It’s 31°C today in Paris and 34°C is forecast tomorrow. That’s 88°F and 93°F and that’s plenty, thanks very much.

Meanwhile, in the US, a New York Times’ headline today was:

125°F is 52°C, by the way.

The closest I ever got to that was something like 45°C at a bus stop in southern Iran a few years back. Standing there, waiting for the bus, I could literally feel my body giving up. Thinking about actual survival was like a fuzzy buzz in my brain.

“A heat wave this week across the western United States, which is already facing the worst drought in two decades, will test electrical grids stressed by air-conditioning and endanger those unable to find relief.
“It reached 115 degrees in Phoenix on Monday, and temperatures are expected to continue climbing this week.”

Not good. Basically if you don’t have AC, it’s survival of the fittest.

“Parched regions that rely on air-conditioning may face power failures, which can be deadly in extreme heat or cold. More than 100 people died in Texas during a February storm that crippled the power grid as demand for heat increased at the same time as electrical plants went offline.
“The current heat wave is expected to be at its most intense and most widespread through Saturday, threatening to surpass the highest temperatures ever recorded in Arizona (128 degrees Fahrenheit) and Nevada (125). The world record of 134 degrees — which is now questioned — was set in Death Valley in California in 1913.”

The dirty truth: Bad shit like this has to happen to rich countries so that the upcoming hellacious nightmare starts to come more into focus for “everyday folk”.

Then maybe moves to fight back will switch into a higher gear.

Maybe.

[Cover photo: Smoke rising from a fire outside of Superior, Ariz., on Monday. The state is facing both wildfires and extreme heat. David Wallace/The Republic, via Imagn]