8 ms·

I drove through once; my feeling is that it takes a fair amount of guts to live in the desert-that desert, in the summertime. 120F+ is lethal to the unprepared

I drove through once; my feeling is that it takes a fair amount of guts to live in the desert-that desert, in the summertime. 120F+ is lethal to the unprepared who are out in in it for more than a brief period.

grecy 4y ago
I read hyperbole like this all the time and it shocks me. Have you never been outside in 120F+ temps? I have spent many years of my life in those temps (Australia, all around Africa). Shade and plenty of drinking water and it's completely fine. Millions of people live their lives in those temps with no AC, no fridge, etc. I hear the same thing about the cold like "Frostbite in a matter of seconds past -30F". I used to regularly ride my bike to work at -48C (-54.5F) and enjoyed it. With the right layers it was completely fine. By the time I got to work I would take off my jacket, gloves and touque and stand outside with a ton of exposed skin for 2-5 minutes in attempt to cool down. (though my legs were usually numb because I couldn't be bothered wearing more layers) Please go out and explore and enjoy the world rather than fearing it.
- linksnapzz 4y ago
  Did you read the part about "unprepared"?
  - bergenty 4y ago
    I mean prepared is a hat and some water. It’s not rocket science.
    - linksnapzz 4y ago
      It's an hour and twenty minute walk from Slab City to the nearest civilized area (Niland), which is stretching "civilized" a little. You'll need a car to get to a hospital, clinic, or real supermarket, not just some water, and a hat.
- SR2Z 4y ago
  If you generate a crazy fuckton of body heat and then stand outside in those temperatures for only a few minutes, obviously you're gonna be fine. That's not controversial, and NBA players routinely spend a minute or two surrounded by temperatures of -200 degrees as part of whole-body cryotherapy. Doing that without having sufficient warm clothes or a warm space nearby is very dangerous, because once you've radiated all your stored heat, you will freeze to death. Likewise, 120F is totally fine if you're well hydrated and in a dry environment. If you're dehydrated or it's humid, you will die. The wet-bulb temperature that will kill a human being is just 95F. You SHOULD fear extreme temperatures - if you don't treat them with respect and make sure you're prepared, it's very easy to end up in a terrible situation.
- rascul 4y ago
  My Dad moved in with me in southern Mississippi a couple years ago from West Virginia. He still can't handle the heat.
- mypalmike 4y ago
  -48C is like, nighttime in Siberia in winter. Where did you regularly do this bicycle commute?
  - wholinator2 4y ago
    Well above they're claiming he's lying about temperatures in Australia so I just assume he's fudged 15-20 degrees to sound cool
- layoric 4y ago
  Where in Australia did you live? No where I can find “regularly” hits above 48.9 degrees Celsius. The reference, the hottest recorded temperature in Australia is 123.2F (50.7c). Yes it gets into the 40s pretty regularly in a lot of places in Australia. But even 45c in a heatwave is very different to “regularly” living with temperatures close to 50c.
  - nmfisher 4y ago
    Yeah, I grew up in Adelaide where low 40s were regular occurrences throughout summer, and that's damn hot. I don't think I've ever experienced 120F (~49c). I guess I wouldn't be worried about dying personally, but I definitely wouldn't want to be outside for too long. Older people though? That probably is potentially fatal.
    - prawn 4y ago
      I'm in Adelaide and high 40s is approaching a record. Think we had the record or close to it a few years ago at around 47C. As you said, heatwaves of 40-45 happen now and then but that's generally the peak of it, for now. I'm guessing @grecy is rounding up.
  - defrost 4y ago
    Yeah, he's BS'ing about Australian temps - I grew up in the northern hottest parts of Australia and worked the Western Deserts in the Pilbarra near Marble Bar .. "120F all the time" is bollocks. As noted, the occasional 45 C heatwave for a few days is pretty much peak heat so far with anything approaching 48 C | 120 F being a rare event.
- dieselgate 4y ago
  Oh nice I’m American and have recently been curious with how touque is spelled - have only heard Canadians say it
quickthrower2 4y ago
If you live in this place, can you make your lodgings more comfortable without AC? Would putting a reflective material on top of the shack/caravan help reduce the effect so you can stay inside? And then lay in a bath or something during the hottest period?
bergenty 4y ago
Nonsense, I grew up in the Middle East and it was regularly above 120F during the summer. Just wear a hat and make sure you have water. You’re making it sound like you immediately die.
- sidewndr46 4y ago
  I don't know exactly where you grew up, but if you factor in humidity the temperature in Riyadh is substantially lower than where I live in Texas. Numerically it's higher, but the low humidity makes it possible to sweat.
  - colordrops 4y ago
    Slab City isn't that humid.
- ido 4y ago
  I don't know where in the middle east you lived or if you miscalculated how hot 120F is (it's almost 50c). I'm sure it gets that hot in the middle of the desert but most people in the middle east don't live in the middle of the desert. I grew up in Israel and 40c (104F) was an unusually hot summer day (you'd get a few days like that per summer, maybe more now due to climate change). More common summer highs were around 30-35c. EDIT: I underestimated how much hotter the Arabian Peninsula is compared to the Levant - a quick look via google maps puts Doha at 39c right now (at 9am!), while Jerusalem, Damascus & Cairo are at 22c, 24c and 27c respectively!
  - bergenty 4y ago
    Kuwait. It is regularly above 45C in the summer. We would wear a hat and long sleeves and play soccer from around noon to 6pm during the hottest part of the day during summer break. Just have to make sure you have water. We also drank copious amounts of minty Laban (yogurt water with mint basically). To be honest I love the heat, all the sweat makes me feel alive.
    - 4y ago
caymanjim 4y ago
120F is not lethal when the humidity is low, you're in the shade, and you have water. I lived in Tempe for six years, and it was regularly 115F+ in the summer, hit 118F a handful of times when I was there, and that's not counting the extra heat if you're standing in a parking lot. I used to bicycle four miles to work when it was 115F, and walked a couple times. If you look at the Wikipedia climate tables for Slab City and Tempe, they're basically identical. You're correct that it's lethal if you're unprepared, but so are plenty of other places and temperatures at both ends of the spectrum. I wouldn't want to sleep without AC in that kind of heat. But humans have survived temperatures like that for all of history.
- Kiro 4y ago
  You're underestimating heat-related deaths. Way less than 120F kills a lot of people everywhere.
Test0129 4y ago
While it can be dangerous preparedness is what matters. I've lived in a desert that reaches 115 degrees in summer my entire life. It's not a place you'd visit from somewhere more temperate but it is survivable, even without AC. So-called dry heat is far easier to deal with. The afternoons after a major thunderstorm are typically the worst of all worlds. Generally, if you avoid staying in the sun, stay hydrated, and seek shelter from around 11am to 4pm it's not so bad. Peak badness occurs between 2-4pm in my region. That's not to say its _easy_ and without AC it can be uncomfortable. But you can survive. If you have an RV, fans, perhaps a make shift swamp cooler, and tin foil on the windows could get the internal temp down below 80 pretty easily. Generally speaking anything over 100 degrees can be dangerous to the under prepared. At 110 degrees direct sun exposure can be lethal if you are not drinking approx. a quart of water per hour of exposure. But it _all_ comes down to exposure. Shelter changes the entire game.

grecy 4y ago

I read hyperbole like this all the time and it shocks me. Have you never been outside in 120F+ temps? I have spent many years of my life in those temps (Australia, all around Africa). Shade and plenty of drinking water and it's completely fine. Millions of people live their lives in those temps with no AC, no fridge, etc. I hear the same thing about the cold like "Frostbite in a matter of seconds past -30F". I used to regularly ride my bike to work at -48C (-54.5F) and enjoyed it. With the right layers it was completely fine. By the time I got to work I would take off my jacket, gloves and touque and stand outside with a ton of exposed skin for 2-5 minutes in attempt to cool down. (though my legs were usually numb because I couldn't be bothered wearing more layers) Please go out and explore and enjoy the world rather than fearing it.

linksnapzz 4y ago
Did you read the part about "unprepared"?
- bergenty 4y ago
  I mean prepared is a hat and some water. It’s not rocket science.
  - linksnapzz 4y ago
    It's an hour and twenty minute walk from Slab City to the nearest civilized area (Niland), which is stretching "civilized" a little. You'll need a car to get to a hospital, clinic, or real supermarket, not just some water, and a hat.
SR2Z 4y ago
If you generate a crazy fuckton of body heat and then stand outside in those temperatures for only a few minutes, obviously you're gonna be fine. That's not controversial, and NBA players routinely spend a minute or two surrounded by temperatures of -200 degrees as part of whole-body cryotherapy. Doing that without having sufficient warm clothes or a warm space nearby is very dangerous, because once you've radiated all your stored heat, you will freeze to death. Likewise, 120F is totally fine if you're well hydrated and in a dry environment. If you're dehydrated or it's humid, you will die. The wet-bulb temperature that will kill a human being is just 95F. You SHOULD fear extreme temperatures - if you don't treat them with respect and make sure you're prepared, it's very easy to end up in a terrible situation.
rascul 4y ago
My Dad moved in with me in southern Mississippi a couple years ago from West Virginia. He still can't handle the heat.
mypalmike 4y ago
-48C is like, nighttime in Siberia in winter. Where did you regularly do this bicycle commute?
- wholinator2 4y ago
  Well above they're claiming he's lying about temperatures in Australia so I just assume he's fudged 15-20 degrees to sound cool
layoric 4y ago
Where in Australia did you live? No where I can find “regularly” hits above 48.9 degrees Celsius. The reference, the hottest recorded temperature in Australia is 123.2F (50.7c). Yes it gets into the 40s pretty regularly in a lot of places in Australia. But even 45c in a heatwave is very different to “regularly” living with temperatures close to 50c.
- nmfisher 4y ago
  Yeah, I grew up in Adelaide where low 40s were regular occurrences throughout summer, and that's damn hot. I don't think I've ever experienced 120F (~49c). I guess I wouldn't be worried about dying personally, but I definitely wouldn't want to be outside for too long. Older people though? That probably is potentially fatal.
  - prawn 4y ago
    I'm in Adelaide and high 40s is approaching a record. Think we had the record or close to it a few years ago at around 47C. As you said, heatwaves of 40-45 happen now and then but that's generally the peak of it, for now. I'm guessing @grecy is rounding up.
- defrost 4y ago
  Yeah, he's BS'ing about Australian temps - I grew up in the northern hottest parts of Australia and worked the Western Deserts in the Pilbarra near Marble Bar .. "120F all the time" is bollocks. As noted, the occasional 45 C heatwave for a few days is pretty much peak heat so far with anything approaching 48 C | 120 F being a rare event.
dieselgate 4y ago
Oh nice I’m American and have recently been curious with how touque is spelled - have only heard Canadians say it

quickthrower2 4y ago

If you live in this place, can you make your lodgings more comfortable without AC? Would putting a reflective material on top of the shack/caravan help reduce the effect so you can stay inside? And then lay in a bath or something during the hottest period?

bergenty 4y ago

Nonsense, I grew up in the Middle East and it was regularly above 120F during the summer. Just wear a hat and make sure you have water. You’re making it sound like you immediately die.

sidewndr46 4y ago
I don't know exactly where you grew up, but if you factor in humidity the temperature in Riyadh is substantially lower than where I live in Texas. Numerically it's higher, but the low humidity makes it possible to sweat.
- colordrops 4y ago
  Slab City isn't that humid.
ido 4y ago
I don't know where in the middle east you lived or if you miscalculated how hot 120F is (it's almost 50c). I'm sure it gets that hot in the middle of the desert but most people in the middle east don't live in the middle of the desert. I grew up in Israel and 40c (104F) was an unusually hot summer day (you'd get a few days like that per summer, maybe more now due to climate change). More common summer highs were around 30-35c. EDIT: I underestimated how much hotter the Arabian Peninsula is compared to the Levant - a quick look via google maps puts Doha at 39c right now (at 9am!), while Jerusalem, Damascus & Cairo are at 22c, 24c and 27c respectively!
- bergenty 4y ago
  Kuwait. It is regularly above 45C in the summer. We would wear a hat and long sleeves and play soccer from around noon to 6pm during the hottest part of the day during summer break. Just have to make sure you have water. We also drank copious amounts of minty Laban (yogurt water with mint basically). To be honest I love the heat, all the sweat makes me feel alive.
  - 4y ago

caymanjim 4y ago

120F is not lethal when the humidity is low, you're in the shade, and you have water. I lived in Tempe for six years, and it was regularly 115F+ in the summer, hit 118F a handful of times when I was there, and that's not counting the extra heat if you're standing in a parking lot. I used to bicycle four miles to work when it was 115F, and walked a couple times. If you look at the Wikipedia climate tables for Slab City and Tempe, they're basically identical. You're correct that it's lethal if you're unprepared, but so are plenty of other places and temperatures at both ends of the spectrum. I wouldn't want to sleep without AC in that kind of heat. But humans have survived temperatures like that for all of history.

Kiro 4y ago
You're underestimating heat-related deaths. Way less than 120F kills a lot of people everywhere.

Test0129 4y ago

While it can be dangerous preparedness is what matters. I've lived in a desert that reaches 115 degrees in summer my entire life. It's not a place you'd visit from somewhere more temperate but it is survivable, even without AC. So-called dry heat is far easier to deal with. The afternoons after a major thunderstorm are typically the worst of all worlds. Generally, if you avoid staying in the sun, stay hydrated, and seek shelter from around 11am to 4pm it's not so bad. Peak badness occurs between 2-4pm in my region. That's not to say its _easy_ and without AC it can be uncomfortable. But you can survive. If you have an RV, fans, perhaps a make shift swamp cooler, and tin foil on the windows could get the internal temp down below 80 pretty easily. Generally speaking anything over 100 degrees can be dangerous to the under prepared. At 110 degrees direct sun exposure can be lethal if you are not drinking approx. a quart of water per hour of exposure. But it _all_ comes down to exposure. Shelter changes the entire game.