PBS Forum

Here in western Oregon, our hottest day so far was 89F (31.7C).
Even cool growing plants like Primulas were not very stressed.
I made an inexpensive evaporative cooler by placing rags that retain a lot of water between panels of chicken wire and using a fan to force air through it.

Quote from: David Pilling on July 21, 2023, 07:42:55 AMBad news, I am sorry for those in the places suffering.

Here on the little island in the middle of the Atlantic, it is unseasonably cool. Mid-afternoon and it is 61.5 F, that's the easy one to convert 16C (along with 82F/28C swop the digits).

Your island isn't that little. On a real small island in the middle of the Atlantic (1,000 miles to Washington, D.C. and 800 miles to Lisbon) summer has finally hit with temperatures at 75°F for a high, and rain is way above normal. The average rain days on Terceira Island for July is 1.8 and we have had some very rainy days. Even set some new records for low temperatures in July. Fortunately T.S. Don didn't affect us except for a few very outer bands of rain. It is getting to rain again and more is expected tomorrow. We grow potatoes during the winter here. 

Phoenix's record heat is killing off cactuses

"Wednesday night ended a record streak of 16 days above 90 degrees in Phoenix. The city is forecast to see temperatures over 110 degrees again on Thursday, which would make for the 28th consecutive day.

Cactuses carry out essential functions at night. That's when they open their stomata, or pores, and carry out a gas exchange in which they take in the carbon dioxide they use to photosynthesize during the day. But because nights in Phoenix have experienced record-high heat, McCue said this suffocates and stresses out the saguaros, which dehydrates them and makes them more susceptible to infections and insects."

https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/27/us/phoenix-arizona-heat-saguaro-cactuses/index.html

It is unnatural for night cooling not to occur in an arid region. Is Phoenix (a huge, sprawling city) suffering so much because of the urban heat island effect (too much pavement) and perhaps moisture added to the atmosphere by evaporation from e.g. swimming pools and air conditioners? It has always seemed insane to me that droves of people move to Phoenix. Not that I want them moving to Portland instead ....

Large rolls of inexpensive polyethylene greenhouse covering, treated with a reflective coating, could be used to cover rooftops and windows with a significant cooling effect.

Here's a great animated gif from the Japan Meteorological Agency of Typhoon Khanun that is impacting its southern islands now.

https://www.jma.go.jp/bosai/map.html#5/29.936/131.66/&elem=ir&contents=himawari&lang=en

There is a special white paint made for roofs, and aluminized shade cloth, both designed to reflect heat.

Quote from: Ron Martinolich on August 01, 2023, 01:36:57 PMThere is a special white paint made for roofs, and aluminized shade cloth, both designed to reflect heat.

Paint would work very well in warm winter areas. In cold winter areas, one would want the reflective coating to be easily removable and restorable.

Here's a link from Zoom Earth with an animation of satellite images for tropical cyclone (storm) Khanun.  This storm will make landfall in South Korea tomorrow evening.  The path of the storm is also marked on the images.  It's an impressive piece of work.

https://zoom.earth/storms/khanun-2023/

Somewhere it is raining... been a lot of coverage of international scout jamboree in South Korea. UK pulled out because it was too hot and other reasons. Looks like it was not a bad move.

MarcR 2023-08-02:  Paint would work very well in warm winter areas. In cold winter areas, one would want the reflective coating to be easily removable and restorable

I was thinking of my Los Angeles location, where any day of the year can reach 92 F (33 C).  Thank you for posting the more general case, which is a much better answer.  (The dangers of autopilot....)

There's an amazing story this morning about an horrific wildfire in Hawaii, on the island of Maui, the "valley isle."  It's a beautiful place and the last place I would have expected to have experienced an horrific wildfire.  The tropical location and lush vegetation prevent one from imagining this kind of event. The Daily Mail always has extensive photo and video coverage of this kind of news. 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12391903/Maui-wildfire-hawaii-torched-tourists-shelter-flames.html

Here's a "handyman's special" home for sale in beautiful Sarasota, Florida.  The photos of the inside of the house show what happens to a structure in a semi-tropical climate.  The pink house with the painted flamingos on the garage is a far better bet.

https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/904-Cypress-Wood-Ln_Sarasota_FL_34243_M68517-24726?from=srp-list-card

Quote from: Bern on August 14, 2023, 05:57:07 AMHere's a "handyman's special" home for sale in beautiful Sarasota, Florida.

A "project" as they say in the UK - I wonder if they'd let me in. I've been reading about Mick Fleetwood today, I should have travelled to the edge of the world and opened a restaurant [1].

" approved plans to change 3 bedrooms 2 bathrooms house into 5 bedrooms 3 baths." like loaves and fishes. Built in 1987 with a cardboard roof.

In the papers this week "Housing costs making UK households much poorer than US peers, study finds. The average US household is almost a third richer than its UK..."

I liked the comment that said "it is not as easy to be a rich country when you are not ruling other people and stealing their wealth".

Anyone feeling sorry, donations of bitcoin, gold etc to HM Treasury...

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[1] he had a restaurant in Hawaii.

Here in Oregon's Mid Willamette Valley, we are expecting 103 F (39.4 C) today.  In the 20 years I have lived here, I have never seen anything above the low 90s (32-34 C).  Since most deer resistant plants can take the heat; and all of my beds that are not deer resistant are deer fenced, I need only  drape shade cloth over the fencing.  It will be very nice if this translates to slightly warmer winters. I would be very happy with a change from zone 8b to 9a or even 9b. I certainly do not wish harm to anyone south of me.