Climate watch: The dangers of heat must be understood, addressed

The four hottest days in thousands of years took place between July 21 and July 24. Every monthly average for the last 13 months has set a record.

The Wall Street Journal reported that heat is causing substantial losses in manufacturing and agriculture, and nobody has heat insurance.

The summer Olympics started in Paris with concerns that increasing heat is putting added stress on athletes.

Amtrak has been experiencing delays because heat causes power disruptions and warps the tracks, as reported in the July 18 New York Times.

In the record-setting temperatures occurring in Phoenix, people suffered third-degree burns when they fell on the pavement and were unable to get up quickly.

A tourist in Death Valley endured burns on his feet from walking in the hot sands. A helicopter could not be summoned to move him to a hospital because when the temperature gets too high, the air becomes thin and will not support the flight of a helicopter. Regular commercial airline flights in the west have also been delayed or canceled because of heat.

These are just some of recent news stories about the heat. I have a newfound respect for heat after reading Jeff Goodell’s latest book, “The Heat Will Kill You First: Life and Death on a Scorched Planet.” Published in 2023, even before the recent acceleration in ocean and air temperatures, it offers a sobering look at what we will have to contend with in this hotter world.

The first chapter alone is worth the price of the book (now available in paper). A young family living in the foothills of California’s Sierra Nevada went for a hike in a nearby canyon. They started early in the morning, plotted their path, intending to be back before the heat of the day, and carried what they thought was sufficient water. But they had underestimated the power of the sun and the heat. The parents, their baby, and dog were all found dead as they had struggled to make their way back to their truck. These hikers were young and healthy. I am old and now intend to pay a great deal more attention to the dangers of heat.

Goodell’s book explores the effect of heat on the weather, melting polar ice caps, the spread of disease-carrying insects, the architecture of cities, the oceans, and much more.

A warming world threatens agriculture, at a time when we need to be planning to feed even more people. Alexis Racelis, a professor at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, researches ways for crops to be grown with less water. He concludes, “People will shift crops around, try new varieties. But in the end, there is no getting around the laws of physics and biology. When it gets too hot, things die. That’s just how it works.”

Human beings, like all living creatures, have evolved to survive within a limited range of temperatures, what Goodell calls the “Goldilocks Zone.” When people work outside in the scorching heat, they can get sick or die. We are not prepared for these new conditions. Our cities were built for milder climates. The beautiful zinc roofs of Paris turn attics into ovens. People can adapt or move, and, indeed, many are already moving. But plants and animals cannot move easily.

Of course, we do not have to sit idly by and watch all of this unfold. We can take steps to keep from going beyond the “Goldilocks Zone.” No political question facing us could be more important.