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Liz Bickel | all galleries >> Themed Galleries >> Themes: Multiple Galleries >> Everything: Multiple Galleries >> H >> Hibiscus >> Hibiscus 2020-2022 > As Miserable as I Feel 2022
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17-Sep-2022 copyright Elizabeth Bickel

As Miserable as I Feel 2022

"Fire & Ice" Hibiscus that Has Succumbed to the Heat

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Our Central A/C has been down for the past 4 days, and I've really been suffering with outdoor temperatures in the 90's and indoor nighttime temperature around 80. I haven't been able to sleep in days. Supposedly, tomorrow a stretch of 100-degree days will start. I can't even image that without air conditioning.

The repair guy did come out, but the old unit can't be fixed. We need a new air conditioner!!!

With not being able to save our old air conditioner, my husband has decided to now replace our entire heating cooling system and not just the A/C. Doing that will take time.... Right now, he's just getting some estimates. With Fall just days away, that might not seem as earth shaking like it would be in the hottest part of Summer. Wrong!!! 2022 is no normal year. The weather forecaster tonight said that we'll be returning to the extreme heat of early August. IMO, we need our A/C!!! Right NOW!!! Tonight is obviously going to be another sleepless night for me.

It's been in the 90's for the past several days; with outside nighttime lows 75 to 80. Not very pleasant to say the least. Unfortunately, that has been just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. True record-breaking temperatures will start tomorrow (around 100 actual temperatures and with even higher heat indexes) and then continue (with high humidity) for the next few days. That will be the same as the middle of the hottest part of Summer in a "hot year". The nighttime lows will be around 85. That's hotter than most summer nights; even on 100-degree days. So, opening a window won't bring any relief. It will just bring in more hot air.

I don't know how my pioneer ancestors managed. However, this extreme heat - without air conditioning - is making me feel physically ill. And very on edge. Not as hardy as my ancestors, I don't know how I'm going to get through the next few days. Heat sensitive, I feel really bad. On top of everything, our home is a passive solar home; which is designed to hold the heat in... Well, this is certainly a reminder of both Global Warming and of how much I have taken modern conveniences (like central A/C) for granted.

We have a generator for short term power outages. However, that doesn't help in the least if the air conditioning system is dead as a door nail. Generators only power working equipment - like a functioning heating/cooling system. Our furnace still works, but at the moment, who cares? I sure don't. The stuffy indoor temperature at our house is now above 80 degrees and steadily going up (with several fans running). This has been even before the coming record setting heat wave hits. I really dread tomorrow and the next few days.

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Heat Stress

"Heat stress occurs when the body cannot get rid of excess heat. When this happens, the body's core temperature rises and the heart rate increases. As the body continues to store heat, the person begins to lose concentration and has difficulty focusing on a task, may become irritable or sick, and often loses the desire to drink." Well, that kind of describes how I feel tonight.

"Factors that contribute to heat stress are high air temperatures & high humidity." Well, that kind of describes the inside of our home at the moment. "Climate change drives more frequent, more intense, and longer heat waves. It raises nighttime lows, preventing body temperatures from resetting when the sun sinks." Okey Doky. So here we go... We'll see how the next few days go. I feel pretty miserable at the moment. My husband doesn't seem to be bothered by the heat.

And to think I grew up without any air conditioning and didn't mind it. Of course, peak summer, daytime highs back then were usually in the low to middle 80's; plus, nighttime temperatures were pleasantly cool in the low 50's to low 60's. Humidity was not high. That were good sleeping weather with the windows open. Ah, how I now long for such cool sleeping weather once again. Obviously, after moving to the Midwest, I've become A/C dependent. This part of the US "requires" air conditioning. It gets just sooo hot and humid here in Summertime. It also seems to have been getting even worse in recent years. Apparently, now temperature extremes now extend into Fall, too.

Some say that 2022 is going to be the coolest year going forward... If so, our Earth and mankind is in big trouble. Excluding other problems, more and more people are going to need air conditioning indoors just to survive. But not everyone will be able to afford it. Although I'm absolutely miserable at the moment (and am really not feeling well from the heat), my situation is just temporary until we can get a new A/C picked out and installed. Other people aren't as lucky as us. Some absolutely can't afford to buy or run even a room air conditioner. They are at the long-term mercy of whatever Mother Nature does.

"As global temperatures continue to climb, heat-related deaths are also up. Amid last year’s record-shattering temperature spikes, early estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicate that heat deaths in the US jumped 56% between 2018 and 2021." 2022 has even been worse than 2021...

A normal temperature for tomorrow, where we now live, should be 80 degrees as a high and 60 degrees as a low. Instead, we're going to see 100 degrees (or above) as a high and 85 degrees as a low. That's crazy!!! Guess we're facing another "new normal". This is not the time to have to go without A/C.

Canon EOS-1D X ,Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM
1/400s f/14.0 at 100.0mm iso8000 full exif

other sizes: small medium original auto
waterfalls man18-Sep-2022 23:29
Steal trying to hold on ,nice Shot V!!
Nick Paoni18-Sep-2022 22:02
A visual impact to match you conditions. Hope things improve soon for you.
larose forest photos18-Sep-2022 17:36
Oh my, the poor hibiscus is a graphic illustration of your description of how you feel in this unusual, even abnormal, heat that is gripping your area. As it has done in many parts of the globe at different times this summer. Climate change is real. I empathize with your distress because I react exactly the same in such heat and humidity. The worst time for your AC to break down.
Mieke WA Minkjan18-Sep-2022 09:17
Beautiful in its deformation V
so sorry to read about your discomfort with the heat stress