We
complain about the cold in winter; we complain about the heat in summer. But
how hot is hot? Like all good answers, “it depends.”
For
example, hot in Vancouver is not hot in Texas. And hot in Texas is positively
cool in comparison to Death Valley, California, where a world record
temperature of 134 degrees was observed in 1913. (This temperature was matched
on the 13th of September 2012, in El Aziza, Libya.)
Surprisingly,
humans can survive incredibly hot weather. It is noted that at 130 degrees F,
survival time begins to decrease drastically, but it is estimated that people
can survive temperatures of even 150 degrees, in dry conditions, for short periods
of time, with adequate hydration. The Dallol Depression, also known as the
Danakil Depression, a desert area in Ethiopia, is covered with sulphurous springs,
lakes of boiling lava and an active volcano that spits out hot magma. The Afar
people, who inhabit this place, eke out an existence herding camels and mining salt,
in temperatures that regularly reach 122 degrees F.
The
Earth itself is in a long cooling off period, known as the Quartenary Ice Age,
which began 2.6 million years ago. Within it are periods of cooling temperatures
lasting 100,000 years, interspersed with warmer cycles known as Interglacial
periods. We live in once such Interglacial period, known as the Holocene, which
began about 11,700 years ago.
Many
scientists argue that the rapid industrialization of the past couple of hundred
years has brought about an abnormal phenomenon known as global warming, caused by
trapping man-made carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
So
how hot is hot? As far as I’m concerned, as a resident of Calgary, Canada, hot
is never hot enough. We’ve had record heat this summer, but I’m not complaining—never-ending
summer is what I dream of!
Mohan Ashtakala is the author of The Yoga Zapper (www.yogazapper.com) published by Books We Love (www.bookswelove.com)
