Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2020/08/17/sunday-may-have-been-the-hotte.html
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Yikes…
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They took the record away from Libya not long ago for the same reason
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There was this afternoon 65 milllion years ago when it got considerably hotter, at least locally over northern Mexico…
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That day was a real bummer precipitation-wise, too.
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I can confirm, it was very hot.
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We need to do a kickstarter to put a proper sensor in Lut, Iran.
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I was with my grandparents visiting Death Valley when it was 128 degrees years ago. Their RV was over 20 years old, the air conditioner was in no way up to the task, the water in the potable tanks came out the taps boiling, the engine oil got too thin and the whole thing overheated as we tried to climb the pass out of the valley. And that was just the beginning of the disaster. Not a great tourist spot if you ask me; we really shouldn’t encourage people to visit.
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But what was the “feels like” temp?
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It’s a mixed bag. The weekend forecast for my town was well into the triple digits, but we ended up being a few degrees cooler thanks to shade from the ash cloud from the wildfire raging nearby. The air quality isn’t the best right now but at least we’ve all got masks.
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84 here today in Sweden. I spoke to one of the neighbors earlier (a native Swede, unlike me) and you’d think it was 130 here, too, to hear them talk.
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I mean, they DID name the place “Death Valley.”
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Hot Potato,
Don’t pick it up, pick it up, pick it up.
Quick, pass it on, poss it on, poss it on.
You don’t want to get caught, get caught, get caught.
Drop it on someone. Who ? Who ? Anybody.
You better not have it when the big one comes.
I said you better not have it when the big one comes.
It’s a Hot Potato.
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It’s, uh, “interesting” to see all the climate change becoming incredibly visible right now. This last year has seen temperature records falling all around the world. The collapse of the last fully intact Canadian ice shelf just happened. It was a “worst case” scenario prediction… for 2050. The Arctic is on fire - perhaps perpetually, with suspected “zombie” fires that only die back during the winter and go (literally) underground. We just had another massively destructive hurricane - in Iowa.
There was some prediction about how, by 2100, we’d be seeing sustained, seasonal wet-bulb temperatures in some of the hotter parts of the world that would exceed what human beings could survive. (Effectively making some currently occupied parts of the world functionally uninhabitable, at least during the hottest months.) That seems to already be happening, in a limited way. That prediction - which is only a few years old - seems more likely to happen in the next few decades, now.
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Must disagree. Death Valley is easily in my top three favourite parks.
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It is a fantastic winter spot though (at least it was a few years back when I visited).
What part of the year do you like to go? (I’m not saying you are wrong if you say “midsummer”…but if that is your answer can you tell me why, and how you prepare…)
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The Badwater 135 happens in July, if that give you any reference. I believe that the hottest time of year is usually at the end of August, beginning of September.
I’d guess that just being acclimated to the heat is a big part of surviving. It always seems like the tourists who die in the desert are from France or Germany.
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I’ve only ever been in October, but would jump at the chance to go any time.
My prep is simple: lots of sunblock, hat, thin long sleeve shirt, gallons of water. Salty snack is good, because your salt is going to disappear faster than a redshirt’s on M-113.
Early hikes (start pre-dawn) and late hikes (dusk-ish).
I credit Death Valley with one of my greatest nature experiences: It was our last day in the park, and my sweety was done. She said, “You go ahead.” So off I popped to hike Mosaic Canyon trail, solo. Hit the trailhead just before dawn. I had the canyon to myself, and experienced the most profound silence I have ever known. Didn’t see another human being until hours later, when I walked out of the canyon.
Genuinely magical.
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The highest temperature it ever gets in Death Valley in October is about 105. I’m perfectly comfortable to go for a jog in the mid-day heat at 105, here in the Chihuahua desert. The gap between 105 and 120 is immense. 120 will kill you of a heat stroke without even giving you time to realize it is happening.
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