[lmilcin]

The issue with wet bulb temperature is even worse.

You don't need to have an average to hit anywhere close to it.

Just one single event, wave of temperature over 36 degrees is most likely going to kill millions of people if it hits densely populated area with people having no infrastructure to cool themselves. And no, spraying with water will not help, by very definition.

[bellyfullofbac]

I guess jumping into a body of water which has a cooler temperature would still help? Jumping into water which is 36 degrees or warmer wouldn't.

[lmilcin]

This is India. A lot of people just don't live close to a body of water. Getting any water is a huge issue.

Can you imagine millions of people running to cool in the river? What with elderly and children?

[twobuy]

Pakistan, not India

[lmilcin]

Obviously, you are right. Thanks.

[unmole]

Akhand Bharat /s

[bellyfullofbac]

Sheesh, I'm just asking in general about the body, not about logistics...

[Retric]

It depends because wet bulb temperature is normally significantly below ambient temperature. If ambient temperature was 45C a large body of water might be at 38C while wet bulb was 36C. At which point jumping into the water would be a bad idea.

It really just comes down to infrastructure. It’s possible to prepare for such events, but without large scale preparation they turn deadly.

[Retric]

Water conducts heat better than air. At exactly 36C wet bulb poeple would be running a fever but a large body of water would cool them better than air at 36C.

However, 100% humidity is rare it’s normal for the actual temperature to be higher than the wet bulb temperature. So local large bodies of water might actually be significantly higher than 36C at the time.

[rufus_foreman]

That's what I did when I lived without AC where it gets above 100F with high humidity. I would fill up the bathtub will cold water and cool off that way every few hours during the day when I was at home. I guess the water came from underground storage, it was plenty cold enough for that purpose.