be told they were out of doses, but if I'd stick around, they should be in by 4 pm (their driver was picking them up in Edmonton).

Well, it was only just after 2 pm and my driver had other appointments to keep. Neither of us were inclined to sit around in a grocery store pharmacy's waiting area for 2 hours even if store security had let us (they expected people to wear masks and get in and out ASAP). And it was absolute torture wearing a mask in that heat.

So I told them I couldn't stay, I wasn't happy that they hadn't warned me in time to cancel my ride - since I had to pay; the drivers for this place don't do it for free - and to put me on the shortlist for after they did get the stuff in, keeping in mind that I'd need time to arrange another ride (they suggested I try another pharmacy, but the reason I'd chosen this one in the first place was because the others were either booked up solid and not taking new appointments, or had no clue what was going on and were really rude over the phone).

About a week later I did get my shot. But at least the pharmacy staff felt guilty about the wasted trip, so they gave me a $10 gift card to cover the cost of the ride. I ended up using it to buy Maddy a box of kitty litter.

Yeah, I'm an amazon drone. Its actually kind of funny, we have an hour less that they want us out on the road, but they number of stops on the route is pretty much unchanged. I'm not even that out of shape, but I'm drinking two gallons of water, and it's still brutal

 

[E.man]

Yeah, I'm an amazon drone. Its actually kind of funny, we have an hour less that they want us out on the road, but they number of stops on the route is pretty much unchanged. I'm not even that out of shape, but I'm drinking two gallons of water, and it's still brutal

'Amazon'. That explains it.

It doesn't matter how much you drink heat can still kill you.

 

[Takhisis]

it's already being forecast that the coming summer down here will be hotter than average again…

 

[Arwon]

From the website of the London Fire Brigade. This is all just today. Incidents I've marked with an asterisk are ongoing, as of the timestamp of this post.










15:14 - London Fire Brigade declared a Major Incident. I haven't been able to find what a Major Incident is or what it means. It may mean off-duty & reserve personnel are recalled; maybe it's something akin to a General Alarm in U.S. emergency services; or maybe it activates something like the "mutual aid networks" we have here, in which fire companies from surrounding cities and towns are dispatched to assist and relieve. The press release asks people not to call 999 except to report new fires, or if there's an immediate risk to life.


Sky News report:

Spoiler :

In those conditions in Australia there would likely be a total fire ban including things like bbqs, welders, anything that might make an ember or spark. I'm willing to bet the general populace's grasp of fire safety is not real strong over there having not experienced it before, it would be like expecting Australians in cities to know how to drive in snow. Also betting that emergency services aren't scaled to widespread simultaneous urban fringe fire risks. When people talk about "climate adaptation" it includes stuff like whole new swathes of the world having to understand fire weather, and meeting to resource emergency services to expand to handle it.