Liu et al. 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1004605
Plesiosaur
Showing posts with label Popular Science Science. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Popular Science Science. Show all posts
17 December 2015
Giant Marine Reptiles Swam Like Penguins
NOAA Turns Over Some Emails In Controversial Climate Change Investigation
On Tuesday, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) delivered documents and internal e-mails between front office staff to the Congressional Committee on Science, Space and Technology, which is conducting a widely maligned investigation into the circumstances under which a climate change study was published in June. The handover of documents was announced on Wednesday.
The documents delivered to the chairman of the committee, Congressman Lamar Smith do not appear to include the e-mails from NOAA scientists, which NOAA administrator Kathryn Sullivan refused to turn over, with the support of many members of the scientific community.
NOAA spokesperson Ciaran Clayton sent Popular Science this statement:
“On December 15, NOAA delivered documents to the Committee responding to the request made in the Chairman’s latest letter, which NOAA received on December 1. We appreciate that the Chairman’s latest letter refocused the committee’s request away from NOAA scientists. “The documents NOAA delivered to the Committee contain emails among NOAA communications and front office staff discussing the routine mechanics of a communications plan for the paper. The documents include discussions that show NOAA front office staff was aware that the study was particularly noteworthy and would likely be the focus of scrutiny and debate. At the same time, there is nothing in these materials that would support the notion that substance or timing of the paper was politically motivated. “Over the past few months, we have provided the Committee with the data, information, methodologies, and underlying science -- all of which is publicly available -- behind the study. Science at NOAA is conducted independently and rigorously, and is protected by a robust scientific integrity policy.”
from http://www.popsci.com/noaa-sends-documents-to-congressional-committee
16 December 2015
Jaguar Land Rover Returns to Racing
Jaguar Land Rover
Jaguar Formula E Race Car
It’s been a while since Jaguars prowled race tracks. Next year, they’ll do it with more of a whirr than a growl as they enter the third season of Formula E, the all-electric racing series.
Like many manufacturers, Jaguar Land Rover wants to up its electric vehicle game, and they see the Formula E series as an old-school way to test new-school technologies. This idea isn’t new, of course. All the way back in the 1890s and early 1900s, electric car inventors and manufacturers like Andrew Riker and Camille Jenatzy built and raced electric cars to test their designs—and to rack up speed records.
Jaguar’s goals are no different. The company stated in its press release announcing its return to racing that it sees the lightweight, electric future, and it wants to “engineer and test our advanced technologies under extreme performance conditions.”
Unlike the old-time electric car racers, who hoped to earn enough prize money to keep the lights on in the lab, Jaguar has a lot of support. They’ve already got Williams Advanced Engineering on board as a technical partner—a group that knows its way around motorsport and supplies the batteries for all the teams in the series. Williams also worked with Jaguar on the C-X75 plug-in hybrid concept that made its debut in 2010.
While Jaguar’s entry is exciting news for Formula E, it’s not the only news from the series this week. The Trulli Formula E Team announced on the same day that it is exiting the series immediately. Trulli joined the series in the first season when Drayson Racing dropped out before the inaugural season had even started. Trulli landed last in the standings at the end of the season, and now it’s missed the first two races of the second season, in Beijing and Putrajaya, due to “technical and supply issues,” according to the official statement from Formula E.
from http://www.popsci.com/jaguar-land-rover-returns-to-racing
The Fighters That Inspired Star Wars And Their Modern Descendents
During George Lucas’s childhood in the 1950s, World War II was still very much a part of popular culture despite being safely in the rearview mirror. Action heroes frequented the silver screen in large numbers, and none were more glamorous than fighter pilots. It’s easy to see how the war and the action flicks it spawned inspired the galactic dogfights of the Star Wars films. Here we match up Star Wars fighters with their WWII counterparts and their modern equivalents.
Lucas Film LTD
Star Wars Dogfight
An X-Wing T-70 does battle with a TIE fighter in Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
from http://www.popsci.com/from-wwii-to-long-ago-and-far-away-fighters-that-inspired-star-wars-and-their-modern-descendents
Quantum Physics at Home
Posted without comment. If you need me, I'll be in the other room cleaning up the mess.
from http://www.popsci.com/quantum-physics-at-home
Mercury Found In Fog Off California Coast
Fog in San Fransisco
Fog is a hazard to ships, but it might also be a problem for the food web.
Today at the American Geophysical Union's fall meeting, researchers discussed new evidence that the amount of coastal fog is not only increasing, but in some areas of California at least, it contains a surprising amount of a form of mercury called monomethylmercury. Although monomethylmercury can be hazardous to human health, there's not enough of it in the fog to be dangerous.
Marine fog typically arrives in the summer months in areas where ocean surface temperatures are cold, but the air above is warmer. Clive Dorman of San Diego State University said that by analyzing the records of ships in the coastal areas in northern California and Oregon, he was able to show that between 1960 and 2007 the number of days with fog on the coast went up by 7.4 percent, a finding that mirrors other high-fog areas around the world, like the Grand Banks off Newfoundland, which also have a considerable amount of fog that has likewise been increasing.
The increase matters, not only to ships, but to ecosystems on land. Kenneth Coale of Moss Landing Marine Laboratories and Peter Weiss-Penzias from UC Santa Cruz found that levels of a kind of mercury called monometylmercury were 19 times higher in fog than in rain, even in the same area.
Mercury gets into the oceans from smokestack emissions and other industrial sources. It is a public health concern because it tends to build up in the food chain, as animals with low levels of mercury in their bodies are eaten by carnivores. The carnivores, which may eat many mercury-contaminated prey, end up with a lot of mercury in their bodies. The most worrying form of mercury is monomethylmercury, a kind of mercury linked to severe health effects in humans, including kidney failure, birth defects, and neurological impairment.
Previous research by the team had found that the fog had just five times the levels of monomethylmercury as rain. Now, in addition to noticing even higher concentrations, they think they may have figured out where the monomethylmercury is coming from.
The answer is another form of mercury--dimethylmercury, a gas that is also present in ocean water, and which comes from smokestacks and mining.
It turns out that most fog is slightly acidic, and the acid is enough to convert the gaseous dimethylmercury that emerges from the oceans into the more solid monomethylmercury. The fog then carries it inland where it is deposited on various surfaces and eventually enters the food chain.
So what does that mean for us? Nothing much right now. The levels of mercury in the fog, though higher than that of the rain, don't reach a level where they are an immediate public health risk. But the results are worrying in a larger sense. Mercury has been measured in terrestrial plants and animals, and might have an impact on land-based food webs.
"I would definitely not eat any spiders from foggy areas," Coales joked at a press conference. Spiders in the area have been measured as having mercury levels above the FDA's accepted limit.
Humans generally don't eat spiders, but birds and other animals do. Coales and Weiss-Penzias plan to continue their work looking into how mercury from fog affects the food web on land, and hope to eventually be able to use drones to monitor the fog as it comes in.
from http://www.popsci.com/mercury-observed-in-coastal-fog-off-california
Construction Starts On Drone Airport In Nevada
Aerodrome
Drone Image From Aerodrome
When the new airport in Boulder City, Nevada opens, it will be missing a key component: passengers. Construction just started on the facility, which hopes to attract hobbyists, government officials, rescue workers, and private businesses, who are all eager to find a spot where they can fly and test their unmanned aerial vehicles. The site, which drone industry enabler Aerodrome is developing, bills itself as the world’s first drone airport.
The company has teaching facilities in Detroit, Michigan and Henderson, Nevada. Its stated mission is to “provide education and FAA certification for flying and maintenance, job/career placement, advisory services, outsourced aviation services and repair services.” If the drone industry is to take off, it will need pilots with more training than that gained by just flying a quadcopter into a tree after Christmas. Fast Company reports:
”The Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) industry envisions an unprecedented $82.1 billion growth between 2015 and 2025," an Aerodrome document claims, "generating at least 103,000 new, high-paying jobs. But the industry faces a crippling talent gap between the number of new jobs that will need to be filled and an undeveloped pool of trained individuals and groups needed to command this bold new skyscape...Aerodrome exists to fill the gap between need and opportunity. We are uniquely prepared to help meet the increasing demand for an unmanned systems workforce.
There are already military drone airports, which are great for military pilots and understandbly off-limits for anyone else. A facility like this could help the commercial drone sector out a lot, and will further cement Nevada’s position as a modern transportation research hub.
from http://www.popsci.com/construction-starts-on-drone-airport-in-nevada
Facebook Messenger Now Lets You Order Rides From Uber
Facebook Messenger x Uber
The ride-sharing app has joined forces with Facebook to allow users to hail rides within Messenger
Many took issue with Facebook spinning Facebook Messenger off into its own separate mobile app, but today’s inclusion might ease the transition. The social network king announced today Uber integration directly within Messenger. Simply share an address, tap on it and select Request a Ride.
Riders get their first Uber free when ordering via Messenger (up to $20), for new Uber users and existing. Uber newbies can register within Messenger.
Many apps in 2015 continue to look for ways to prevent users from leaving the app, in hopes of being the one-stop-shop for any and all needs. Snapchat's Discover section, for example, offers news and video clips so users remain updated on the world while staying within Snapchat's borders. We've seen Facebook's Messenger platform used to handle purchases previously with Everlane and customer service with Hyatt.
Facebook's decision to include third-party application functionality may not stop at Uber. We could see this functionality expanded to Lyft, Gett and other car-summoning apps. Facebook could also perhaps expand Messenger to include mobile apps that allow users to order items, buy tickets or check on their smart home devices. Programs like WeChat in China have shown the power of natural language apps within a messaging app.
While crowning one mobile application as the one to rule them all may take a while, there is something to be said for only having to master one interface. And having that interface work for you instead of jumping through hoops--getting an address, switching apps, and pasting it into Uber, for instance.
For now, the capability is limited to American users, but we expect it to expand worldwide wherever Facebook and Uber operate, eventually. As Facebook said in a press statement: "This service is currently in testing and will be available to select users in the locations where Uber operates in the United States. More countries and other transportation partners will be available soon."
With companies like Google looking to provide competition in the taxi space with their autonomous vehicles, having Uber being everywhere and easy to use will continue to be a priority for the company. The ability to quickly convert shared addresses to hailed cabs will only give smartphone owners more reasons to use the service. Along with Facebook expanding this service, we may see Uber look to be part of more services as well.
from http://www.popsci.com/facebook-messenger-now-offers-in-app-uber-summoning
Bill Hader And Ben Schwartz Cameo In 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens'
Mac Mave Studios
BB-8
We've already shared our spoiler-free impressions of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, but without revealing any plot details, the film's biggest twist came during the title credits. Voicing BB-8, the latest, lovable droid in the George Lucas franchise, are Bill Hader and Ben Schwartz, who each received the title 'vocal consultant'.
Hader is well-known for his impressions, comedic stylings on Saturday Night Live, and his work on Trainwreck and The Skeleton Twins, while Schwartz is a renowned comedy writer whose role as Jean-Ralphio Saperstein in Parks and Rec is regarded as one of the show's highlights. How, then, did this random, impromptu, and utterly brilliant partnership come together?
Ben Schwartz's Instagram account
Ben Schwartz and BB-8
According to Drew McWeeny of HitFlix, who spoke with Hader, it wasn't as random as one might think:
"JJ f**king around with this sound effects app on his iPad was attached to a talk box operated by me. It looked ridiculous but it made BB-8's voice. At first I tried doing a voice, but we all agreed it sounded too human."
We've reached out to Schwartz to clarify how the two collaborated on a single droid's voice, and to get his version of events (and how he thought his vocal chops translated on screen). Here's hoping this starts what could be a very fruitful (and sidesplitting) continued role for the comedic duo.
from http://www.popsci.com/bill-hader-ben-schwartz-cameo-in-star-wars-force-awakens
April's Himalayan Quake Caused Thousands Of Landslides
David Breashears/GlacierWorks
Langtang Valley
A devastating landslide caused by an earthquake wiped out an entire village in Nepal's Langtang Valley.
The huge earthquake that struck Nepal in April devastated the capital city of Kathmandu, and many villages in the countryside. Ice avalanches on Everest and landslides in other areas of Nepal caused even more damage than the initial shaking, wiping out entire villages. But because much of the country's communication and transportation infrastructure was damaged in the quake, it's been hard to get a full picture of the damage.
Now, researchers are getting a better idea of what happened. In two studies published in Science today and announced at the fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union, researchers examined the aftermath of this latest massive earthquake, and unveiled new findings about past earthquakes in the region that could help prepare for greater hazards in the future.
In the first paper researchers found that there were 4,312 landslides caused by the earthquakes and aftershocks. All the landslides were mapped by volunteers in the six weeks using field work and satellite data after the earthquake. Some of these events were incredibly deadly, like the one in Langtang Valley (pictured above). Co-author of the paper Jeffrey Kargel estimated that the energy involved in the landslide was roughly half that involved in the nuclear bomb detonation at Hiroshima, and the mass of debris rumbling downslope pushed the air at such a high velocity that the air itself blew away stones in buildings up to a kilometer (half a mile) away.
As horrific as that is, the number of landslides was actually surprisingly small for an earthquake of that magnitude.
In the second paper, researchers looked at the geological evidence for past earthquakes in the Himalaya region. In particular they looked at the massive deposits that were created by landslides during the Medieval period. Pokhara, the second-largest city in Nepal, is actually built on top of sediments that were deposited during landslides following these huge earthquakes. The researchers found that in some cases, the landslide debris had travelled for over 60 km (37 miles) until it got to its final resting place, covering the entire area in massive amounts of sediment and wiping out everything in its path.
In a press conference, one of the authors, Oliver Korup noted that, for perspective, "Downtown San Francisco would be buried by 50 meters (164 feet) of debris".
The April earthquake was certainly devastating to large areas of Nepal, but if it had been larger, more like the ones that happened hundreds of years ago, it could have been even worse. Researchers from around the world are still parsing the data, looking into the past in the hopes that we an better prepare for the future.
from http://www.popsci.com/landslides-related-to-himalayan-earthquake-not-as-bad-as-it-could-have-been
This Concept Car Has A Drone Landing Pad
Rinspeed
Etos Concept Art
Driving is a chore. Sure, there are stretches of roads that are pleasant, and there are cars so slick that piloting them feels both graceful and powerful, but most of the time, commuting in traffic and controlling a machine is a tedious task. Etos, a concept car from Swiss automaker Rinspeed, wants drivers to enjoy the experience of travel again. To that end, their car has a landing pad for a drone on the back, so drivers can fly around while they’re on the road.
How can anyone pilot a drone while driving? As envisioned, the car can switch into a self-driving mode, so the driver can instead enjoy the experience hands free. Press a button and the steering wheel slides away.
The driver’s hands are now free to pilot a drone, fiddle with the screens, watch TV, or even read a book. Where a glove compartment would normally be, there's an actual dang bookshelf built into the car, for the driver to use, while driving. The car in essence transforms from a comfortable cockpit to a mobile study.
Etos is undeniably a vehicle that wants to turn traveling by road into as luxurious an experience as possible. Neat, but not much use to those of us in steerage.
Watch a video about it below:
from http://www.popsci.com/this-concept-car-has-drone-landing-pad
Google's Driverless Car Project Will Become Its Own Alphabet Company
Google Self-driving car
Google's working on cars that drive themselves. Soon, the autonomous vehicle division could be its own company.
Google’s self-driving car initiative is about to head in a new direction. The autonomous vehicle program that was first revealed in 2012 as a side project for the search company will become its own company under Google's ongoing Alphabet re-organization, according to a report by Bloomberg.
Back in August, Google announced that it would reorganize as Alphabet. With no shortage of projects to work on or companies to acquire, the search engine behemoth decided to shift gears. Under Alphabet, each company could get its own CEO and report its own financial results at the end of the year. Each company also gets assigned its own letter: G for Google, for example.
Bloomberg received word of Google’s plans to spin-off its driverless car division into its own company from an unnamed source briefed on the company’s strategy.
But it makes sense when considering the potential this kind of product could have. Many legacy car makers like Honda and Toyota are working to include auto-pilot features into their cars.
And since Google already has map, road, and traffic data from creating Google Maps and buying Waze; and AI-predicition abilities present in Google Now; launching a separate autonomous driving company based on these technologies is a logical next step. That's especially true with Google being open to working with partners, with some suggesting Google could offer the software of autonomous driving to other automakers as well.
But Google could also use self-driving cars for other purposes as well. Back in Februrary, Bloomberg reported that we could see Google offering its own ride-hailing service in competition with Uber. The report contains mentions of a Google ride-sharing app already in use amongst employees of the company.
For Uber, meanwhile, going driverless is also a logical next step for the popular service: Popular Science reported on Uber's interest in artificial intelligence, robotics, and autonomous technologies earlier this year, in an article that included the following photo of an Uber research vehicle spotted on the streets of Pittsburgh.
Ethan Lott
Uber Car
A few months after Uber opened its Advanced Technologies Center in Pittsburgh, a research vehicle was seen roaming the city’s streets.
And Uber is of course no stranger to making money. Despite the fact it remains a private company and doesn't disclose its financials, estimates suggest Uber is one of the few startups that counts its profit in the billions. But cutting the driver out entirely (while removing jobs) would leave one less employee to pay and could lead to even more revenue. A fact that Google has, almost certainly, thought of as well. The problem for Uber would be the need to provide its own cars, which carries cost. But considering Uber's partnership with leading robotics research institute Carnegie Mellon, the company is clearly willing to spend money to develop competency in this area.
As for Google, the company is only getting better at making cars that drive themselves. We’ve yet to receive word on when exactly the Android-maker will unleash their cars into the wild outside of current testbeds of Mountain View, California and Austin, Texas. But with the new chatter of spinning driverless cars into their own Alphabet company, the dream of a car that takes you anywhere without a driver becomes more real as the days go by.
from http://www.popsci.com/google-driverless-cars-will-become-its-own-alphabet-company
Congress Moves To Lift Ban On Using Russian Rocket Engines
Christian Thomas, U.S. Air Force photo, via Wikimedia Commons
ULA's Atlas V Rocket
After Russia invaded Crimea, Congress swore off Russian rocket engines. But its ban on using these rockets to launch military payloads into space was perhaps a bit too hasty. A new bill approved by Congress has found a way to nullify the ban.
United Launch Alliance (ULA), a joint venture of Boeing and Lockheed Martin that has long been the primary contractor for launching Defense Department payloads into space, relies on the Russian-made RD-180. ULA recently declined to bid on a launch contract due to its limited supply of rocket engines, and the Pentagon is not happy. Though ULA is developing a new engine, the BE-4 is years away from reaching the launch pad. This is, after all, rocket science that we're talking about.
Now, to the dismay of Senator John McCain who championed the ban, it looks like Congress has found a work-around. New language tacked on to a 2016 spending bill specifies that the Air Force can choose launch providers “regardless of the country of origin of the rocket engine that will be used on its launch vehicle, in order to ensure robust competition and continued assured access to space.”
Michael Listner, lawyer and founder of the consulting firm Space Law and Policy Solutions, told Popular Science he thinks lifting the ban is a good move.
"This will give ULA confidence that they will have access to the RD-180 and give them assurance to place more orders for engines," he says. "In the short-term this means the Atlas V will be available for national security launches [to] provide a competitive product to the Falcon 9."
ULA has long had a monopoly on military payload launches. SpaceX recently got permission to use its Falcon 9 rocket to launch military payloads as well, right around the time ULA dropped out because of the ban. If the ban is lifted, it means ULA and SpaceX will take part in the first competition for a military launch since 2006--and that could translate into savings for the U.S. government.
The lift on the ban will also affect other companies who might eventually hope to get a shot at launching military satellites, such as Orbital ATK, which will roll out its Russian-made RD-181 engines this spring.
Congress still wants to find an alternative to Russian reliance, though. The bill provides an extra $144 million to invest in developing an all-American rocket engine.
[Via SpaceNews]
from http://www.popsci.com/congress-moves-to-lift-ban-on-russian-rocket-engines
American Companies Could Help Build A European Village On The Moon
This Could Be Us In A Few Years
President Obama may not be interested in going back to the moon, but everyone else is. Russia is planning its first manned lunar missions. Private companies want to mine the moon to turn its water into rocket fuel. And the European Space Agency wants to set up a village there.
It's worth noting that the 'village' would really just be a space habitat (no shops, churches, or town hall). Nevertheless, when ESA's Johann-Dietrich Woerner announced his idea, he specified that "This moon village should mean partners from all over the world contributing to this community". And it looks like American companies want a piece of that action. A Federal Aviation Administration advisory group has just voted for the FAA to step in and help facilitate American companies' participation.
The committee voted unanimously for the FAA’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation to start talking to ESA about how U.S. companies can get involved. Much like the International Space Station, different countries and companies could be responsible for different elements of the colony, such as building parts of the structure or delivering cargo once the base is up and running.
As of yet, ESA doesn't have a clear plan or dedicated funding to build the moon settlement, but they do seem open to having private companies participate.
[Via Space News]
from http://www.popsci.com/american-companies-could-help-build-europes-moon-village
Create Your Own Toy Story For Family And Friends
from http://www.popsci.com/create-your-own-toy-story-for-family-and-friends
Here's What Vacations of the Future Will Look (and Smell and Taste and Feel) Like
Vacations are supposed to be about relaxation and rejuvenation, but anyone who has stood in the crowded lines at an amusement park or waded through the hordes of people at Disneyland knows that this is not always the case. In this episode of Futuropolis—the 12th and final episode of season 1—we set out to see how technology might help shape better vacations in the future.
Transportation will inevitably get faster and cheaper, but we also hope it will be without jet lag. Hotels might transform their own furniture to make your room just the way you like it. And don’t worry—the good ol’ postcard isn’t going anywhere (aside from your Grandma’s mailbox).
With our look back at the Popular Science archives, you can join us in the cockpit of the Concorde in 1973, before the supersonic plane would first carry its commercial passengers.
Popular Science archives, 1973
Beyond these basic improvements, we want to know about some of the loftier goals. We talk space tourism with Phil McAlister, who works with commercial spaceflight at NASA. Virtual reality executive producer Christine Cattano explains how technology can entice and enhance our experiences of a place. And futurist Thomas Frey describes machines that could enable you to relax on a beach, from the comfort of your couch.
But vacations aren’t just about relaxation, they’re also about status, says Greg Lindsay, a researcher, futurist and journalist. He says we’ll soon be inventing destinations with deeper and more authentic experiences than we can even imagine today.
Buckle your seatbelts, loyal listeners.
What impossible vacation destination do you dream of visiting in the future? Let us know on Twitter or Facebook, or email us at futuropolis@popsci.com. And be sure to subscribe on iTunes, SoundCloud, or search for Futuropolis on your favorite podcast app.
Futuropolis is a biweekly podcast on the Panoply network. Tune in every other Wednesday for more sneak peeks at the future.
from http://www.popsci.com/heres-what-vacations-future-will-look-and-smell-and-taste-and-feel-like
15 December 2015
Deadly Heat Stress Could Affect Hundreds Of Millions Of People By 2060
Dry Ground
It’s getting hot in here. In a poster presented at this week's meeting of the American Geophysical Union, researchers from Columbia University’s Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory found that over the next 45 years, intense heat conditions could become not only stronger, but also more frequent, eventually exposing 250 million people to potentially dangerous heat conditions, like the ones that struck Iran and Pakistan earlier this year.
As global temperatures rise, humidity is also expected to rise, with warm air able to hold more moisture. This can lead to extremely hot and humid days in the summer. The authors predict that by the 2060s, 250 million people will be exposed to wet bulb temperatures of 33 degrees Celsius (91.4 degrees Fahrenheit), and 750 million will be exposed to wet bulb temperatures of 32 degrees Celsius (89.6 degrees Fahrenheit).
That might not seem so hot, especially to people who live in areas where temperatures regularly rise above 100 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer. But as ever, it’s not the heat, its the humidity, and wet bulb temperature is very different from regular temperature.
Wet bulb temperatures are a measure of heat stress, taking into account not only the temperature, but also the moisture in the air. It is similar to a heat index. Both wet bulb temperature and heat index take humidity into account, with heat index adjusting the temperature to define what the temperature outside actually feels like. Wet bulb temperature, on the other hand, is the lowest temperature that can be reached by completely saturating the air with water (getting to 100 percent humidity).
To break that down even further, if a standard temperature reading is 96 degrees Fahrenheit, and the relative humidity is 89 percent, then it will feel like 150 degrees Fahrenheit. The wet bulb temperature for those conditions will be 93 degrees Fahrenheit or 33.9 degrees Celsius.
A high wet bulb temperature means that conditions are incredibly hot and muggy, which is bad news for people. Research has shown that at a wet bulb temperature of 35 degrees Celsius or more, humans can’t cool themselves off. In those conditions, the air can’t hold any more water, so sweat doesn’t evaporate, and the temperature is high enough that people will start to overheat, leading to heat illness which includes heatstroke, exhaustion, cramps, or rashes. Heat can also be deadly. The heat wave that hit Pakistan this summer killed over 1,300 people.
India, the Middle East, and countries in West Africa will be hardest hit, but countries all around the world will be affected.
To put these dire predictions of the future in perspective, the researchers looked at the past. They took the average of the maximum temperatures of the years between 1985 and 2005 to get the mean annual maximum temperature. They predict that by the 2060s, New York City, already notorious for its sticky, grimy summers, can expect to see 10-20 days a year that will be hotter than the hottest days of 1985-2005. Not only that, but the city will exceed the maximum wet bulb temperature from that same time period for 30-40 days a year.
Areas of South America, Africa, and the Middle East will see over 100 days of each extreme per year.
Such extreme weather conditions could lead to dramatic changes in how society operates in order to cope with the new normal. Physical activity during the daytime on those days could be deadly, so agricultural or construction jobs might have to shift to cooler parts of the day, such as the evening. And electrical demands during the summer could increase even more, as air conditioning becomes not just a luxury, but a tool of survival.
The study authors agree with other recent research that suggests that some areas of the world could become uninhabitable because of heat in the next century.
from http://www.popsci.com/deadly-heat-stress-could-affect-hundreds-millions-people-by-2060
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