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> Temperatures hiked as high as 31.1[C] degrees in August 2024 [...] So, I can imagine that this is a long-term problem, but it seems odd that the panic is set
by randallsquared 1y ago
> Temperatures hiked as high as 31.1[C] degrees in August 2024 [...]
So, I can imagine that this is a long-term problem, but it seems odd that the panic is setting in already, when some platforms in the NYC subway regularly exceed 40C / 104F every summer? This article seems in a similar genre to the breathless advice to remain inside in Britain when the outside temperature might get above 27C / 81F, otherwise known as a not-particularly-warm spring day in much of the US in most years.
- masklinn 1y ago> This article seems in a similar genre to the breathless advice to remain inside in Britain when the outside temperature might get above 27C / 81F, otherwise known as a not-particularly-warm spring day in much of the US in most years. It’s really not breathless, because high temperatures and how to handle them is completely absent from the cultural baggage. I don’t live in the UK, but in a place which similarly does not have much in the way of high temperatures historically and low AC penetration, and during heat spikes I see a significant fraction of my neighbours with windows wide open at 4PM. Habituation is also a significant factor. The UK does not get a smooth transition into higher normals, it gets heatwaves.
- tim333 1y agoI live in the UK and a lot is down to the tabloid newspapers trying to get some sales with 'Horror Heatwave!' type headlines when it's 27C. Brits go on holiday to Spain, we are familiar with heat.
- tialaramex 1y agoStatistically we know that humans who live somewhere that you'll just die in the regular environment due to climate behave very differently from humans who live in a temperate climate like the UK when the actual temperature warrants the same behaviour. If you live in Nunavut or the Iran / Pakistan border you already knew that you can just die from temperature extremes and so you need to ensure you stay at a survivable temperature, in Wales it's quite unexpected. As a result you actually get many more deaths from extremes in countries where the usual climate is temperate like Britain, even when the actual temperatures aren't as extreme as in countries where that would be more common.
- gambiting 1y agoI'm only in London occasionally but I can confirm that some lines are unbearably hot, in the summer I have no idea how people commute in that heat every day. And I'm originally from a much hotter country than the UK.
- philjohn 1y agoI commute on the northern line 3 times a week ... it's not fun, but it's bearable ... just. The trick is, if the window at the end of the carriage isn't open, make a beeline and open it, as the air moving past does help keep you cooler.
- hnlmorg 1y agoSurely that says more about how NYC than it does about London? If I had to suffer overcrowded trains with standing room only, people’s armpits in my face and all, at 40C temperatures everyday in the summer, then I wouldn’t be laughing at London for trying to avoid the same fate. I’d be complaining that my own city isn’t taking their problems seriously enough.
- rafram 1y agoNYC Subway trains have AC. They feel like refrigerators in the summer. Platforms get hot but can be avoided if you time carefully. London Tube trains largely do not have AC, so heat in the tunnels is a big problem.
- hnlmorg 1y agoYeah I’m familiar with the tube. If NYC Subway has AC then it’s silly for the GP to compare the London Underground to the Subway.