THIS COULD BE A DEADLY SUMMER

I've always felt that decision-makers will finally take global warming seriously if many tens of millions one hot summer actually die from the heat.  There are around half a million heat-related deaths in the world annually, 45% in Asia and 36% in Europe.  I don't think it will be this summer, but we are close to getting there.  I guess I have something like this posting annually, for you can read my June 2023 version, and it, too, looked ominous.

Yes, we are having a terrible summer in the USA.  No official death count yet because the heat is just beginning, but we average 1220 deaths annually.  This number is ten times higher than hurricanes deaths, for even with Hurricane Maria killing 2982 and Hurricane Katrina with 1833, the annual average number of hurricane deaths is 124/year.  However, Fox Weather had this graphic.

Factors to consider:

• High levels of humidity
• Obesity
• Fever
• Dehydration
• Prescription drug use
• Heart disease
• Mental illness
• Poor circulation
• Sunburn
• Alcohol use

Yesterday, I mentioned something new called Heat Katrina.  This morning, the New York Times presented the following:

The temperature in Chicago topped 90 for the fourth day this week. Because of the Juneteenth holiday, only one of the city’s cooling centers was open. Americans said they were surprised by how early the heat had arrived. “Corn is supposed to be knee-high by July 4, but it is already higher than that,” an Iowa resident, Dean Schantz, said. In New York City, public pools are not yet open for the summer. For the state of Washington, which is, to me, a cold place to go.

• The heat was pronounced in New England. Caribou, a city in the northernmost part of Maine, matched its record of 96 degrees.
• Storms earlier this week knocked out electricity for thousands in the Pittsburgh area, leaving some without air conditioning as the heat index climbed toward 100 yesterday. Utility crews traveled from Ohio and West Virginia to help restore power lines.
• Earth’s oceans are the hottest they have been in modern history, by a wide margin.
• There’s a meteorological reason for the prolonged heat: a “heat dome.”

Heat Dome?  I also regularly write about these kinds of things.  Read my 28June2021 explanation.

• Times journalists visited two cities transformed by extreme heat — Kuwait City and Basra, Iraq — to document the effects.
• Intense heat in Saudi Arabia has killed dozens during the hajj, a holy pilgrimage.

There is no official count, but the latest number seems to have exceeded 1000.  Ten countries have reported 1081 deaths.  Conditions?  Temperatures over 124 degrees Fahrenheit.

What is the Hajj?

• Hajj means festival.
• Has been conducted for more than 1000 years in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.  

• 
  However, the Quran says that the Hajj can be traced back to Abraham, almost 2000 BC.
• Abraham was ordered by God to leave his wife and son alone in the desert of Mecca.
• In search of water, his wife ran seven times between the hills of Safa and Marwah, and found none.
• 
  Returning, turned out that the baby son scratched the ground and a water fountain sprang forth.
• Abraham was later commanded to build the Kaaba, helped by his son.

• 
  There could be close to 2 million pilgrims this year, and almost 90% are foreigners to Saudi Arabia, which ran from June 14-19.
• However, there were more than 3 million in 2012.
• Attendance was limited in 2020 and 2021 because of the Pandemic.
• Thus, authorities can adjust certain conditions.

• 
  Lasts for 5 or 6 days.
• The average person walks between 3 miles and 9 miles each day.
• Muslim pilgrims walk around the Kaaba, a cube-shaped stone structure at the Grand Mosque, as taught by the Prophet Mohammad to his followers 14 centuries ago.  Wearing mostly white, each person walks counter-clockwise seven times.

• 
  There was a stampede in 2015, killing 2400, and an earlier one in 1990 where 1426 died.  One problem is that once you start, you can't rest.

• 
  The timing is determined by the lunar year, and in the coming years should move towards the winter.
• However, by the 2040s, the Hajj will coincide with the peak of summer.
• In a 2021 study, if the world warms by 2.7F above pre-industrial levels, the heat stroke risk will be five times greater, and this condition will be reached in the 2030s.

• 
  But this is religion, and if Muslims have any chance of going, they will go.  
• They don't need to do this from 11AM to 3PM, and some edict could be made to prevent the walk during this interval. 
• Spraying water is only effective at temperatures below 95 F.

Hajj pilgrimage details.

• In medieval times, people came by camel caravan or ship, sometimes taking years.
• Get visa and travel permit for foreigners.
• You must be 12 years old and above.
• The cost of a Hajj is between $3000 and $10,000, but off course you can pay more.
• Watch out for fake tour packages.  Best to use credit card.  But money is best in Saudi Arabia.

• 
  Today, most arrive via the airport at Jeddah or Medina, then charter buses, high-speed railway or taxis to Mecca.
• Most check into a hotel.
• Many camp in Mina, the city of tents, with more than 100,000 air-conditioned.

• 
  Men generally wear white, but women can wear any color.
• You can use an umbrella, but must be supported from the shoulder, leaving your two hands free.
• What do pilgrims eat?  Nuts, grains, seeds and dried fruits.  Dates are favored.  Drink a lot of water.  Muslims don't drink alcohol.
• Bring sun block.
• Here is what one person experienced.

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