India is becoming a case study in how rising temperatures can undermine productivity and growth in nations that still rely heavily on physical labor.
India is becoming a case study in how rising temperatures can undermine productivity and growth in nations that still rely heavily on physical labor.
yup. the killer here comes when the low temp doesn’t go below 100f - heat simply builds higher and higher and there’s no respite; this causes hvac systems to begin to struggle and power systems to collapse as infrastructure like transformers blow (expensive and slow to replace, with low production rates to boot) or transmission lines to sag under the heat x the transmission loads, often causing wildfires.
have been to places like death valley and central texas near Killeen - once it was 110+ for an entire week, highs reaching 117f! and at night it wouldn’t get below 100.
It’s like breathing burning air, it’s exhausting and on top of all of this, people aren’t made to work in these kinds of conditions and as temps rise, will asphyxiate as their lungs struggle to pull oxygen out of humid hot air while their core temps climb, unable to dump the heat through respiration or perspiration.
https://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-identify-the-maximum-heat-limit-the-human-body-can-take
Yup, weekend before last I was halfway round the supermarket when the power cut out because everything was overloaded between the HVAC and lots of extra fans. The tills worked off UPS, but lights, fans, and aircon were gone … by the time I got through the checkout I had trouble putting things in my bag and handling money because my hands had gone numb!
Partly my fault, because I walked there and planned to let their aircon cool me down, so I was too hot before the power cut. The locals avoid unnecessary movement, and they cope with the heat much better than my pasty white arse.
Next weekend I’ll be taking a bike taxi there, not walking. Thus, producing more greenhouse gasses just to exist :-/
shopping is hell, and then…