Tag Archives: Sun

Just a Wee Blether…

About surviving the deadly Arizona heat

Before I came to Arizona, everyone warned me about the same thing. Right now I’m experiencing the worst of it. Between now and the middle of this week it will have been directly responsible for upwards of 10 deaths. I’m talking about the ferocious and unforgiving Arizona heat.

The temperature in Phoenix today was 118 degrees Fahrenheit – that equals 47.7 degrees Celsius. Forecasters are referring to it in the media as “deadly heat” and have warned that it could climb higher between today and Wednesday.  People have been advised to stay indoors at the hottest times of the day.

Heat-related ailments kill an average of 120 Arizonans every year. Most are outdoor workers – construction sites open in the early mornings and close long before noon – along with many homeless people and some climbers.

Today a 28-year old woman died while mountain biking on a desert trail. Firefighters said her death was 100% heat-related.

Believe me this is serious heat, the like of which I’ve never encountered. If you’ve been to Spain or Greece or Cyprus, then you’ll know what it’s like at “siesta time”. But at least the Mediterranean resorts enjoy a cooling sea breeze, here the nearest coast is 213 miles away at Puerto Penasco, Mexico. It’s a bit like an old Spaghetti Western – the sun just beats down relentlessly.

Today we drove to my father-in-law’s house to take him out for Father’s Day. It’s a journey of approximately 30 minutes. There was barely a soul to be seen, the normally-busy golf courses were empty, so were all the play areas and parks, no-one was walking on the pavements, the place was deserted. We remarked that it resembled a ghost town.

There are laws governing dog owners who are required to have their pets on a tether of at least 10 feet and with a loose collar. At certain times of day, the dogs’ paws must be protected from the scorching pavements and it is not uncommon to see dogs wearing booties.

At one point today my wife nipped into a shop. I waited in the car without realising that, because the engine was off, the lack of air conditioning would be quite so uncomfortable.  Within less than a minute, I had to leave the car and stand in the shade because I was struggling to breathe. If your vehicle has no air-con, then you simply cannot use it in this heat.

It is the same in the house. In addition to the air conditioning system, we have ceiling fans in each room plus a tower-style fan that oscillates. If the a/c broke down it would be an emergency situation, we couldn’t live here without it.

Between now and the middle of September the temperature will rarely dip between 100F. This week is exceptionally hot and there will be a few more similar spells during the long, hot summer. The “deadly heat”, as they call it, is almost exclusively felt in Phoenix and the surrounding cities. We are in a low-lying valley, called the Valley of the Sun, it is heavily built up with a population of 3.2 million, and there is little cooling wind or rain. To the north or south the elevation is higher and the temperature can be about 25 degrees lower.

People over here describe the summer as “four months of hell”. That’s a bit over the top but you certainly have to be sensible about what you do and when. Climbing a mountain at high noon is a very bad idea. Drinking a lot of water is essential to avoid dehydration, and most people wear shorts and a t-shirt, something to cover their head and of course sunglasses and sun screen.

The beauty of Arizona is that, for eight months of the year, the weather is fantastic. Right now, the heat is extreme. I’ll be fine, but spare a thought for the poor mountain biker who died. As for the unfortunates who sleep rough on the streets, they might not be so lucky.