(Way OT) How bad is the heat wave in Europe?

[med stud]

The heat is a killer for old people. I worked at a service home for old and dement people, and the summer always brings with it 3-4 deaths due to dehydration.

The senile old people wont drink much by themselves, and you can only get them to drink to a limit, that is too low to be healthy. Im not surprised that France with 50000000 inhabitants have 3000 deaths due to heat, especially when it's old people that are dying. It doesnt make it any less tragic, of course

 

[Pigeon]

I've read a few posts advising people to wear shorts in order to keep cool. While this will obviously help I would add the caution that you would be exposing yourself to the possibility of skin cancer.

My mother grew up in australia and spent a good deal of time exposed to the sun, as a direct result she has to have regular operations to remove skin cancer.

Keep your skin covered is my advice.

 

[Dirigible]

Im not surprised that France with 50000000 inhabitants have 3000 deaths due to heat, especially when it's old people that are dying. It doesnt make it any less tragic, of course

Unless you're Stalin.

Of course the Bedouins spend their entire lives in those conditions without AC which is pretty darn impressive.

Being dark skinned, tall and thin helps. As does the fact that they were born and brought up in that environment. And that their culture (or it's antecendant) has been tolerating those conditions for ten thousand years. It's all about acclimation.

Earlier today, I was wondering why authors often make desert-dwelling cultures like the Fremen or Aiel such tough hombres, but this reminded me : people who dwell in the desert ARE tough

I want to hear about the heat wave in Europe... You may not discuss or argue about Global Warming here.

Pardon for taking that out of context. You want to talk aobut the weather, but not aobut global warming. Would you like a side order of irony with that?

 

[mythusmage]

Keep your skin covered is my advice.

That depends.

Hot and Dry: Keep your skin covered. Use loose fitting clothing that allows air to circulate next to your skin.

Hot and Humid: Wear as little as you can. No matter what you wear sooner or later it will get sticky. If made of natural materials it will rot away all too soon.

The big difference between Hot and Dry and Hot and Humid is, in the latter case plant life proliferates like nobody's business, so you can usually find cover during the worst of the day. In the former case you need to make your own shelter against the sun.

Oh, and marry dark. Tall, thin, and dark (Somalis or Masai) in Hot and Dry climes. Small, thin, and dark (Yanomamo for example) in Hot and Humid climes. Just cuz you're subject to melanomas don't mean your descendents have to be.

And while I'm posting, do any of our Spanish members have any word on the Spanish genet colonies? (The genet is a sub-tropical to tropical animal, rather cat-like. The recent heat wave may be more to their liking than the usual southern Spanish weather.)