Surviving Extreme Heat- UK 40° summer days.- climate change related severe heat events

[ManFriday4]

I don't know if anyone noticed we had a few days of 40°C in 2022?


The mass media showed pictures of people eating icecreames & sunbathing on packed beaches.


This is what the met Office had to say about those days.


"Temperatures in the UK have never reached 40 ºC since records began. But at the end of June 2022, for the first time ever, weather forecast models started to show it as a possibility for mid July"

40 °C in the UK?

Temperatures in the UK have never reached 40 ºC since records began. But at the end of June 2022, for the first time ever, weather forecast models started to show it as a possibility for mid July. Simon Lee shares his thoughts about what this means for future British summers

www.rmets.org

Not one single prepper/ survival article on how to survive 40°C on a Google search. Plenty on how to survive minus 40- that's easy, humans are well adapted to cold survival.having evolved during an interglacial period.


Humidity and extrem heat are dangerous. Wet bulb is the temperature read by a special thermometer that is wrapped in water-soaked fabric and ventilated. This thermometer is part of a device called a psychrometer. It includes a dry-bulb thermometer, a wet-bulb thermometer and a psychrometric chart - a graph that plots the relationships between the dry and wet-bulb temperature, relative humidity, and dew point at constant pressure.


The wet bulb calculator allows you to see the temperature with 2 pieces of data temperature & humidity.

Wet Bulb Calculator

With humidity and temperature you can find out the value of the wet-bulb temperature, and if it's any different from the normal air temperature.

www.omnicalculator.com

Tips for survival in extreme heat.

Stay out of the sun

Hydrate well 2-3ltr/day

Don't over exert yourself

Wear loose cool clothes

Take cold drinks

Sit in a cool paddling pool in the shade

AVOID ALCOHOL.

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[Broch]

Born and bred in the brier patch brer fox

I spent part of my childhood in North Africa, 40C was common in summer. I'm more at home in the desert than in a snowstorm. Actually, there are a few members on here with experience of desert trekking. Typically, in the Sahara, we would be drinking well over 4L a day. Plain water gets boring so we would use any flavouring we could find!

Move slowly, don't rush about. No one moves very fast in arid climates

 

[Athos]

I have spent a lot of time in +40. I also drank a lot of booze in those temperatures. I recommend ice cold beer to stay hydrated with a few gin and tonics thrown in to aid refreshment.

 

[Wander]

And the odd Calippo or two.

 

[TLM]

There is a story from WW2 from the US before North African landing. Three companies (in Arizona or New Mexico) were set marching in the hot desert. One were given water according to the present std, second as much as they wanted and third were weighted every stop and made to drink up so much that their weights stayed. At the end of the third day the only one continuing was the third one.

 

[Broch]

Yep, should have said, 4L+ a day was in vehicles; walking you would double that!

 

[John Fenna]

On Exped in Ghana, South Africa and (to a degree) Thailand the main issue with hydration was being able to purify enough water from available sources to supply the team with enough water. There was an element of "going into water debt" and rehydrating when it was possible!
Even canoeing on Lake Volta it would take literally hours to filter the filthy lake water and chemically treat itto a point where it was safe to drink and in 40+ degrees we were having to drink about 10l per person per day.
Do not forget your electrolyte balance - in 1976 I destroyed my sodium/potassium levels, was on potassium replacement for ages and still suffer in hot weather ... Rehydrate powders etc are so easy to take and excesses just get flushed!

 

[Lean'n'mean]

The secret of getting through hot periods is adapting. When the temp. reaches 39°C+ you can't expect to do the things you normally do. All the official advice is valid but move as little as possible, try to find a cool locale with good WiFi, drink regularly (not alcohol as that dehydrates) & be thankful you don't live in Oz, should get you through at least until the the end of this decade, when temps of 50°C+ are expected in the northern hemisphere & then it will be time to revise our coping mechanisms.

 

[Broch]

Welcome to the forum BTW

 

[ManFriday4]

The secret of getting through hot periods is adapting. When the temp. reaches 39°C+ you can't expect to do the things you normally do. All the official advice is valid but move as little as possible, try to find a cool locale with good WiFi, drink regularly (not alcohol as that dehydrates) & be thankful you don't live in Oz, should get you through at least until the the end of this decade, when temps of 50°C+ are expected in the northern hemisphere & then it will be time to revise our coping mechanisms.

Moving underground, if the biosphere can survive, it might be an option.

I was actually camping during last August's 35°C days, and it was better to rest during the day, do stuff like move camp, etc. at night.

I grew up in the Middle East. Where deserts are sub zero at night and 40° in the day with next to zero humidity at 40° even the wildlife stays in the shade or underground. The problem we have in the UK is the addition of humidity this is where the wet bulb calculator is so important. 40°C with 50% relative humidity which was what occurred in Central England gave a wet-bulb output of 30.89°C. Wet-bulb temperatures above 30 °C (86 °F) pose potential fatal danger to humans outside. It's also very uncomfortable. In these conditions, you should avoid direct sunlight and drink lots of water.

The question is whether 50° is survivable without further emissions.

Why you need to worry about the ‘wet-bulb temperature’

Scientists think we need to pay attention to a measure of heat and humidity – and it’s edging closer to the limits of human survivability

www.theguardian.com

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[ManFriday4]

Welcome to the forum BTW

Thank you

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[ManFriday4]

Yep, should have said, 4L+ a day was in vehicles; walking you would double that!

Yes, probably. I was a bit on the Conservative side. I have seen what happens when people over hydrate. This washes electrolytes out of the blood and can cause quite severe problems. The best way to know if you are properly hydrated is if you are peeing regularly and it is colourless.

It's worth carrying & stocking a few caffeine free electrolytic sachets.


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[ManFriday4]

On Exped in Ghana, South Africa and (to a degree) Thailand the main issue with hydration was being able to purify enough water from available sources to supply the team with enough water. There was an element of "going into water debt" and rehydrating when it was possible!
Even canoeing on Lake Volta it would take literally hours to filter the filthy lake water and chemically treat itto a point where it was safe to drink and in 40+ degrees we were having to drink about 10l per person per day.
Do not forget your electrolyte balance - in 1976 I destroyed my sodium/potassium levels, was on potassium replacement for ages and still suffer in hot weather ... Rehydrate powders etc are so easy to take and excesses just get flushed!

Water purification is scalable.

Expedition planners need to account for water availability in the field and how they are going to ensure every member of the team is hydrated.

Organisations like OXFAM & MSG have decades of experience in ensuring their staff are drinking safe water when working on the field.

Filtration /floccuation and sterilisation. There are many products that can achieve this in bulk over and over again: Sawyer filter systems and the Puribag using flocculant from P&G. Both systems are in use throughout the developing world.

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[ManFriday4]

Water purification is scalable.

Expedition planners need to account for water availability in the field and how they are going to ensure every member of the team is hydrated.

Organisations like OXFAM & MSG have decades of experience in ensuring their staff are drinking safe water when working on the field.

Filtration /floccuation and sterilisation. There are many products that can achieve this in bulk over and over again: Sawyer filter systems and the Puribag using flocculant from P&G. Both systems are in use throughout the developing world.

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10l / is extremely dangerous and can lead to water poisoning.

 

[John Fenna]

We were using Katadyn ceramic filters and chlorine tabs (this was 2002) and canoeing from first light until around 11am when we pitched shade and merely dripped and dozed until about 3pm when it was cool enough to paddle some more until about a couple of hours from sundown. 10l per person would include cooking and tooth cleaning water - we still had dehydration casualties....

 

[Jared]

Yes, probably. I was a bit on the Conservative side. I have seen what happens when people over hydrate. This washes electrolytes out of the blood and can cause quite severe problems. The best way to know if you are properly hydrated is if you are peeing regularly and it is colourless.

Colourless isn't necessarily good either. You might be over hydrating, and suffering from hyponatremia, which is ultimately fatal.

 

[Broch]

I think the advised definition is 'light straw'

 

[ManFriday4]

This is why keeping track of your intake is important.

 

[ManFriday4]

Treatable if caught early.

Symptoms are worth knowing

• Nausea or vomiting.
• Headache, confusion, or fatigue
• Low blood pressure
• Loss of energy
• Muscle weakness, twitching, or cramps
• Seizures or coma
• Restlessness or bad temper

Irritability & confusion, - this requires a good note of the patient/ victims history & hospitalisation via 999. This is life threatening.

The symptoms are very simillar to heat stroke.

 

[Kav]

Two natural sources to prevent hyponatremia are coconut water ( unsweetened with sugar) and watermelon. Pre mix electrolytes
Can be full of sugar and dubious levels, Do your homework! People over here think Pink Himalayan salt is some wonder product. It is not. Salt, is salt, clever Pakistani marketing not withstanding.
Common sense is uncommon in weather extremes. I’m listening to sirens from emergency vehicles nonstop. I filled the fridge and have
Overpriced British beers to hydrate in the safety of my own bed or couch.
“Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the noonday sun” with a pith helmet and canteen!