Essay by Eric Worrall
A “record-breaking” winter heatwave in Australia is believed to have saved households millions of dollars in heating bills. But apparently we shouldn't view the abrupt end of winter as a good thing.
Heatwave ends Australia's winter abruptly, climate change disrupts seasons
By climate reporter Jess Davis
On Sunday afternoon, Australians across the country enjoyed the glorious winter sun.
The flowers had bloomed early, football was being played in Melbourne at -6 degrees, and the ski resorts were mourning the heavy rain that had wiped out the rest of another snow-poor season.
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And although the beginning of winter feels quite cold for many, that is partly because our memories are short.
“It seemed quite cold to us because many of our winters over the last 20 years have been warm,” said Professor Perkins-Kirkpatrick.
“Human experience shows that we generally only remember weather events or seasons that occurred up to eight years ago.
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“To be honest, it's quite pleasant for most of us, a really nice change from the cooler conditions,” Dr. King said.
“But if there were heat waves in the spring or summer of similar intensity to last week, or of similar unusualness, we would be really concerned about those heat events.”
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During the annual Hajj in Saudi Arabia, over a thousand people died when temperatures reached 51.8 degrees Celsius.
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Read more: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-08-29/winter-ends-with-heatwave-as-climate-change-upends-seasons/104279250
Old and frail people suffer from heat waves just as they suffer from extreme cold. But affordable coal or gas energy to run air conditioning, or increased heating subsidies for pensioners in winter, would help frail and old people on low incomes far more than wasting billions of dollars of government money on crazy plans to reduce future temperatures by a fraction of a degree.
The cost of heating (and cooling) homes is a major problem in Australia, particularly in the colder, more climate-dependent southern states.
Almost half of all Australians froze this winter for fear of electricity bills
By Emily McPherson • Senior Journalist August 12, 2024, 8:56 am
Millions of Australians are freezing this winter and avoiding turning on their heating for fear of the high costs, a new survey has found.
According to a new study by comparison website Finder, one in eight Australians has to go without heating “all the time”, while a further 36 percent said they avoid using the heating as much as possible.
The results of a survey of 1,049 participants mean that almost half of all Australians – or 4.9 million households – live without adequate heating.
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Read more: https://www.9news.com.au/national/almost-half-of-australians-have-gone-cold-this-winter-over-power-bill-fears/adbbac4e-301b-459f-8f37-a20500b050d8
An extreme heat or cold wave is only a problem for sick people if they have to endure its effects, for example because they cannot afford to turn on the air conditioning.
For people without disabilities, the heat mentioned above does not pose a challenge, provided they drink enough.
When I was young, I worked for a while in a poorly ventilated plastics factory in Melbourne, Australia. The chemical process and leaky hydraulic hot presses released huge clouds of steam, leaving the environment dripping wet. On the hottest days, the thermometer on the factory floor reached 55°C. Management patrolled the floor every 5 minutes, offering hydrating drinks.
My grandfather told me that he worked in similar conditions in a metal foundry in Melbourne during World War II, making artillery pieces for the war effort for 18 hours a day. His factory had large lead melting pots that were constantly kept at 350°C to heat treat steel, so I suspect his factory was hotter than what I experienced.
The human body is adaptable. When my workday ended at 3pm, it was an unforgettable experience to step out into the blazing sun at 40°C and shiver uncontrollably for two minutes while my body adjusted to the abrupt drop in temperature.
I am sure that people who work in bakeries and mines have similar experiences.
But you wouldn't expect climate scientists, who spend most of their lives in comfortable, air-conditioned offices, to know any of this.
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