Heat and Humidity Are Already Outpacing Human Tolerance

So far, temperatures almost everywhere remain at a level that sturdy individuals can tolerate; so long as they avoid direct sun, drink adequate water and don’t overexert themselves. After all, thanks to several evolutionary tricks, humans are built to boil. Since shedding our fur, going bipedal and learning to sweat, we’ve been able to keep cool in most circumstances. But there is a limit, a point past which we are unable to cope with heat no matter what we do.

The temperature you see in weather forecasts is known as dry-bulb temperature, which only measures heat. But scientists often think in terms of wet-bulb temperature, a combined measure of heat and humidity. As the name suggests, it's what a thermometer reads when wrapped in a wet cloth. Essentially, the wet-bulb temperature simulates a sweating human body, making it a better indicator of how well we can handle the air in question.

Because almost no one has experienced anything remotely close to this, Colin Raymond, who studies climate extremes at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, looks to analogy. “It’s like a steam room,” he says, noting that even spa-goers are advised not to stay in such rooms longer than 15 or 20 minutes. “I think that gives a sense of the oppressiveness of it.”Today, wet-bulb temperatures of that severity are rare, hyperlocal events, “but they’re happening,” Raymond says.

Many people who will become exposed to lethal heat live in areas without reliable electricity, let alone air conditioning. Even affluent regions, accustomed to evading heatwaves in chilled indoor spaces, will be highly vulnerable during power outages. Plus, artificial cooling is no cure-all — AC units could even be counterproductive, in a way, by exacerbating theand raising temperatures in urban areas. Additionally, some workers don’t have the luxury of staying comfortable inside.

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