The World's on Fire...

[G~Man]

Can't see that one, G-MAN.

You need to do whatever you did with the other one.

Sadly the same for me...

Try the pop-out button top right maybe then try play. Or message me your G-mail address if you have one and I can share direct in Google Docs

[Undried Plum]

For those of us who cannot see the screen, 'top right button' doesn't mean anything.

We just wanna see the heli porn.

[G~Man]

Found it on youtube.... Try this:

[Undried Plum]

Gorgeous.

Levers and pedals.

All the rest is the rest.

Jus look outta that window. It's all there for you to see.

[TheGreenAnger]

Yesterday was quite a revelation to me given that the highest local temperature, of 39 degrees Celsius, was one, the like of which I had hitherto only experienced in Southern African climes in harsh places like Upington, Riemvasmaak and Vioolsdrift (the last place in that list holding the SA record for extreme heat at 47 degrees Celsius (a reading of 50 degrees in 2019 having been put down to instrument error).

There were a number of fires in the local area yesterday, but the nearest severe one, which destroyed five houses was prompted by a grass fire sparked by the self-combustion of a compost heap in the high temperature. It was interesting listening to the senior Fire Brigade officer who tackled this blaze talking on Radio 4 this morning.

On that earlier list, places like Vioolsdrift (literally violin crossing) have very little to burn being arid in the extreme. The only green you will see there will be directly alongside the Orange River.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vioolsdrif

It seems it might have been more temperate near Maun yesterday!

[Undried Plum]

the SA record for extreme heat at 47 degrees Celsius (a reading of 50 degrees in 2019 having been put down to instrument error).

In Oman it's a well known fact that the official Met Office thermometer gets stuck at 49.4°C.

Reason being: At 50° all outdoor workers (they're mostly Pakis and Afghans) are required by Law to be sent home for the day on full pay. The reason why the max level gets stuck at 49.4° is because 49.5° would be rounded up to the next integer which would make it 50°.

I'm told that the international airlines ignore a stated temp of 49° and instead use their own readings on the apron to calc the perf data.

[PHXPhlyer]

I've flown out of 6,600' field elevation airport with 100o + F temps.
DA ~11,000'
Fortunately, most of the planes I flew were turbocharged, so engine power was not the problem.
Wing lift and prop thrust were the degraded factors.
Flying non turboed aircraft was a bit more exciting at those DAs. Those were flown with lighter loads especially as the flights were .5 to 1.5 hours long and we could go with less than a full load of fuel and no baggage.

PP

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

The problems I found with hot (100) and high (6,742 ft) in a Jet Provost were
1) The JPs t/o and landing data only goes up to 2,000'. Lots of double difference calcs required.
2) there were no distance to go boards, so I had to walk out, pace, and build a couple of little cairns of stones at my decision points
3) the angle of climb became very important, due to a high object off the departure end, and had to be estimated manually.

p.s. I have it on good authority that the previous Sultan of Oman had been known to settle labour disputes by sending round a couple of police with sub-machine guns. Work recommenced immediately!

[Woody]

Maybe G-man should add this to his fleet of fire fighting aircraft.

https://ukaviation.news/video-airbus-te ... hting-kit/

[TheGreenAnger]

Maybe G-man should add this to his fleet of fire fighting aircraft.

https://ukaviation.news/video-airbus-te ... hting-kit/

I watched a A400M being thrown around, including a loop, at the 2014 Farnborough Airshow. Despite its initial issues it seems to have morphed into a very capable aircraft, also well suited to fire fighting.

It is a versatile aicraft.

[G-CPTN]

For a 'beach' to be suitable for an aircraft landing surely requires several specific conditions?

The area has to be washed by gentle shallow tidal water - the sand must be moist and firm and not dried-out and powdery and there must be no rocks or pools.

What characterises 'salt flats' which seem to lack regular tidal washing?

[TheGreenAnger]

Freezing point in the Swiss Alps has reached a new high, breaking a 27-year-old record, meteorologists have said. It follows record heatwaves across Europe exacerbated by human-induced climate change.

A weather balloon rose to 5,184 metres (17,008 feet) above the mountain range before it hit 0C, experts said.

The balloon had to travel nearly 70 metres (230 feet) higher than the previous Swiss record of 5,117 metres (16,788 feet), which was measured on 20 July 1995, and 375 metres (1,230 feet ) above the summit of Europe’s highest peak, Mont Blanc in the French Alps.

It is extremely rare for the freezing point to be measured above 5,000 metres (16,400 feet) in Europe. The only other time freezing point has surpassed this height in the Swiss Alps was in 1995.

Meteorologists measure the zero-degree limit above Switzerland using weather balloons launched twice a day from Payerne in the west of the country, according to the RTS public broadcaster.

As the colder temperatures are found higher and higher, wild species that live in colder climates are being pushed further up mountains to survive. But when they reach the summits, they have nowhere to go.

However, this is putting further strain on the ecosystems as more animals and more species are living in an ever-shrinking environment.

This month, Swiss glaciologist Matthias Huss said that rising temperatures were causing freshwater glaciers to melt faster than ever.

“Glaciers in the Alps are so completely off from what we’ve seen before. I’m really alarmed by the situation,” he tweeted on 17 July.

“The measurements collected at Griesgletscher today show that even with respect to the previous record in 2003 we’re one month ahead with melting. And no relief in sight.”

Glaciers in the Alpine region are already expected to lose 80 per cent or more of their current mass by the end of the century, Reuters reported. But the glaciers could disappear even faster with more heatwaves like the ones experienced in recent weeks.

“We are seeing model results expected a few decades in the future are happening now,” said Mr Huss. “I did not expect to see sch an extreme year so early in the century.”

Meanwhile, the border between Switzerland and Italy has shifted due to a melting glacier, putting the location of an Italian mountain lodge in dispute.

The Theodul Glacier’s retreat means that the bordeline has crept towards Rifugio Guide del Cervino, a refuge for visitors near the 3,480 metres (11,417ft) Testa Grigia peak, and is gradually sweeping underneath the building.

French meterologists also measured 0C above 5,000 metres on Sunday over Bordeux in the west. Warm winds then moved east towards the Alps, according to MeteoSwiss.

https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-c ... 32522.html

[TheGreenAnger]

From Scientific American -

In June a massive “heat dome” smothered the famously temperate Pacific Northwest, subjecting parts of Washington State, Oregon and western Canada to blistering and unprecedented temperatures. Lytton, British Columbia, set an all-time Canadian record with a searing 121.3 degrees Fahrenheit (49.6 degrees Celsius). A day later most of that village was destroyed by a huge wildfire. During another western heat wave in early July, California’s Death Valley reached a scorching 130 degrees F (54 degrees C)—just shy of its record of 134 degrees F (57 degrees C), which was reported in 1913 (and is somewhat disputed now). A third heat wave blanketed the U.S. and Canadian West in recent days.

It is virtually impossible that heat waves like the Pacific Northwest’s June scorcher would have occurred without climate change, according to a recent analysis by the World Weather Attribution collaboration. Scientists estimate it was a one-in-1,000-year event, says Kristie L. Ebi, a professor of environmental and occupational health at the University of Washington and a co-author of the report. “And that’s an ‘at least,’” she notes. “It could be more rare than that, because it was so far outside where the climate model said temperatures would get to in this region.” If warming reaches two degrees C above preindustrial levels—the threshold that most national governments have agreed to try to avoid in hopes of reducing climate change impacts—“that event could occur every five to 10 years,” Ebi says.

These heat waves pose a major risk to public health. “In an average year in the U.S., heat kills more people than any other type of extreme weather,” says Kristina Dahl, a senior climate scientist at the Union of Concerned Scientists. Hundreds of people died in the recent Pacific Northwest heat wave, according to estimates: there were at least 486 deaths in British Columbia, 116 in Oregon and 78 in Washington (by comparison, hurricanes have killed an average total of 46 people a year in the U.S. over the past 30 years). A recent U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report found there were more than 3,500 emergency department visits for heat-related illness this past May and June in a region that includes Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington State. Nearly 80 percent of these visits occurred between June 25 and 30, when Oregon and Washington were experiencing the worst of the wave.

The human body functions best at 98.6 degrees F (37 degrees C). When it overheats and becomes dehydrated, the blood thickens. The heart has to pump harder, and it and other organs can be seriously damaged. The body has mechanisms to rid itself of excess heat—most notably sweating. But at a certain point, that fails to work, especially if humidity is high and perspiration cannot evaporate. “Once your thermal stress or heat gain becomes too much, even sweating is not going to keep up with getting rid of the additional heat,” says JohnEric Smith, an associate professor of exercise physiology at Mississippi State University. This situation can result in heat exhaustion (a dangerous condition characterized by symptoms that include nausea, muscle cramps and dizziness) and the deadlier heat stroke, which can cause delirium, hot and dry skin, and loss of consciousness.

People can eventually acclimatize to some level of heat. If you live in a hot climate or work in hot conditions for a period of weeks or months, your body becomes more efficient at sweating and cooling itself down, Smith says. This process takes time, however. When severe heat hits places where most people are unaccustomed to it, such as the Pacific Northwest, it can be especially deadly. Elderly people, children and those with already existing conditions such as heart, respiratory or kidney disease are particularly vulnerable, according to Smith. Furthermore, common medications (beta-blockers, for example) can affect the body’s ability to sweat.

Farm laborers, construction workers and others who toil outdoors can be exposed to potentially fatal heat for many hours a day. A farm worker in Oregon died while working in the extreme heat on June 26. Dehydration is among the dangers—there have been cases of farm workers developing severe kidney disease after hours of sweating in the sun. Many outdoor workers are paid by the hour and may feel that they cannot afford to take a day off because of the weather. Only two states—California and Washington—have permanent heat protection standards for outdoor workers, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists’ Dahl (Oregon has adopted emergency ones). At the federal level, versions of a bill recently introduced in the U.S. House and Senate would direct the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to issue national standards protecting workers from heat-related illness.

Athletes are also at increased risk because their body produces excess heat from muscle activity. In 2001 National Football League (NFL) player Korey Stringer died from heat stroke during training in Minnesota. The institute that bears his name now studies ways to prevent heat-related illness and death among athletes, members of the military and physical laborers.

There are well-known ways to mitigate the risks of extreme heat. Staying in cool buildings with air-conditioning is a great option for those who have it. For those who do not, either because they cannot afford it or because they live in places known for gentle summers (such as Seattle), some cities have established cooling centers. But people need to be able to access these resources. That is not always easy if they have to take public transit, which heat waves can also disrupt. If you lack access to air conditioning or a cooling center or have to work outside, at least try to seek shade. Direct sun warms the skin and makes you even hotter, so wear long sleeves and loose-fitting clothing to cover up. If you have to exert yourself, take frequent breaks and drink plenty of water.

Communities should have heat action plans, says the University of Washington’s Ebi. She adds that these plans should include an early-warning-and-response system. In addition to forecasting extreme heat events, such systems should detail appropriate ways to deal with them—including how to help the most vulnerable people, who are often disproportionately affected. State and federal agencies could help support communities, but heat response systems should be locally based, Ebi says.

As the planet warms, heat waves like those that have occurred in the U.S. and Canadian West this year are becoming frighteningly common—and catching climate scientists off guard. “Even a lot of our climate models that project out how frequent extreme heat will be in the future wouldn’t have necessarily predicted this level of heat for that part of the country,” Dahl says. “But then to realize that I am seeing it in my lifetime, and living it right now, is really terrifying.”

[Woody]

Farm laborers, construction workers and others who toil outdoors can be exposed to potentially fatal heat for many hours a day. A farm worker in Oregon died while working in the extreme heat on June 26. Dehydration is among the dangers—there have been cases of farm workers developing severe kidney disease after hours of sweating in the sun. Many outdoor workers are paid by the hour and may feel that they cannot afford to take a day off because of the weather. Only two states—California and Washington—have permanent heat protection standards for outdoor workers, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists’ Dahl (Oregon has adopted emergency ones). At the federal level, versions of a bill recently introduced in the U.S. House and Senate would direct the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to issue national standards protecting workers from heat-related illness.

Naturally there’s no maximum temperature set for workers in the UK and there are only so many bottles of water that you can drink whilst on the ramp at Perry Oaks International, was definitely suffering heat distress yesterday by the end of my shift

[G~Man]

Maybe G-man should add this to his fleet of fire fighting aircraft.

https://ukaviation.news/video-airbus-te ... hting-kit/

Already have them, or a similar system called MAFFs Mobile Aerial Fire Fighting System. Been in operation here with the NG and USFS fir over 15 years.

[llondel]

It seems that California, despite wildfires and drought, is at major risk of a megaflood. It apparently happened back in the mid-19th century, and flooded an area 300x60 miles. If it happened again, it would do bad things to LA and quite a few Central Valley cities. One of these atmospheric rivers with the right conditions could dump several feet of water over the course of a month, which would swamp the drainage systems. Sometimes I'm glad I'm at 250ft ASL, provided the rain isn't sufficient to bring what's above us on the hill down on top of us.

[G~Man]

It seems that California, despite wildfires and drought, is at major risk of a megaflood. It apparently happened back in the mid-19th century, and flooded an area 300x60 miles. If it happened again, it would do bad things to LA and quite a few Central Valley cities. One of these atmospheric rivers with the right conditions could dump several feet of water over the course of a month, which would swamp the drainage systems. Sometimes I'm glad I'm at 250ft ASL, provided the rain isn't sufficient to bring what's above us on the hill down on top of us.

I read the same article...I am at around 900' MSl out on the West side of Redding, Oh and I have 2 sailboats up here in Whiskeytown lake and one in Long Beach...I also hear Zombies cannot swim lol so double bonus

[llondel]

It seems that California, despite wildfires and drought, is at major risk of a megaflood. It apparently happened back in the mid-19th century, and flooded an area 300x60 miles. If it happened again, it would do bad things to LA and quite a few Central Valley cities. One of these atmospheric rivers with the right conditions could dump several feet of water over the course of a month, which would swamp the drainage systems. Sometimes I'm glad I'm at 250ft ASL, provided the rain isn't sufficient to bring what's above us on the hill down on top of us.

I read the same article...I am at around 900' MSl out on the West side of Redding, Oh and I have 2 sailboats up here in Whiskeytown lake and one in Long Beach...I also hear Zombies cannot swim lol so double bonus

Are you flying any of the current wildfires? Fortunately none currently around here or I'd wave at all the helicopters going by in case you were in one.

[G~Man]

Are you flying any of the current wildfires? Fortunately none currently around here or I'd wave at all the helicopters going by in case you were in one.

Not me personally, but my Bell 205 is on the McKinney fire and my Bell 212 is on the Klamath Lightning complex. I am stuck mostly flying my desk right now as all the new USFS contracts are coming out and need to be bid. Instead of submitting al our manuals and safety programs etc to one central place and being scored, we have to submit them for each and every contract......to be reviewed by each and every contracting officer. And they all ask their questions slightly different....

Also I am an instructor with PG&E so spend a bunch of time at the Academy in Livermore.....

[G~Man]

Today marks the 10th anniversary of the Yarnell Hill fire and the loss of 19 of the Granite Mountain Hotshots.... I remember the day well, I was sitting in the crew room with the rest of my crew, "Swan Valley Helitack" in Idaho glued to the radio in disbelief. I will do a shot tonight in their honor...

.

It was the conduit for the film "Only The Brave"....