How To Survive and Live In Hot Humid In Far East Countries

How does it feel to be a refugee in a hot humid country?

The heat index is a measurement of how warm air feels on our bodies, with humidity factored in. Both the wet-bulb temperature and heat index are calculated using data about the temperature of the air and the humidity--the two most important factors affecting heat stress. A temperature of 94 degF (34.4 degC) with 80 percent humidity produces a wet-bulb or feels-like temperature of 129 deg F (53.9 degC) in NOAAs National Weather Service heat index.

Heat-to-humidity measurement

The heat-to-humidity measurement is called a wet-bulb temperature. Access to air-conditioning may prevent heat stress in periods of extreme wet-bulb temperatures. Air conditioning draws moisture out of the air, which is a better solution when wet-bulb temperatures are getting too hot.

With hotter, wetter days on the way this summer - and plenty of them coming as Earth gets warmer - experts say people should limit the amount of time spent outside in the heat, and use air-conditioning to cool off living spaces. It is harder to cool off when it is humid because our bodies have trouble moving heat into the wet rather than dry air, making it harder for us to sweat and cool down. Adding moisture to hot temperatures makes it harder to cool ourselves down through sweating -- humans literally could get cooked alive.

From mid-August to September, when brutal summer temperatures gradually dwindle from searing hot temperatures to just frying, humidity rises to make up for it, making the heat even worse. From June to August, normal daily temperatures are about 45C (113F), with the occasional heatwave reaching up to 50C (122F). In the July 2010 heat wave, temperatures reached a record high of 50.4C (122.7F).

Temperatures rarely get much above 90 degrees F, but it can be extremely uncomfortable due to the high humidity. The Gulf is not only warm, but it can also get extremely humid, and it stays that way for extended periods. Qatar has almost no clouds and rain, and the rising temperature of water in the Persian Gulf leads to higher levels of atmospheric humidity during some months.

Wet-bulb temperatures

The point where a heat-humidity combo becomes particularly dangerous, even lethal, is explained by scientists as wet-bulb temperature -- the lowest temperature an object can cool due to evaporated moisture. Wet-bulb temperatures are still the standard to measure oppressive heat and humidity, particularly in the context of long-term studies on global climate. A study published in 2010 identified the threshold of 35C of wet-bulb temperatures, beyond which any duration of such conditions is unbearable -- even for healthy, fit individuals.

Experts said that temperature alone is an inadequate indicator of the city's habitability: a combination of heat and moisture is. In extremely hot, wet conditions - where the air is already heavy with water vapor - sweat does not evaporate, and the body may struggle to release heat. This city's climate is generally defined as humid subtropical, although it is located in an area that tends to get warm, dry winds during summers from the North and West, with temperatures topping out at over 100F, and heat indexes climbing to as high as 117F.

Cited Sources

• https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/heat-humidity-bodies-wet-bulb-1.6525711 ⁰
• https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/south-asia-heat-waves-temperature-rise-global-warming-climate-change ¹
• https://wanderwisdom.com/travel-destinations/extreme-heat-and-humidity ²
• https://www.farmersalmanac.com/5-worst-summer-weather-cities-11367 ³
• https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2019/world/climate-environment/climate-change-qatar-air-conditioning-outdoors/ ⁴
• https://www.carbonbrief.org/heat-and-humidity-could-make-parts-of-the-middle-east-unbearable-by-2100/ ⁵
• https://climate.nasa.gov/ask-nasa-climate/3151/too-hot-to-handle-how-climate-change-may-make-some-places-too-hot-to-live/ ⁶