#topic: climate

[hemi-online]

Comic: Stay Safe in the Heat (Public Health — Seattle & King County)

PDF on kingcounty.gov | PDF on archive.org

2 pages Publication year unknown | Accessed 2025

Guidance for preventing heat illnesses during hot weather, especially for people who are at higher risk, such as outdoor workers, people with chronic health conditions, and children. This downloadable document can be photocopied double-sided.

More languages: Amharic (archive.org) | Arabic (archive.org) | Chinese (archive.org) | French (archive.org) | Korean (archive.org) | Russian (archive.org) | Somali (archive.org) | Spanish (archive.org) | Tagalog (archive.org) | Ukrainian (archive.org) | Vietnamese (archive.org)

[rotzaprachim]

i don’t think Jews should have to extend grace to people who engage in Holocaust denial. I don’t think people should engage in Holocaust denial no matter their politics. I think Jews have a right to be angry and cut off contact with those who do engage in Holocaust denial, no matter their politics. I’m so fucking angry we’re at this line I’m the goddamn sand and antisemitism is this rampant

[abirddogmoment]

many of my dog friends are dealing with their first ever ticks this year so please take this as a reminder if you're in north america to get your dog on flea/tick preventative and check them regularly!!!

[the-nettle-knight]

My thoughts on the Just Stop Oil publicity stunt at Stonehenge, as someone who worked there, an archaeologist and a pagan: I'm massively annoyed.

Not at JSO actually. At the hypocrisy I'm seeing everywhere.

I'm angry at the politicians who haven't said a word about the A303 tunnel that is going to do irreparable damage to the site and the archaeology. (don't get me wrong, I know a lot of the archaeologists who will be on the project, I have every faith in them, but it is a commercial venture, limited by time, budget and frankly just the techniques available to us now). It's going to be really bad for the environment.

I'm also annoyed at the online pagan community. I've seen so many neo pagans/wiccans with the most surface level "they've made an enemy of their closest allies" take. Well, we can see that you don't actually care about the environment if that's all it takes to turn you away from this. Closing a road would have created environmental damage from all the cars hanging around for hours! Also, where have they been in the campaign against the A303?

Or the fact that Salisbury Plain is being eaten up by new build housing estates that don't support the needs of the residents and stresses local services. Because Stonehenge is just the most famous archaeological monument on the Plain but there are tens, if not hundreds of sites that are being lost. I have literally worked on one- a Bronze Age barrow cemetery with several ring ditches, a potential Neolithic god-pole like structure, Iron Age, Roman and Anglo-Saxon settlement evidence. All destroyed by a new build estate that cannot be supported by local infrastructure, literally in terms of the roads.

They're also the sort of people who complain about the cost of Stonehenge. There is a very good reason that it's so expensive- it basically funds a significant chunk of Historic England (which is far more than just the monuments and sites you can visit). Many of HE's sites are free and they still need to be maintained, which is incredibly expensive. And they're the sort of people to culturally appropriate from other cultures, rather than looking to the archaeology they're fake outraged by.

The paint was made out of cornflour, so not actually a huge conservation issue (I mean, it would definitely better to have not happened but honestly probably the least worst option). The damage done by smog and other air pollution is significantly worse.

People should be angry that this is what people are being forced to do to have their voices heard.

[25-worms-in-a-trenchcoat]

god i am so fucking tired of even the smallest suggestions of queerness being removed from things bc megacorps only care about their bottom line

[adastra-sf]

Climate change-driven heatwaves threaten millions

Extreme record-breaking heat leads to severe crises across the world.

Already in 2024, from Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, and Syria in the West; to Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, China, and the Philippines in the East; large regions of Asia are experiencing temperatures well above 40°C (104°F) for days on end.

The heatwave has been particularly difficult for people living in refugee camps and informal housing, as well as for unhoused people and outdoor workers.

Using the Heat Index Calculator, at that temperature and a relative humidity of 50%, residents see a heat index of 55°C (131°F) - a temperature level humans cannot long survive:

In February, the southern coastal zone of West Africa also experienced abnormal early-season heat. A combination of high temperatures and humid air resulted in average heat index values of about 50°C (122°F) - the danger level, associated with a high risk of heat cramps and heat exhaustion.

Locally, temperatures entered the extreme danger level associated with high risk of heat stroke, with values up to 60°C (140°F):

Even here at Ad Astra's HQ in Kansas, last summer we saw several days with high temperatures of 102°F (39°C) at 57% humidity, resulting in a heat index of 133°F (56°C):

Of course, the major difference in survivability in Kansas versus some of the places suffering extreme heat right now is that air-conditioning abounds here. Those who live somewhere that faces extreme heat but can escape it indoors are a lot more likely to survive, but a person who lives somewhere without such life-saving gear faces not just discomfort, but heat stroke and even death.

This includes unhoused and poor people here in the wealthier parts of the world, who often do not have access to indoor refuge from the heat.

About 15% of US residents live below the poverty line. Many low-wage earners work outside in construction or landscaping, exposed to the ravages of heat. Many do not own an air conditioner, and those who do might need to budget their body's recovery from heat against cost to purchase and run cooling equipment. Because heat stress is cumulative, when they go to work the next day, they’re more likely to suffer from heat illness.

Bad as that is, for those living on the street, heatwaves are merciless killers. Around the country, heat contributes to some 1,500 deaths annually, and advocates estimate about half of those people are homeless. In general, unhoused people are 200 times more likely to die from heat-related causes than sheltered individuals.

For example, in 2022, a record 425 people died from heat in the greater Phoenix metro area. Of the 320 deaths for which the victim’s living situation is known, more than half (178) were homeless. In 2023, Texans experienced the hottest summer since 2011, with an average temperature of 85.3°F (30°C) degrees between June and the end of August. Some cities in Texas experienced more than 40 days of 100°F (38°C) or higher weather. This extreme heat led to 334 heat-related deaths, the highest number in Texas history and twice as many as in 2011.

The Pacific Northwest of Canada and the USA suffered an extreme heat event in June, 2021, during which 619 people died. Many locations broke all-time temperature records by more than 5°C, with a new record-high temperature of 49.6°C (121°F). This is a region ill-suited to such weather, and despite having relatively high wealth compared to much of the world, many homes and businesses there do not have air-conditioning due to a history of much lower temperatures.

Heatwaves are arguably the deadliest type of extreme weather event because of their wide impact. While heatwave death tolls are often underreported, hundreds of deaths from the February heatwave were reported in the affected countries, including Bangladesh, India, Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, and the Philippines.

Extreme heat also has a powerful impact on agriculture, causing crop damage and reduced yields. It also impacts education, with holidays having to be extended and schools closing, affecting millions of students - in Delhi, India, schools shut early this week for summer when temperatures soared to 47°C (117°F) at dangerous humidity levels:

At 70°C (157°F !), humans simply cannot function and face imminent death, especially when humidity is high. This is the notion of "heat index," a derivative of "wet-bulb temperature."

Though now mostly calculated using heat and humidity readings, wet-bulb temperature was originally measured by putting a wet cloth over a thermometer and exposing it to the air.

This allowed it to measure how quickly the water evaporated off the cloth, representing sweat evaporating off skin.

The theorized human survival limit has long been 35°C (95°F) wet-bulb temperature, based on 35°C dry heat at 100% humidity - or 46°C (115°F) at 50% humidity. To test this limit, researchers at Pennsylvania State University measured the core temperatures of young, healthy people inside a heat chamber.

They found that participants reached their "critical environmental limit" - when their body could not stop the core temperature from continuing to rise – at 30.6°C wet bulb temperature, well below what was previously theorized. That web-bulb temperature parallels a 47°C (117°F) heat index.

​The team estimates that it takes between 5-7 hours before such conditions reach "really, really dangerous core temperatures."

On March 5, 2024, Hong Kong saw temperatures of 27°C (80°F) with 100% humidity, which results in a heat index of 32.2°C (90°F) - seemingly not so bad until considering it's higher than the critical wet-bulb temperature. Also, if you watch the video, imagine the long-term effects of water accumulating in residences, such as dangerous mold.

We are witnessing the effects of climate change right now, all around the world, and rising temperatures are just the most-obvious (what we used to call "global warming"). Many, many other side-effects of climate change are beginning to plague us or headed our way soon, and will affect us all.

Unfortunately, those most affected - and those being hit the hardest right now - are people most vulnerable to heatwaves. With climate crises increasing in both intensity and frequency, and poverty at dangerous levels, we face a rapidly rising, worldwide crisis.

We must recognize the climate crisis as an international emergency and treat it as such. So much time, creative energy, resources, and life is wasted in war and the pursuit of profit or power - consider how much good could come from re-allocating those resources to ensuring a future for Earthlings, instead.

(Expect to see a "Science into Fiction" workshop on climate change coming soon - SF writers have a particular responsibility to address such important topics of change and global consequence.)

[ichigosluvrr]

Everyone's focused on the beef and the Met Gala and shit but do y'all not see wtf is happening in the world rn.

People in Rafah have nowhere to go, and Israel is bombing them, people are now seeing (hearing from tiktok) that they're see ppl with demonic faces and such, the government is to ban parts of the bible, there is an ocean under the ocean I guess I don't fucking know, and then there's the argument on why women choose the Bear and such, plus all of the other wars that are happening as we speak

Y'all, I am really afraid and scared of what our future holds, man. I know I said this a couple of times on this app, but I'm deadass fr scared.

I do not see myself having a child in the future because I do not want my child to live in this vile world, I promise you God will understand stand my choice.

All I know is I gotta get right and stay prayed up.

[clementimetodie]

The millenials and zoomers who still unironically believe the entire planet will flood and catch fire by 2050 are just as stupid and gullible as the boomers who believed the 2012 doomsday prophesy was real

[mokeonn]

Before I go to sleep I leave you all with this piece of advice: sometimes you don't actually have to answer big political questions, sometimes you can just say "I am not smart enough to know that, I just know the small things I do to help." Like you can often times completely avoid making a fool of yourself if you just say you don't know.

[gods-favorite-autistic]

Less “classics but its in modern day high school” more “classics but they’re gay”

[hippo-pot]

really needed this one 😭 the bill doesn't affect me directly but it does affect my friend, plus I really needed to hear that Republicans can stand up to weird unpopular garbage from on high

"The bill now heads to the governor's desk, and Kissinger said its overwhelming bipartisan support in both the Texas House and Senate could bode well for the measure.

"[We] would be pretty surprised if he didn't actually sign it," he said."

[kimabutch]

You could write a really fun comparative essay about The Locked Tomb and Red Valley and specifically their portrayal of a very near-future impending climate catastrophe to which the hyper-rich attempt to abscond instead of dealing with the problem, impeded by scientist eco-terrorists trying to hold the rich accountable

[aropride]

i know objectively that people have different experiences with like. temperature. but 90ºf is Objectively Too Hot. like i cannot envision a world where thats an enjoyable temperature and im convinced everyone who says they enjoy it is Lying . like i cannot imagine a Type Of Guy who honestly enjoys that temperature. i am not doing a bit Do not try to change my mind i am right and perfect also. #black and white thinking

[sickfreaksirkay]

my lecturer just said scientists should be apolitical..😧

[themapleleafdiaries]

one of my cousins is engaged to a man that lives in Florida… and is planning to move down there on a 90 day fiancee visa and live there

[the0ther-side0f-dawn]

i know there's like global trends and people want change when it is tough and even tho polls are showing more distance, ynever know what's gonna happen etc etc yada yada yada

so the election is in no way guaranteed for an LNP loss

but from where im sitting. the lnp is a trainwreck??

this election is actually some of the best entertainment ive had in a while, ngl. there is so much drama

but what i dont get is HOW and why he is STILL the LNP leader?? why hasnt the party couped???

let me make it v clear. i do not support the LNP one bit. but he should not be in charge???

he is a terrible leader. he is all over the place?? constantly backtracking on his own word, seems to have absolutely no policy or direction

like id love to see him stay at the wheel and run the LNP into the ground

but like- dont they want a competent politician leading the campaign????

i get he runs on fear and emotion and trumpism

but he is a mess??

make it make sense