19 Ways to Understand This Heat
Yes, its hot out. Here are some ideas about our heat reality that go beyond the temperature. Updated at 10:53 p.m. on September 5, 2023 Below is a list of ideas, arguments, and practical tips from Atlantic stories to help you navigate this heat. Hydrate smarter. Here are some dos and donts . Theres no single too-hot-to-be-outside temperature . Trying to set one might mislead more than it would help. The denser the city, the less greenery? Not necessarily . Look into a white roof . What if we called it heat season , not just summer? Beware the wet bulb . The heat gap between rich and poor might be the most daunting issue of this century. Other countries have had more effective sunscreens for years. When is a heat wave unusual ? The climate is changing too rapidly for a baseline measure. Fahrenheit might just beat Celsius when describing extreme heat. Whats made the southwestern U.S. livable so far? Precious refuges : air-conditioned buildings, public pools, and more. Smart thermostats may not actually reduce energy usage. That doesnt mean theyre useless. Dont discount hyperlocal efforts . A group in Portland, Oregon, for instance, replaces unused pavement with green space. Climate change has clearly supercharged wildfires . But the link between global warming and hurricanes is pretty complicated. There are serious consequences to a skipped spring . Allergy season is getting longer ; allergy sufferers, more numerous. Chief heat officers are a thing now. The challenge of adapting is not unlike the challenge of fighting the human urge to succumb to nostalgia .