I was reading about the heat wave currently pounding Italy, Spain and Greece. The temperatures are higher there than here. Sure, we get a few days on which the temperatures crest 106° F. and then we complain about the heat index but I'm seeing temperatures over 114° F in large swaths of Greece and Italy and that's air temp; not "feels like." Actual, punishing heat.
Why else should I put a sock in the complaining? Well, according to several articles I've read, about 90% of homes in the USA are air conditioned. I get that using a ton of electricity is going to be a hard burden for many who live on tight budgets here but as long as the AC works the issue doesn't rise to the level of existential peril. Not so for many parts of Europe where home installation of air conditioning is something like 10 to 12% !!!! That means there's no ready escape from the danger of being overheated.
Sure, I worry about the Texas power grid but I've checked it every day and it's holding up well. And, as a fan of having back-up solutions to most mission critical aspects of my own life, then as long as the grid holds I'll be fine. If we have an issue with the home air conditioning systems we have the resources to have a new one central air system installed in a matter of days. And, as a safety back-up, the office which is just steps from the front door of the house has its own, separate air conditioning system which is relatively new and currently working well. We would have a quick refuge in which to wait out a system replacement for the house --- and vice versa.
My biggest worry right now is just keeping the trees and the yard alive. And so far I'm working within the county drought restrictions and having about an 85% success score. But it sure doesn't look like rain any time soon.
I had coffee with my favorite camera addiction supplier photographer friend today. I wanted to hand him a check for the Fuji GFX50Sii before he heads out of town to cooler climes next week. We met at the halfway point between our two offices for cold coffee. As is typical we spent an hour just catching up and talking about our professional lives. We both had decent business in the first part of the year but as soon as the high pressure dome and the ensuing heat wave hit our home town both of our businesses flatlined. No calls. No appointments. Nada.
We're both ready for retirement and neither of us is worried about paying the bills. We're not depending on the next head shot or architectural photo to keep from starving. But it's interesting how quickly the "tap" turns off when people feel paralyzed by the heat...
We both agreed that, like our clients, we're equally unmotivated to go outside after the early hours in the morning and that the thought of just moving gear from the studio to the car and the car to the client's location seems overwhelming --- and a stark impediment to even accepting jobs.
Sad to have a new camera that I'd love to put through its paces but not having the stomach to get out in dangerous heat to do it. Better I think to bide my time and wait for a break in the weather. I hope we see it before Christmas...
This heat wave will end up costing billions and billions of dollars in lost economic opportunities. Much worse, it is already costing lives. Stay chilly. Visualize snow.
7 comments:
As of July 18, 2023, there have been 29 100-degree days in Austin, Texas. In 2022, there were 68 100-degree days. Halfway there.
I am in the Phoenix area and my pool thermometer read 88F this afternoon so I won't be swimming for awhile. Too hot.
Pray they don't restrict water so much that you can't make coffee.
When you stop to think about it, large swaths of suburbia with black asphalt roads that are unnecessarily wide next to concrete sidewalks with no trees so that every home needs A/C seems like a series of bad decisions at times like this.
Madrid, Spain here. 108°F air temperature, but it's really (really... 15%) dry, so it's not so bad if you stay hydrated. But yes, you need AC to sleep well - although I set it at 79°F, no less.
Phoenix is the scorching heat king of all sizable U.S. cities. Yesterday, Phoenix hit a record 19 days in a row with ambient temperatures above 110 degrees during the day and above 90 degrees at night. At 3pm, local time, the mercury hit 117 degrees. As Kirk says, that’s not “feels like,” that’s real, punishing heat. And that record is likely to be extended for a while yet. Thankfully, the power grid appears to be holding in most places - including Texas. That’s no small thing.
There are about 1.5 million heat pumps installed in something like three million households here in Finland. They work wonders for cooling too. But then, we really don’t need to run them in cooling mode more than a few weeks of the year.
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