weather
I will never forget the Pacific Northwest Heat Dome of 2021. https://www.seattlemet.com/news-and-city-life/hottest-day-history-seattle-heat-dome-2021
re: weather
Heavy smoke event is kind of like the pandemic compressed and running in fast-forward. The air all around you is trying to kill you and you need a solid mask to avoid it. Whereas with the pandemic you can't safely go to places with a lot of people, with smoke you can't even leave your house and being in your house might not be enough if you don't have good seals and filtration.
re: weather
This is fine
td;dr: The original theory was humans can't survive at 95 deg F (35 deg C) wet bulb temperatures. New studies say that is actually 87 deg F (31 deg C).
So at 87 degrees F at 100% humidity, your life is at risk.
re: weather
@zompus Wow. Makes the opening scene of Kim Stanley Robinson’s Ministry for the Future that much scarier.
re: weather
@tidmarsh I haven't read that one - is that the one that starts with a mass wet bulb event in India?
re: weather
Probably the most impactful and disruptive natural disaster in my memory. The next closest would be the Southern California power outage in 2011 and the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake.