New Word: The Heat

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

New Word #113

I don’t know where the birds have gone? Maybe they’ve flown to Canada to seek some cool air since I don’t hear birds chirping as much in the morning anymore. For the entire week, temperature hovers around 100ºF (about 38ºC) each day, which will last until after Sunday. And fortunately there’s no wild fire or electricity blackout. Two weeks ago, there was a brush fire in Middlesex County here which burned 59 acres before being contained. I didn’t even know this county has a wilderness to begin with.

Another thing that puzzles me is that New Jersey usually has very humid summers–unlike the dry summers I experienced while living on the southern border of the Mongolian Steppe. With such a humidity, I thought it is not easy to get a fire spark started, but I guess it is probably not humid enough to make the wild fire impossible.

95ºF to 100ºF is not uncommon for this area, and thankfully usually only for one week or so each year. For the rest of the summer, it’s mainly around 90ºF.

heat dome: High-pressure circulation in the atmosphere acts like a dome or cap, trapping heat at the surface and favoring the formation of a heat wave.

heat stroke: The body’s temperature rises rapidly, the sweating mechanism fails, and the body is unable to cool down. When heat stroke occurs, the body temperature can rise to 106°F or higher within 10 to 15 minutes. I think I had a heat stroke at least once in my life. I was having a nap without the air-conditioning on. When I woke up, I felt very dizzy and the dizziness lasted for hours.

dehydration: a harmful reduction in the amount of water in the body. It is said once dehydration happens to your body, it is not easy to get it re-hydrated quickly. So it is important to continuously drink water during the summer even if you are not particularly thirsty.

hyperthermia vs hypothermia: Both conditions are life threatening.

• hyperthermia: the condition of having a body temperature greatly above normal.
• hypothermia: the condition of having an abnormally low body temperature

poikilotherm vs. endotherm

• poikilotherm: an organism that cannot regulate its body temperature, such as a snake
• endotherm: an animal that is dependent on or capable of the internal generation of heat, such as a mammal.

camel: It is said camels can survive 120 F ( 48 degree Celsius). I wish humans are built like camels, which will save us a lot of air-conditioning cost during the summer.

desert ant: It is said the desert ant can survive 158 F (70 degree Celsius). So this is a creature that can survive the global warming or global heating…

hot weather and forest fire: It is said when the air is dry and the temperature is high, a little spark from the forest leaves can cause a forest fire.

thermophile: a bacterium or other microorganism that grows best at higher than normal temperatures, like in 176ºF (80ºC) environment.

dead heat: If you say a race is a dead heat, you are not talking about the dangerous summer heat that will cause death among vulnerable populations, but rather you are talking about two competitors that are almost even in a contest.

“take the heat” vs. “take the heat off”

• take the heat: endure and withstand criticism
• take the heat off someone: it means to lessen the criticism and pressure on somebody

scorcher: a hot day. I heard this word being used very often actually.

hot potato: a controversial issue or situation that is awkward or unpleasant to deal with.

thermophobia: An abnormal and persistent fear of heat, including hot weather and hot objects. I think I am developing a bit of thermophobia right now if the hot weather continues.

heat stress: Although trees won’t get heat stroke like humans, they still suffer heat stress. After a period of prolonged heat, the trees can become unhealthy, vulnerable to insect or virus attack, Although the damage to leaves and trunks are not immediately conspicuous, the trees can suffer a declining health and recuperation can be slow or sometimes impossible.

temperature for growing rice: The optimal temperature for growing rice is between 77ºF (25ºC) and 95ºF (35ºC). It will not tolerate temperature above 107ºF (42ºC). So global warming is quite damaging to rice production.