Temperatures above 50C used to be a rarity confined to two or three global hotspots, but the World Meteorological Organization noted that at least 10 countries have reported this level of searing heat in the past year: the US, Mexico, Morocco, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iran, Pakistan, India and China.
In Iran, the heat index – a measure that also includes humidity – has come perilously close to 60C, far above the level considered safe for humans.
Heatwaves are now commonplace elsewhere, killing the most vulnerable, worsening inequality and threatening the wellbeing of future generations. Unicef calculates a quarter of the world’s children are already exposed to frequent heatwaves, and this will rise to almost 100% by mid-century.
Lots of cars > lots of traffic > stopped cars > radiators don’t cool > cars break down > roads blocked
Most people buy the cheapest car batteries they can get. As a Floridian I can tell you, the heat destroys these things faster than most people realize. Everyone is already strapped for cash so they’re going to be driving around with batteries that barely start their car for months before it finally leaves them stranded.
Car radiators have fans. They can idle indefinitely. You’re more likely to eventually run out of gas.
Edit: oh you mean because of the heat. I don’t think that’s going to be an issue, ambient temp is still going to be far below the roughly 200°F of an engine.
This assumes a car with a working cooling system. How many people have old cars with bad head gaskets or a radiator leak and “just fill it with water” and not fix the problem, only to find that pure water isn’t enough, as modern cars will walk up and down from 185-235F, which will blow steam before the fans kick on. They never noticed because they only drove a few miles a day, not long or hard enough to find out there is a real problem and not a nuisance.
Do you not live in the USA? Do you not realize how many people are driving around old beaters that can absolutely get overheated in such an environment?
In my hometown more than half the driveways are filled with multiple beater-ass cars, most of which don’t work and are just sort of rotting. They just keep adding new ones by buying more shitty vehicles that die quickly and doing the same cycle over again.
I do live in the USA. I’m pretty sure that no parts of the US are predicted to remotely approach 200°F air temperature.
I actually drive a beater myself. But if the coolant pump or radiator fan aren’t working, you’re not going to be driving it very far, regardless of air temperature.
if anyone else was wondering, 200 °F are 93.33333 °C