I'm sure I'm not alone in feeling "burned out" as of late. Although today is a beautiful less humid day, for the past 2 weeks, we experienced day after day of heat indices over 100! Thank goodness for the evening thunderstorms, yet it was a double-edged sword. All that atmospheric "juice" that makes clouds rain also makes our lives miserable.
There's a reason Southerners were historically depicted as slow and dimwitted. Humans, and many animals for that matter, quite literally literally "slow" down when temperatures exceed 85F. Our cognition declines, as well as our physical capacity. It literally feels like a weight on our chest. Many animals adapt by sleeping during the day and only exerting themselves in the early morning or evening. Heat literally makes us sleepy!
Not only does heat slow us down, but it also makes our fuses short. Research points to increases in violent crimes in the summer months. https://www.newsnationnow.com/newsnation-now/heat-of-the-moment-why-does-violent-crime-spike-in-the-summer/
I suspect the heat is also a contributing factor in road rage. Is it just me, or do people seem to have less patience? I've long suspected that the southern suburban lifestyle of spending so many hours in our cars has contributed to a rise in anger and impatience. Though I don't know for sure, I'd guess automobile accidents increase during prolonged heat waves.
So what are we to do? We, individuals, have no power to change the climate, but we must accept our collective human role in climate change or global warming. We are making Earth profoundly less hospitable for ourselves and many other lifeforms. If we continue down this path, there only be more catastrophic heat waves, fires, and extreme floods. This knowledge should shock us into action. We should be advocating changes, rejecting the status quo, and challenging people in power to take this matter seriously.
On a personal note, we can accept our limitations and know that it is natural for us to feel irritable and drowsy during periods of intense heat. We should take comfort in knowing that feeling like hibernating in the summer months is okay. Much of the animal kingdom has already figured this out.
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