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§AB, don't take this the wrong way, but you're weird
I suppose the ubiquity of air conditioning plus the lack of need to actually DO anything outside makes superhot temperatures more attractive than they otherwise would have been (which was the case until a few decades ago).
Keep in mind that to vacation in some place is not quite the same as it is to live there. Hot weather is fine if you are going from one air conditioned building to another in an air conditioned taxi. Or lazily walking to the beach in flip flops sipping a cold tropical drink. It is quiet different to actually live there. Try walking even half a kilometer in a suit and tie with a laptop in your briefcase in 45 degrees weather, with sun out. Or even better, put on full military gear, including helmet and body-armor. Bagdad summers may not seem quite so perfect. Even waiting for the subway in NYC for 10 minutes on a hot summer day will leave you sweating like pig. Forgetting your pet (or god forbid a baby) in a car under the sun for even a few minutes will literally kill them (happens every summer in the US). Heatwaves kill thousands. Heavy AC use caused blackouts in the state of California as well as much of northeastern US and Candada (regions are not even THAT hot compared to some other places).
Point is, daily inconvenieces that come with living in a hot enivorment take away from perhaps too idealistic perception of what it's like.
Heat is still less "inconvenient" than cold. With heat all you have to do is rehydrate and wear loose, light coloured clothing, but with cold you have to shovel snow, remove ice from your car, wrap up then dress down when your enter any public building, easier spread of flu, frostbite risk in extreme cold, painful for any expose skin, Moderator cut: EWWW, not here etc.
Last edited by Jammie; 06-02-2009 at 04:10 PM..
Reason: yuck
The main reason we have blackouts in Canada is not seriously intense heat,
it's that too many people like to have their thermostat set no higher than 72 F
I don't like the A/C set lower than 79 F; I often prefer it set at 80-82 F.
Setting a thermostat that high usually means I only would use A/C intermittantly
for about 12-14 hours on a 98 F (37 C) day with 50% humidity.
(our houses and buildings are quite well insulated in Canada; this is easy as long as door opening is kept to a minimum)
I'm sorry, by Canada, I was mostly thinking of my part of Canada...
Though it is one of the most heavily populated parts of our country.
(nearly 1/4 of all Canadians live in southern Ontario)
In Ontario, our provinces record high is only 40 C. (105 F)
With heat that low, especially with the availability of A/C it isn't that bad.
True some people die occaisionally,
but usually that's because they live in an un-airconditioned appartment,
they don't open windows and/or don't make efforts to cool off,
therefore they succumb to the heat because of their unwillingness or inability to make a "plan of action."
They could go to any mall, and simply loiter in the 22 C air;
our malls are 99.999% safe, and nobody would mind on a espcially hot day.
If they are in rural areas, they could go to a lake.
*We see many winters with -30 C temps, and usually no one dies, because they are willing to make a "plan of action" if they their homes are inadequate to cope.
** I know many seniors (and other adults that are not 100% sound of mind) resent the idea of adjusting their lifestyle for freak spells of heat, but it is just common knowledge, a frequent challenge to deal with extreme cold, that all but the craziest/laziest people still acknowledge.
*I do have sympathy to those who do pass away from heatwaves,
but I do believe that their cause of death was likely due to negligence;
if they weren't able to look after themselves, loved one's should have helped them.
That said,
places that see temps from 45-50 C,
or daily averages (between high and lows) at 36+ C
when you factor in the extra heat of the sunlight,
it starts to become apparent that any buildings without adequate cooling
can easily become deadly for some people.
Here in Ontario,
our worst spells of heat might cause indoor temps of 32-34 C;
that "shouldn't kill you" unless you don't stay "hydrated"
and/or wear too many layers or sleep under covers that insulate too well.
Heat is still less "inconvenient" than cold. With heat all you have to do is rehydrate and wear loose, light coloured clothing, but with cold you have to shovel snow, remove ice from your car, wrap up then dress down when your enter any public building, easier spread of flu, frostbite risk in extreme cold, painful for any expose skin, your boogers freeze in your nose etc.
A lot of snow and ice in Melbourne?
I actually agree with your here - cold isindeed inconvenient. A place that doesn't have too many extremes would be most comfortable (for me).
I say Quito, Ecuador.
Highs are basically 66/67 degrees all year with the low being about 50 all year
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