Tag Archives: physiology

It’s Hotter than I Expected

Visiting Islamabad at the height of summer is not everyone’s idea of fun. With Coolzy to keep me comfortable, I can enjoy the superb mangos in season at the moment. For a week, the temperature in our bedroom hovered around 38 – 40 °C, but with the Igloo tent, we slept through the nights, not noticing the load shedding.

However, I was surprised.

On one of the cooler days I used a simple thermocouple data logger to record the temperature just outside our open window, on the inside of the wall, and also the air temperature at 40 cm above floor level, around the height of our mattress.

And here is the result over two days and a night.

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Physiological Effects of Hot Climates

(Updated June 20, 2023)

Temperatures in Delhi reached 46 °C this week. How does this kind of heat affect people?

In my last post “Why do most hot countries remain poor?” I summarised explanations by influential economists and geographers. I reviewed the quantitative evidence that demonstrates the strong inverse link between climate temperature and economic productivity.

Of course, a correlation does not necessarily imply a cause.

23 years on, we now have research on physiology that has helped us understand a little more on how people are affected by hot climates. While there are still large gaps in our understanding, there is now little doubt that cooling is essential for economic and social development, even more so as climate warming raises temperatures everywhere.

READ MORE – ABOUT 20 MINUTES, BUT WORTH THE EFFORT

Changing notions of comfort

I am so thankful I don’t have to work all the time in an air-conditioned office building. Especially since Covid-19, our entire Close Comfort team works part of the time at home. We’re happier and feel healthier too.
Of course, I have a Coolzy personal air conditioner with me. (Since 2021, Close Comfort portable air conditioners have been branded with the name Coolzy). Our team members each have at least one at home as well.
Lee Kuan Yew, honoured as Singapore’s founding father, loved to tell everyone how air conditioning enabled today’s Singapore by providing a comfortable working and sleeping environment. However, there’s a dark side that comes with 20th-century air conditioning systems.
It is well established that people who live most of the time in constant temperature air-conditioned buildings lose their natural thermal acclimatization. As a result, they only feel comfortable at about 23 °C.
Recently I hailed a Singapore cab and climbed into the shiny black refrigerator on wheels, feeling so glad I remembered to bring a cardigan tied around my shoulders. The driver exclaimed, “Ah, it’s so hot today, la!”
“What’s the temperature?” I asked.
“33, it’s really hot, la”.
“But, yesterday it was 32”.
“Yeah, 33, it’s so hot today, la!”

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