‘Heat dome’ covers the Middle East to bring temperatures up to bring ‘feels like’ temperatures up to 74 degrees.
An “heat dome” has fallen on the Middle East to create “feels-like” temperatures as high as 74 degrees. The people of Iraq were given a four-day holiday last week after the government declared soaring temperatures too much to deal with. Authorities in the Middle East cautioned residents to drink plenty of water and stay out of the sun.
“That was one of the most incredible temperature observations I have ever seen, and it is one of the most extreme readings ever in the world,” said AccuWeather meteorologist Anthony Sagliani in a statement. Sagaliani pointed to a high-pressure system that has cloaked the region since July for the heat surge, making one of the world’s hottest places even hotter.
The heat dome is a high pressure ridge over the region which makes normal hot temperatures seem even hotter.
The UK’s Telegraph newspaper reported that the “heat index” – a measurement of what weather feels like – is the highest ever recorded. The scientists monitoring the heat index say Iran are probably enduring among the hottest temperatures ever experienced by humans.
Meanwhile it has been warm across the globe with the north-west US and eastern Pacific starting to feel the effects of El Nino in recent weeks following the deaths of hundreds in May’s heat wave across South Asia.
And Australia has since an unusually early start to bushfire season with one blaze in the Blue Mountains being fought into its forth day only two weeks after the mountains were blanketed in snow. Northern Australia also had record-breaking July with Gympie noting its hottest July day since records began in 1908 with the temperature reaching 29.4 degrees, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.
It’s happening.
And it may already be too late to prevent the low end of temperature rise predictions, let alone the high end. Tell someone.
Fast.
Well, This Is What I Think 
I still have them. All around me. Last year in Colorado Springs we had a summer full of cool temperatures, mostly related to the amount of rain we were getting. We are a high desert, but last summer I think the best part of the polar ice cap fell here as rain. It tkes a LOT of heat to make that happen. (Cartoon: https://www.flickr.com/photos/mysticpolitics/7599815968 )
At my age, I grew up with the Imperial system. I am pretty fair with metres, litres, and grams, but no good at all wrapping my head around temperature because, for me, that is so internal. Of course, many in America aren’t even trying. But if you need to share those figures with Americans, they are 115 actual and 165 feels-like. I am under the impression that the bulk of the world’s climate deniers live in the US.
LikeLike
Thanks for the degrees conversion; it saves my having to look it up. My first reaction to the headline was, “Hey, 74 degrees is quite comfortable.” My second reaction was, “Wait a minute; that’s Celsius, not Fahrenheit! Yikes!!”
I read not too long ago that by percentage of population, climate change denial is a bit stronger in Australia than in the U.S. By sheer numbers, of course, we have a lot more of them, and the worst part is that far too many of ours hold public office. They are heavily concentrated in the GOP – no surprise there. On the plus side, you have John Cook and we have Michael Mann, and they are both extremely knowledgeable and clear communicators. Now if we could just get more people to take them seriously!
LikeLike
I think you’re right about Australia, there are a lot of fucking idiots in this country.
LikeLike
People who know what they’re talking about never confuse local weather with average global temperature.
Underwriter505 – I hear that people who DON’T know what they’re talking about are more likely to vote over there, which is a shame.
All the best,
Woody
LikeLike
Average global temperatures are rising, I guess my comment was that this is not always apparent to witnesses of very cold local weather. People who know what they are talking about know not to doubt global warming because of the local chill they are feeling.
Woody
LikeLike
Thanks, Woody. If I ever find any locals who know what they are talking about I’ll let you know. I’m sure there are some, but college professors don’t live in my neighborhood. And, yes, my neighbors do vote.
LikeLike
The trouble is that as others have said the GOP influence people a lot (money talks – and how) and they do seem to have been edging people into government for many a long year and now are entrenched. God help us all as climate change takes hold, the climate change deniers will be blaming anyone but themselves.
LikeLike
Hopefully, Pat, the deniers are far outweighed by those who understand even a little science, but the manipulation of ordinary people who might not is very ruthless and wicked.
LikeLike
That’s 74 degrees Celcius, right? For us folks in (and from) the USofA, it would be around 164 degrees, which is bloody boiling hot.
LikeLike
It is indeed Celsius – and yes, incredibly hot.
LikeLike