Climate Crisis: Are we doing enough?

[Psamathe]

Interesting article to me highlighting how daft much of western Government's attitude to Climate Change has become

Amoc collapse could change Europe’s climate 10x faster than expected. We aren’t ready
Imagine we detect a large asteroid heading straight for Earth. We are able to intervene and prevent disaster, but instead we cut the funding needed to track it. A few million dollars, it was argued, was too expensive to have a chance to save society.

While this scenario isn’t real, the metaphor is alarmingly accurate. In Europe, we spend €1bn to monitor space for asteroids, even if the actual risk of a civilisation-ending asteroid strike is close to zero.

But governments don’t commit to spend a fraction of that amount to adequately monitor a threat that is more imminent, more likely, and located here on Earth: a major change in the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (Amoc).
...
Under current climate change, the Amoc is projected to weaken enough to radically change the weather and cause sea level rise in Europe. However, there is little consensus on when and how fast this will occur. Projections of the future Amoc vary between climate models, and while scientists continue to improve the ability of models to represent the real ocean, progress is hampered by insufficient understanding of the physics of the Amoc.

Consequently, this complicates matters for policymakers to implement adaptive strategies to reduce financial loss and impact on human lives. It is even more astonishing, then, that today’s minimal monitoring of the Amoc, our best hope of understanding what lies ahead, is now under acute threat of being discontinued. This will leave us unaware, unprotected and unprepared.

Worse, there is potential for Amoc weakening to become a collapse. In that specific scenario ,Europe would experience climate change up to 10 times faster than today. Considering that current climate change is already hard to keep up with as a society, we can’t begin to imagine what impact an Amoc collapse could have on our daily lives.

 

[AndyRM]

Red Warning issued for most of southern England today.

Load of rubbish this climate change nonsense though, eh?

 

[AndyRM]

I wonder though, if it'll take seeing someone's gran melt like Ronald Lacey before they realise.

By then, however, we'll be cooked.

 

[Pross]

Red Warning issued for most of southern England today.

Load of rubbish this climate change nonsense though, eh?

Loads of comments to schools closing etc. around here along the lines of "it's summer, what do you expect". They just don't get the point - today could be the hottest day ever recorded in the UK so it's not just a summer day. That beats the previous record just 4 years ago, along with the various driest / wamest / wettest seasons or years on record in the past few years both nationally and globally.

 

[icowden]

Loads of comments to schools closing etc. around here along the lines of "it's summer, what do you expect". They just don't get the point - today could be the hottest day ever recorded in the UK so it's not just a summer day. That beats the previous record just 4 years ago, along with the various driest / wamest / wettest seasons or years on record in the past few years both nationally and globally.

Good to see the Govt leaping into action and funding air conditioning units for schools though.

Wait... is that just a heat hallucination?

 

[Pross]

To be honest, I don't really get the point in closing schools / workplaces etc. Most of the kids not in school will be out in the heat instead which must be more of a risk, many will go and play in water and even if you stay indoors it's not going to be any cooler than a school. My employer decided to close the office and let us work from home which saves me a journey but offers no real benefit in working conditions. We are able to start earlier / finish later and take a break at the warmest part of the day but still stuck in an overly warm house.

 

[briantrumpet]

Well, I was supposed to be going into Exeter to do one lesson this afternoon, but having been out briefly to someone's house which was already getting uncomfortable, and knowing that the school music building is 1970s and prone to overheating, I've chickened out, and offered alternative days/times.

Alex Deakin was on the Met Office 'Deep Dive' explaining about why certain areas while very hot were still only amber warnings, and it's the combination of night-time temps, humidity, daytime max, etc., not just one metric – the humidity being the health kicker.

Last time there was a red alert in Devon ("Risk to life" - it happened to be for snow), there was a death in Devon. Even if it's only amber here today, it's distinctly uncomfortable, even though I'm used to high temps in France.

 

[icowden]

To be honest, I don't really get the point in closing schools / workplaces etc. Most of the kids not in school will be out in the heat instead which must be more of a risk, many will go and play in water and even if you stay indoors it's not going to be any cooler than a school.

The point is that very little work is going to be done. Transport will start to have problems due to severe heat, so it's better to let the kids go home before the heat escalates post lunch time.

For workplaces, some decision making could be impaired and therefore dangerous or costly. Obviously if they are air conditioned it isn't a problem (unless you are working for one of the newspapers where their air-con routinely breaks down if it's too hot!).

 

[Pblakeney]

Here’s a happy thought….
We’ve still got July and August to come.

 

[briantrumpet]

People who live in glasshouses...

... get hot.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...i7Wzsv-wtzt5TlSeWJ-b8&leadSource=uverify wall

In Britain’s capital city, an architectural trend that started about two decades ago is now being linked to unbearable levels of indoor heat.

The culprit is box-style apartment buildings with sheer facades and huge windows, often only on one side so there’s no way to create a through-draft. And with temperatures this week set to rise to around 35C (95F), those living in such designs say they’re struggling to cope.

 

[The Crofted Crest]

60 km on the asphalt.

 

[midlandsgrimpeur]

I think one thing that does make a noticeable difference to heat tolerance is proper hydration, and I don't think many people understand just how much you need to drink for that. As a regular cyclist and having ridden in extreme heat it gives you a clear idea. In 30+ degrees I would say an adult should be drinking at least 3 litres of liquid in a day. I drank 3 of water plus another 2 litres of other liquids yesterday, have already drank 3.5 litres today. I imagine most don't get close to that amount.

 

[briantrumpet]

I think one thing that does make a noticeable difference to heat tolerance is proper hydration, and I don't think many people understand just how much you need to drink for that. As a regular cyclist and having ridden in extreme heat it gives you a clear idea. In 30+ degrees I would say an adult should be drinking at least 3 litres of liquid in a day. I drank 3 of water plus another 2 litres of other liquids yesterday, have already drank 3.5 litres today. I imagine most don't get close to that amount.

A few times I've been daft enough to ride long enough in such heat that you get to the point that you can't seem to satiate your thirst however much you drink, and even worse if your water bottle has heated up. It's a really unpleasant sensation, made even worse if you are descending a long hill being heat-blasted.

Prior to my present health status at one time I could do all day up to about 35C, but the last couple of years I've aimed to stop at midday if it's going to be 35C. This summer I'll probably use the e-bike mostly, so I can get the ventilation effect without the exertion heating and dehydration.

 

[midlandsgrimpeur]

A few times I've been daft enough to ride long enough in such heat that you get to the point that you can't seem to satiate your thirst however much you drink, and even worse if your water bottle has heated up. It's a really unpleasant sensation, made even worse if you are descending a long hill being heat-blasted.

Prior to my present health status at one time I could do all day up to about 35C, but the last couple of years I've aimed to stop at midday if it's going to be 35C. This summer I'll probably use the e-bike mostly, so I can get the ventilation effect without the exertion heating and dehydration.

It is easy to do. On hot days I plan a route where I know I can stop in multiple places and top up. I also try and make sure I am taking a drink every 5 minutes or so in order to keep on top. Just being at work/home takes a bit more discipline as it is easy to get distracted and forget to drink.

 

[Rusty Nails]

Sadly, as I have aged, my tolerance to heat has reduced. For some reason, which I cba to research, my energy levels drop a lot once temperature reaches the 30s. Today, even at 8.00 am it was too hot for a ride…and there’s no way I’m getting up at 6.00 am.