🌱 Web development and climate change

This morning, I came across a really interesting (and terrifying) Twitter thread from climate change activist Matthew Lewis about the web bulb temperature.

“Wet bulb” temperature is the temperature + relative humidity at which water stops evaporating off a “wet” thermometer bulb. If air is sufficiently humid (saturated w/ water vapor), evaporation will no longer cool the bulb, and it gets continuously hotter.

This matters for humans, because our bodies regulate heat via evaporation: sweat glands carry heat from body to the skin surface, where it evaporates, dissipating heat into the air. As long as you stay hydrated (and take salts! salt is important), you can stay cool at high temps…

So, what does this have to do with you? Well, up until last ~ 40 years, wet bulb temperatures were extremely rare on this planet.

But that’s over, now. We’re already seeing multiple wet bulb temperatures per year in multiple locations. By mid-century, parts of the Southeastern U.S will see weeks of wet bulbs every year.

Near the end of the thread, Matthew addresses the coming humanitarian crisis this is going to create as the places where a huge number of people live become literally uninhabitable.

People with lots of disposable income can put off feeling the consequences of climate change for a lot longer than low income folks.