Surviving Extreme Heat- UK 40° summer days.- climate change related severe heat events
- Thread starter ManFriday4
- Start date
It's been a crazy warm winter here in New York as well. Was looking forward to getting a few high quality snowstorms, but they never seemed to materialize. 
I've spent most of my life in South Africa. Not often that we got over 40 actually, but very often in the mid to high 30s - and I spent days, and sometimes weeks fishing there at large open dams.
It's not that hard - sunscreen (highest SPF) and stay hydrated. It's tempting to wear shorts and short sleeves, but I found that lightweight long garments and a decent hat would keep me from getting sunburnt, so I switched to that.
Sunburn makes the whole thing a lot worse. If you can avoid that you're winning. Stay in the shade, drink enough water and don't get burnt. In regards to hydration, if your mouth goes dry or you start getting headaches you let it go too far. Things like Powerade can help recover from dehydration. I used to carry a "Rehydrate" sachet in my first aid kit in case (A powder you mix with water). I don't know what the Irish or UK equivalent is.
I also found on longer trips the first few days would be harder until I acclimatised to being outdoors. Strange thing.
I moved to Ireland a few years ago, and now can't figure out how to stay warm... I find that much harder than dealing with the heat. Constantly messing around with layers and fabrics.
It's not that hard - sunscreen (highest SPF) and stay hydrated. It's tempting to wear shorts and short sleeves, but I found that lightweight long garments and a decent hat would keep me from getting sunburnt, so I switched to that.
Sunburn makes the whole thing a lot worse. If you can avoid that you're winning. Stay in the shade, drink enough water and don't get burnt. In regards to hydration, if your mouth goes dry or you start getting headaches you let it go too far. Things like Powerade can help recover from dehydration. I used to carry a "Rehydrate" sachet in my first aid kit in case (A powder you mix with water). I don't know what the Irish or UK equivalent is.
I also found on longer trips the first few days would be harder until I acclimatised to being outdoors. Strange thing.
I moved to Ireland a few years ago, and now can't figure out how to stay warm... I find that much harder than dealing with the heat. Constantly messing around with layers and fabrics.
My son's cycling in Asia at the moment 50-100km day, 35-40deg days, ultra high UV so they're completely covered up, they're sweating loads as you can imagine, and they're doing fine and have been for a few weeks, it's been a case of taking breaks when needed, plenty of water and respecting what the sun and heat can do.
Yep, you can always tell a Brit in the desert; they're the ones wearing T shirts (or top off) and shorts, they're usually bright red too
And the Scotsman is the one with his top off on a sunny day in winter.Yep, you can always tell a Brit in the desert; they're the ones wearing T shirts (or top off) and shorts, they're usually bright red too
Personally I struggle in the mid 20's but that may be as much to do with lack of acclimatisation due to living in Scotland. I have spent time in the Middle East and needed a week or so to settle down.
G
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i've worked out in the sun in northern Australia at 48°C in the shade with 80% humidity which means cooling by sweating isn't working very well, so you need to adapt slowly to these conditions (we had several people with issues...)
drinking is important, of course, but as others already pointed out: it's possible to drink too much... and as you also loose minerals you have to replace them as well. i've seen others suffering from it and speak from personal experience: exercising in the conditions described and not eating anything means your body won't absorb drunk water and it stays in your stomach until you throw up so having small snacks is important ...
drinking is important, of course, but as others already pointed out: it's possible to drink too much... and as you also loose minerals you have to replace them as well. i've seen others suffering from it and speak from personal experience: exercising in the conditions described and not eating anything means your body won't absorb drunk water and it stays in your stomach until you throw up so having small snacks is important ...
Yeah, it's surprising how slowly we actually absorb the water, it's very easy to think you're fine because you just drank a litre or two, but it needs time to be used by the body.
Yay! A post that addresses electrolytes! If you guys are out in extreme temperatures and drinking upwards of four litres of water a day you will soon deplete your body’s electrolyte levels through sweat and urination. My tactics for hot weather include changing my daily routine so that I start much earlier (about 0400) while the sun is still low and work until about 1100 then I will go and eat, nap, or whatever in the shade or indoors. I don’t even attempt to work across mid day. I wear wide brimmed hats and light cotton clothing and I drink as much as I can while remaining comfortable. I don’t deal well with extreme heat so I don’t try and fight it, I don’t push myself to extremes. If the day cools sufficiently in the evening I will try to get some small jobs done like splitting wood or minor repairs sometimes I just go out shooting or fishing. My neighbour likes to take himself off to his stretch of river where he can sit in a shallow pool with a cold beer….but then again he is retired and has earned it.
I have had for a long time very thin clothes made from fine PA yarn that handle high temps very well. Quite comfortable (if anything can be at 35C), dry fast and pack small. Not expensive either. The material on those was/is DuPont's Suplex but any other similar product would work fine.
Remember reading a study done on marathon runners.
IIRC one group had just water, another supplemented with electrolytes.
The group with electrolytes drank half a litre less over the course of the marathon, presumably because their body was more efficient getting the water where it needed to be.
IIRC one group had just water, another supplemented with electrolytes.
The group with electrolytes drank half a litre less over the course of the marathon, presumably because their body was more efficient getting the water where it needed to be.
It may also be that many electrolyte drinks are foul.
I use Blackcurrant Dioralyte if I'm feeling particularly "burnt out" after a good hike. That doesn't taste too bad. I do try to keep on top of my hydration, carrying a water filter with me, too, for top ups.
I was a child in South Africa in the 70's and I can't remember stressing about the heat but it must have got blerrie hot at times. No one carried bottles of water around with them like people do here these days even when we had marching practice at school in the blazing sun and one tap for 50 of us. Strange....
I was brought up in the Middle East & im 1/2 Sri Lankan. My go-to hit weather gear is an umbrella, white/pale colour clothing where possible and a Palestinian Kufiya ideal all the year round. Shalwa Khameze are very cool too. But unmrellas are so useful!
Alum is an excellent flocculant for water treatment.
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I'm a Scot. By the time the temperatures reach the mid twenties, I'm into the shade.
Middle of Winter and I'm fine, bare arms and legs around the house and gardens.
Rain is just wet, we deal fine, but hot humid weather is a misery though.
Middle of Winter and I'm fine, bare arms and legs around the house and gardens.
Rain is just wet, we deal fine, but hot humid weather is a misery though.
In th heat? I'm in the shade, too. I don't mind the heat, but I know it's a killer.
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The wet-bulb tables on my Blog post on heat are very useful.
climateriskresearch.blogspot.com
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Why Severe Heat is More Dangerous than Severe Cold.
This is the Pyrocene, the Age of Burning . The Age of Fire The Northern Boreal Forests are on fire, there are wildfire across southern Europ...
climateriskresearch.blogspot.com
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