To my northern neighbours suffering from the current heat wave.
I lived in approx 38C with 90% humidity for 20 years, and I have a few pieces of advice.
1. Don't do anything fast that you can do slow.
2. Umbrellas aren't just for rain. They work for sun, too.
3. Sweat is your friend. Drink lots of liquid, eat and drink things that trigger sweating.
4. Cold showers and baths trigger your body to warm up. Room temp showers work best - and don't bother drying off.
Are you sure about those numbers? 38C with 90% humidity is 36.5C wet-bulb.
That is not survivable by a human and sweating does not cool one down at all in such a temperature. Also, according to Wikipedia, the highest recorded wet bulb temperature ever was 36.3C in UAE.
@vriesk Well, I lived in Ho Chi Minh City for two decades. It regularly hits that temperature and in the rainy season the humidity regularly hovers between 80-90
So, I don't know what you want me to say.
Will you get some extra satisfaction by thinking I'm lying to you while you fry?
@Remittancegirl No, I absolutely don't think you're lying or anything like that. 38C dry-bulb is definitely happening in many places, also the humid ones.
Also, your hot-weather advice is very sound and good.
Just that during the peak-temperature hours, the relative humidity is likely even lower than 80% even during the wettests months, as 38C with even 80% is 34.8C, still on the edge of survival for humans. Vietnam is not listed to ever get above 34C in this list: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wet-bulb_temperature#Heat_waves_with_high_humidity
@vriesk Man, what is your problem? Doubling down even. Just stop embarassing yourself, please.
@svenscholz Can we stop with this?
There is theory - and science - and then there's just living in thick, hot soup for 6 months a year.
And they're fundamentally different things. Which sounds annoying because theory should be absolutely the truth.
Lived experience just exceeds expectations. That's all I'm saying.
@Remittancegirl @svenscholz yeah, that's extreme.
BTW, do fans still help at those temperatures and humidities?
I'm always surprised how big of a difference sitting next to a fan makes in the somewhat less extreme 35C with low humidity, maybe even a bit better (but very localized) than just AC.
@Secret_Squirrel @Remittancegirl @svenscholz my experience comes mostly from (north) California, Florida, and Louisiana, so I don't know.
They all look more like a lazy construction work than anything (mounting a non-split unit on the top of the window is harder than just ripping a hole under said window and putting the thing on the floor).
@Remittancegirl @vriesk @svenscholz
You find those floor vents in older houses built before AC was a thing. They are stupid. They make it impossible to put your furniture where you want it. They collect dust like crazy too.
Even after AC was a thing aome builders kept putting them in the floor because it was cheaper than adding enough duct work to put them in the ceilings. It really seems to be a regional problem in the US.
@vriesk @Remittancegirl @svenscholz I think the floor vents in southern homes are a combination of a hold-over of older houses that had a heater for the winter but relied on open windows and air flow in summer, people bringing northern building practices south without considering the local climate (more than half the US is in climates where heating is more important than cooling), and slow cultural change where floor vents and ceiling fans are seen as normal or classic and upper wall vents are seen as unsightly.
Also, many older houses built with floor vents are poorly insulated, and at least in Florida, many people *suffer* when it gets to 50-55 F (10-12C).
@Robotistry @vriesk @Remittancegirl @svenscholz
My folks had their house rebuilt after a tornado had hit it. They lived in the south. They had to fight with the builder to put R35 insulation in the attic. The damn man insisted it didn't get cold enough for it without realizing you want it as well for keeping a house cooler when running AC. It was also a fight for decent insulation in the walls.
I got up there when it was finished and added another layer and made sure the soffits were open.
Madeleine Morris
vriesk (Jan Srz)
Sven Scholz
Secret Squirrel
Stuck Here
Robotistry
sidereal