Planet already seeing temperatures beyond human tolerance [View all]

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Health24
25 MAY 2020
Planet already seeing temperatures beyond human tolerance
People can acclimatise to heat and humidity to a point, but there is a point where it's like sitting in a steam room, and we just can't cool ourselves through sweating.

Researchers have predicted that if climate change goes unabated, the planet will experience intolerable heat in the decades ahead. But a new study has found that in certain global hot spots, it's already happening.... Upper limit humans can stand. In numerous instances, the study found, local conditions have approached or hit a "wet bulb" temperature of 35 degrees Celsius. That's a measure of heat and humidity similar to what local weather reports call "heat index". The 35-degree C mark would translate into a heat index of 160 degrees Fahrenheit.

... The new findings are another sign that "we already have many people living way above the level of risk," said Dr Mona Sarfaty, head of the Program on Climate and Health at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. "And even these very extreme heat conditions are being seen now," she said.

... While the Persian Gulf saw the most dangerous heat, extremes were also recorded in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, northwestern Australia and parts of Mexico. In the United States, levels around 30 C were seen near the Gulf Coast, in east Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle.

https://www.health24.com/Lifestyle/Environmental-health/Climate-and-temperature/planet-already-seeing-temperatures-beyond-human-tolerance-20200525-2