by Jersey City is melting!
We have been/are/were part of the 200,000 Jerseyites who do not have electrical power.
It’s only early June and we’ve already touched the high-heat of 99F degree days and we’ve lost power several times over the last few days.
We’ve gone beyond The Dog Days and we’re well into The Hell on Earth Summer.
Thunderstorms last night sounded like bombs in the streets. I don’t think we had many city fires.
Electrical power flashed off and on and off and on again creating terrible power surges for anything electrical in nature — and that includes human personalities!
You never realize just how much you love electricity until you’re sitting and sweltering in the dark without your faithful fan in your face or the comfort of your computer by your wilding eye.
I wonder if there is there such a thing as a giant, battery-powered, fan for home use?
Beware that I am online and offline on an unpredictable schedule — so posting new articles and comments may not be as reliable as I like, or hope to perform, but sometimes the will of the Power Gods overwhelms any mortal effort to shout down the clouds in the sky.
David! Yikes!
I feel for you and I know what you are taliking about!!!
I faced a trmendous power cut in Delhi recently, almost 6 hrs. a day, one day the generator in the hotel conked off and the temperature was 115 F…
How does one deal with 115F heat, Katha? Do you run away? If so, where do you go?
My DSL line keeps cutting out. Not sure if it’s the heat or the power trouble. Frustrating!
David!
115 F means 46 C; till 50/52 C is normal for Northern India in Summer. Delhi is notorious for its temperature.
Calcutta has a milder climate in comparison.
The entire region – (Delhi, Punjab, Rajasthan) falls into this extreme climate – tremedously hot in summer and equally chilled in Winter.
You reach office/school by 8:30 am in the morning and do not come out before sun down.
You do not roam around in the day time.
You change your food habit.
You increase your intake of liquid.
In case there is a heavy power cut and you are at home and your AC is not functioning…
Then – “God bless you”!
What a life, Katha! So no one out is out during the heat of the day? Everyone stays inside all the time during the summer?
Sounds like we need more greenovation, stat! More homes run like Ed Bagley, Jr – the more we can get our homes to rely on sources of power that are not grid defendant, the better we will be in the long run.
Hi David,
The worst part of the day is – 12:00 noon – 5:00 pm; it cools down after that.
You are right, outdoor life gets pretty restrained in summer…that’s how you save yourself – similar to that of 40 below zero – you don’t expose yourself to that temperature much.
Some cities change their working schedule accordingly – every thing (schools, colleges, courts, govt. offices etc. ) starts early and closes early.
I remember going to “morning school” in summer – it used to start from 6:15 am!
I agree we need to remove a lot of our sucking from the grid, Gordon, but getting there in the urban core is still extremely difficult and wildly expensive.
That is a wild condition, Katha! We think we have conquered Mother Nature, but she still dictates our every behavior and influences all our fears. I can’t imagine roasting in that kind of heat every day!
I understand David!
Forget about you,even a Delhi-ite has a hard time handling Delhi Summer.
Travelling to Delhi in Summer from other states is the worst thing that can happen to you.
My situation now is even worse.
I was never a summer girl, I can handle monsoon, I can handle winter, I can even handle a 40 below zero without a flinch…
But handling 40+ after 4 years is taking a toll on my health.
Katha —
You make a fascinating case about heat affecting health more than cold. I suppose because heat cooks to kill while cold is, traditionally, a way to save things and to extend life?
Four people died in NYC yesterday. 2 men. 2 women. All from Queens or Brooklyn. All over 70 years.
We don’t get those heart-wrenching stories during the winter months. Sure, people die, but not that fast, and not all in a single day. Heatwaves are killers!
Now that is quite an image, David. It sure is hot, here too. Is all the electrical back for people?
You are right David!
Heatwaves cause heat strokes and falling sick even losing lives are pretty common in India.
I landed smack-dab in the coldest region in the USA, didn’t really take much time to acclimatize with the climate.
Coming back was a trouble.
It jeopardized my entire system, I lost my appetite, felt tired always, had constant headache, lost weight…
Heat is not fun – snow is!!!
Anne —
Yesterday 200,000 people in Jersey City had no electricity. This morning it was down to 53,000. We’re lucky. We didn’t lose power for all that long.
Katha! You definitely chose the coldest part of the USA for your higher study! MN will be super freezing as well! The cold never bothered me growing up, but now I prefer the heat. I can seem to take extreme heat better than bitter cold.
Is there air conditioning everywhere in India? Or are swamp fans and other lesser forms of cooling more common?
I think it depends on one’s system, David!
I have seen people taking transfer to warmer region after facing one winter in Wisconsin – but it really didn’t bother me much…in fact I enjoyed it a lot!
If you speak about hotels, restaurants, shopping malls etc. – yes, they are airconditioned.
Residences are mostly airconditioned in cities like Delhi and all…
Calcutta has a milder climate – people wrap in 12 C and it is considered to be “winter”…
So people don’t really need airconditioning in 30 C in Calcutta – they enjoy it!!!
Jokes apart, you have airconditioning facility in the cities – mostly.
I appreciate that clarification, Katha. The Eastern Corridor is pretty good when it comes to keeping things cool. All transportation vehicles and hubs are air conditioned and there are many businesses you can leap into to cool down. If you’re poor or elderly, you can at least get a free fan if you can’t afford an air conditioner — or if your apartment doesn’t allow their installation.
David! that heatwave coupled with power outages!
we don’t experience such extremes here in the coastal areas. like Katha said, it’s only in the interior parts of India that witness wild swings from hot to cold.
the last week has been quite pleasant here!
That’s good to know the Indian coast is cooler, Dananjay. I’m glad you’re there and not stuck in the center of the heat!