9 ms·

I don’t understand, sure it’s hot for London, but not that hot (100F). Not even close to as hot as it gets frequently in the deserts (Vegas, AZ) and south here

I don’t understand, sure it’s hot for London, but not that hot (100F). Not even close to as hot as it gets frequently in the deserts (Vegas, AZ) and south here in America. Yet, runways are melting and the media is absolutely freaking out. It’s 100 degrees, not that big of a deal.

montalbano 4y ago
its about temperature difference relative to geographic norms. this is the hottest recorded temperature in UK history.
matthewmacleod 4y ago
It is literally the hottest that the UK has ever been in recorded history. It is roughly the same temperature as the high in Tucson today. It is very hot. You can build infrastructure for this heat. The UK does not have that. This is why runways are melting and the media is freaking out.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- tailspin2019 4y ago
  Also the media don’t generally need much of an excuse to freak out.
- badcppdev 4y ago
  Sadly there isn't a functioning government in the UK that can freak out and do something about it.
HarHarVeryFunny 4y ago
It's a big deal because people don't have A/C.
- the_only_law 4y ago
  The runway is outside though. I've never heard of runway melting in the hottest and most humid parts of the US.
  - pixl97 4y ago
    You've also never heard of the runways frost heaving in the hottest and most humid parts of the US. Things tend to be engineered for the climate they experience the vast majority of the time.
  - tehbeard 4y ago
    The parts where its been hot and humid since the turn of the century? Where they knew back in the 30s and 40s and used the appropriate additives in the asphalt/concrete to handle those temperature ranges? We can't change this infrastructure immediately, it was built for English summers which used to mean 30 in the air, 50-60 ground temp. Now we're pushing 40 air and 80 ground...
    - sophacles 4y ago
      Aside - us oldsters from the 1900s need to stop referring to ~1900 as "The turn of the century". We're at a point where ~2000 will start (maybe is) being referred to as "The turn of the century" due to it turning in to the current century at that time.
      - tehbeard 4y ago
        ...I don't like it, but you're right...
Pengtuzi 4y ago
“I can’t believe how those southerners can’t handle 1 below freezing and half an inch of snow, it’s not even that cold”… Because infrastructure is built in a local context, where materials, designs et cetera are chosen on what is/was normal. I’m genuinely curious: do you really not understand this?
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
tcmart14 4y ago
Not a civil engineer, but everywhere uses different materials spec'ed to withstand the environmental factors that occur there. You live in Arizona which uses asphalt that should tolerate expected weather conditions in Arizona. It si probably a different asphalt than what gets used in Maine and a different asphalt that gets used in Florida because all three of those place need infrastructure that accounts for different weather conditions. There isn't really a one size fits all answer, each material has its pros and cons that works best for different conditions. Interestingly boring. Idaho has a podcast about their roadway system. If you listen to enough episodes, one thing you learn is Idaho uses different kind of asphalt in different areas of the state. Why is that? Some part of the state have the high desert climate and other parts of the state have a more colder and mountainous climate.
sophacles 4y ago
Let me guess this is you last year: I don't understand, sure it's cold for Texas, but not that cold (0F). Not even as close to as cold it gets frequently in the tundra (Winnipeg, Saskatoon) and north there in Canada. Yet pipes are freezing and the media is absolutely freaking out. It's 0 degrees, not that big a deal. Point being, a place has all it's infrastructure designed for the climate it's in, not a different place's climate.
_dain_ 4y ago
Stuff gets made out of different things in different climates. In Arizona it's not a big deal because the engineers expected 40 celsius as a regular occurrence and chose material compositions to withstand it. In the UK, they didn't, and we're seeing the consequences. 40 celsius has never happened in recorded British history. The previous record was 37.something. I imagine Arizona infrastructure would fail pretty rapidly if temperatures somehow dropped to -30 celsius, and there would be Novosibirskians wondering what the big deal was.

montalbano 4y ago

its about temperature difference relative to geographic norms. this is the hottest recorded temperature in UK history.

matthewmacleod 4y ago

It is literally the hottest that the UK has ever been in recorded history. It is roughly the same temperature as the high in Tucson today. It is very hot. You can build infrastructure for this heat. The UK does not have that. This is why runways are melting and the media is freaking out.

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
tailspin2019 4y ago
Also the media don’t generally need much of an excuse to freak out.
badcppdev 4y ago
Sadly there isn't a functioning government in the UK that can freak out and do something about it.

HarHarVeryFunny 4y ago

It's a big deal because people don't have A/C.

the_only_law 4y ago
The runway is outside though. I've never heard of runway melting in the hottest and most humid parts of the US.
- pixl97 4y ago
  You've also never heard of the runways frost heaving in the hottest and most humid parts of the US. Things tend to be engineered for the climate they experience the vast majority of the time.
- tehbeard 4y ago
  The parts where its been hot and humid since the turn of the century? Where they knew back in the 30s and 40s and used the appropriate additives in the asphalt/concrete to handle those temperature ranges? We can't change this infrastructure immediately, it was built for English summers which used to mean 30 in the air, 50-60 ground temp. Now we're pushing 40 air and 80 ground...
  - sophacles 4y ago
    Aside - us oldsters from the 1900s need to stop referring to ~1900 as "The turn of the century". We're at a point where ~2000 will start (maybe is) being referred to as "The turn of the century" due to it turning in to the current century at that time.
    - tehbeard 4y ago
      ...I don't like it, but you're right...

Pengtuzi 4y ago

“I can’t believe how those southerners can’t handle 1 below freezing and half an inch of snow, it’s not even that cold”… Because infrastructure is built in a local context, where materials, designs et cetera are chosen on what is/was normal. I’m genuinely curious: do you really not understand this?

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

tcmart14 4y ago

Not a civil engineer, but everywhere uses different materials spec'ed to withstand the environmental factors that occur there. You live in Arizona which uses asphalt that should tolerate expected weather conditions in Arizona. It si probably a different asphalt than what gets used in Maine and a different asphalt that gets used in Florida because all three of those place need infrastructure that accounts for different weather conditions. There isn't really a one size fits all answer, each material has its pros and cons that works best for different conditions. Interestingly boring. Idaho has a podcast about their roadway system. If you listen to enough episodes, one thing you learn is Idaho uses different kind of asphalt in different areas of the state. Why is that? Some part of the state have the high desert climate and other parts of the state have a more colder and mountainous climate.

sophacles 4y ago

Let me guess this is you last year: I don't understand, sure it's cold for Texas, but not that cold (0F). Not even as close to as cold it gets frequently in the tundra (Winnipeg, Saskatoon) and north there in Canada. Yet pipes are freezing and the media is absolutely freaking out. It's 0 degrees, not that big a deal. Point being, a place has all it's infrastructure designed for the climate it's in, not a different place's climate.

_dain_ 4y ago

Stuff gets made out of different things in different climates. In Arizona it's not a big deal because the engineers expected 40 celsius as a regular occurrence and chose material compositions to withstand it. In the UK, they didn't, and we're seeing the consequences. 40 celsius has never happened in recorded British history. The previous record was 37.something. I imagine Arizona infrastructure would fail pretty rapidly if temperatures somehow dropped to -30 celsius, and there would be Novosibirskians wondering what the big deal was.