#pnw heatwave

[leafnincosplay]

It was about 95° last year when I took this, about as hot as yesterday was. But being so hot, I got some good shots of the hidden layers underneath Lang's robe! All the stenciling and custom cut chiffon!

📸 Self photography

[mysteriouseggsbenedict]

that said, here are some extreme heat safety and survival tips:

keeping your home cool

close all windows, blinds, and curtains, and make it as dark as possible in the house. turn on lights only when you need to use them. 

you can tape dark paper or (even better) one of those sun shields designed for cars to any window that doesn’t have blinds or a curtain. get creative and DIY methods to block as much sunlight from entering the house as possible.

before you go to bed, or around 10 to 11pm, open the house. aim to let the cooler night hair enter the house and help with the stuffy feeling. close the house up again from 8 to 9am or whenever you can sense it getting hot again outside.

if your house has two stories, remain on the ground floor as much as possible. if your house has a basement, go there. 

set up a sleeping area in the coolest part of your house if your bedroom is too hot.

avoid running your oven at all costs and opt to eat things that don’t require heat to prepare. microwave and stovetop are better than oven if no heat at all isn’t an option.

this website has multiple options for creating DIY air conditioners. the easiest is to place a bowl of ice in front of a fan, so that the fan will blow the cool air created by the ice.

keeping your body cool

it is important to keep your head and neck cool. the rest of your body will feel cool more effectively if you prioritize the head and neck. you can do this by

dunking your head in cold water

placing a cold washcloth on the back of your neck

placing an icepack inside your pillowcase to sleep. 

as much as possible, wear loose fitting clothes made of breathable fabric in light colors. tight shorts and tank tops may actually be worse for you than garments that cover more of your body but are looser and lighter. linen is a good material if you have access to it.

take cold showers or spray yourself with a hose. water is an effective way to cool your overall temperature quickly

drink lots of water (obviously) and drink gatorade, liquid IV, or other sports/health drinks that help hydrate you even more than plain water.

if you need to be outside, wear a hat with a wide brim and lots of sunscreen. bring more water than you think you will need.

plan outdoor activities (walking dogs, anything that can’t be postponed) for early morning

avoid physical activity and try to move slowly. avoid working up a sweat and raising your heart rate.

accessing community resources

many cities and communities will provide cooling centers during heatwaves. look for churches, community centers, mutual aid networks, libraries, or local law enforcement who are offering cooling centers

i usually find out about the existence of these through social media. follow organizations in your area to be kept up to date.

some cities will provide exemptions to bus fares if you tell the driver you are going to a cooling center. this varies by location, obviously, but where i live this rule is in place if it is above 95 degrees. 

if you have money to spare, activities like going to a movie or even spending the afternoon at a coffee shop can save you from the worst of the day’s heat.

there will often be need for donations of food and water and volunteers to assist with cooling centers. if you are able, this is a great time to serve your community. 

long-term extreme heat mitigation 

plant trees, grass, and other greenery in your residential areas and communities. the more pavement there is in an area, the hotter it will be. trees also provide shade which is very helpful. much of this is not controlled by individual people, but as much as you’re able, it helps a lot to grow more plants around where you live.

keep an emergency kit in your home and car which includes plenty of water and sunscreen

vote for and promote candidates and policies who prioritize combatting climate change

it is possible to buy ductless or window air conditioning units that will cool a single room for less money than installing AC in your entire house

[thevikingwoman]

It’s 9 am and I’m already too hot

[pillowspace]

jk this is terrible. i should be living in an igloo with my maple syrup snow right now (42°C = 107°F)

[fantastiqueparfait]

A Note on the Chapter 12 Posting Date

Still targeting an upload by 7/1, but my area is under a massive heat warning for the next 3 days (like “we could hit 110-120 degrees”-massive). We should be out of danger at Casa Parfait, but we will likely be hosting a few friends and their kids to keep them safe (40% of homes in our metro area don’t have air conditioning), which means less dedicated focus time.

If I can’t get the rest of the draft finished by end of weekend, I’ll need to push the target posting date to mid-July due to some pre-scheduled life stuff. Apologies in advance, but the safety of friends and family comes first.

[sublimespices]

For anyone experiencing the heatwave, if you don't have any money but you do have an EBT card, remember that you can buy bags of ice with the card as well as slushies from your local convenience store (so long as you don't put the straw in it before purchase otherwise it's considered ready to eat food) to cool down.

[seivinn8]

Heatwave; PNW area - 2021

[vamplanaut]

the heat started in June. it's now September, and there's no end in sight. i can only imagine how hard this winter will be. the pnw is dying and nobody is talking about it