2014 was the hottest year since we started tracking weather patterns in 1880; in fact,
all the hottest years in the top ten have been since 1998!
And 2015 is heating up too...
A heat wave is gripping southeastern India and has, as of this taping, killed more than
2200 people, mostly in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telengana.
Temperatures have topped 120 (49C) melting roadways in the populous Asian nation.
Like the Western United States, parts of India are in a drought, and this being an El Nino
year, the country is likely to experience a large number of typhoons -- same as a hurricane
or cyclone -- but less monsoon rain.
If all this sounds bad, it's because it is bad; but India's no stranger to heat waves.
In 2003 and again in 2010, around 3000 people died from heat waves in Andhra Pradesh.
The Farmer's Almanac, that bastion of weather knowledge, says heat waves are prolonged periods
of heat caused by high atmospheric pressure impacting an area.
When a high-pressure system pulls air from the upper atmosphere toward the ground, that
air compresses and heats up, holding other weather systems at bay and settling over a
wide area.
These high-pressure systems can block cloud-cover and inhibit winds; meaning the sun's heat
compounds the already warm, dense, stagnant conditions.
Under normal circumstances, we're INCREDIBLE at cooling our bodies -- maybe some of the
best animals on the planet at it.
But in extreme temperatures, we simply can't handle the heat.
Part of the problem in Andhra Pradesh and Telengana is the humidity is very high on
average.
Sweat evaporates far more slowly in high humidity.
No evaporation, no cooling; so the body sweats MORE, causing dehydration!
When the body can't dissipate its heat, fainting, cramps, heat exhaustion, or heatstroke can
result.
These afflictions affect the elderly, sick, young, and those in urban areas more prominently;
but essentially, the heat overwhelms the body's ability to cool itself.
Eventually, we stop sweating altogether -- that's the red alert.
Heat can cause muscle cramps or fainting, due to electrolyte shortages lost during sweating.
Obviously, you'll get thirsty as your body tries to get you to replenish lost water,
but as your brain becomes affected, symptoms include dizziness, weakness, and becoming
uncoordinated, and nauseated -- that's when you know it's hit the brain.
As water loss peaks, the blood becomes thicker, the heart can't pump it as well, the kidneys
can't clean it, and the oxygen levels drop.
In response the heart tries to pump more blood faster at an increasing rate.
Which heats up the body, creating a feedback loop causing cold, clammy skin, and eventually,
death.
Once thermoregulation fails, it's pretty much a spiral into terribleness, which is why it's
so important for animals to stay cool.
Anything over 104 is terrible, and that goes for fevers too!
These weather patterns occur naturally, though they can be exacerbated by humans.
For example, asphalt and concrete store heat all day and then release it at night keeping
the environment from naturally cooling; this is called the "urban heat island effect."
Additionally, global climate change or global warming is also a culprit.
In a 2014 Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 20 teams looked at 16 events from
2013 and found human activity "greatly increased the risk for the extreme heat waves."
And separately, five studies of Australia's 2013 heat waves found the "chances of observing
such extreme temperatures in a world without [human-caused] climate change is almost impossible."
Seemingly singular problems like sea ice melt causes more solar heat absorption by the darker
water, accelerating climate shifts too… causing more heat waves, and, possibly, more
deaths.
When the heat is on, make sure you stay in the shade, cool off, and allow your sweat
to evaporate.
Stay cool folks.