Thread by @washingtonpost

Deadly heat waves have swept the globe and will continue to because of climate change.

The trends are prompting doomsday questions: Will parts of the world soon become too hot to live in? How will we survive? washingtonpost.com/world/interact…

When it comes to heat, the human body is remarkably resilient — it’s the humidity that makes it harder to cool down.

And humidity, driven in part by climate change, is increasing. wapo.st/3f82hGG

A measurement of the combination of heat and humidity is called a “wet-bulb temperature,” a metric scientists are using to figure out which regions of the world may become too dangerous for humans.
washingtonpost.com/weather/2021/0…

At a certain threshold of heat and humidity, “it’s no longer possible to be able to sweat fast enough to prevent overheating,” said Radley Horton, a professor at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. wapo.st/3f82hGG

You might think that being closer to the beach would be a great way to catch that ocean breeze and cool off.

But Horton said proximity to water in extreme conditions could make things worse. wapo.st/3f82hGG

Scientists have found that Mexico and Central America, the Persian Gulf, India, Pakistan and Southeast Asia are all careening toward dangerous thresholds of heat and humidity before the end of the century. wapo.st/3f82hGG

To better understand why these places are becoming too hot and humid for humans to endure, you have to first understand how the body cools itself.

Our 3D models show you how: wapo.st/3f82hGG

As cities around the world experience record-breaking heat, we continue to report on the climate crisis and climate-fueled weather events.

We want to know your questions about extreme heat, wildfires, droughts and other climate-related events or topics. wapo.st/3yf6YX0