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Comment by rufus_foreman | Hacker News Reader

>> People that are not used to heat should think multiple times and try to live for a summer at a hot place before ever deciding to move there

Many of the people moving to Arizona come from the midwest where they know all about living for a summer at a hot place.

Highest dew point ever recorded in the US comes from Minnesota in the summer. The people moving from the midwest to Arizona are choosing somewhere more arid.

What they are giving up is shoveling snow, which is a heart attack waiting to happen for anyone over 50.

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100 days of over 100F heat is going to kill you much sooner than shoveling snow, that you could be paying someone else in a machine to do for you.

If the 100F heat comes with very low humidity (which is what I'd expect in AZ), it'd feel nicer than the weather we get in Kansas (except maybe for this year; this year was cooler).

It does not. 40C / 104F temperatures do not feel comfortable no matter what the relative humidity is. Those are the low summer temperatures in the desert lowlands.

The fact that the heat doesn't go away even at night is another issue. If the power ever fails for vulnerable populations, they're immediately in danger. There's no reprieve of night or insulation you can use to fully mitigate those conditions.

104? that's a cool day here in Phoenix. I have no problem with the heat until it hits 118-120. Then its bad. We recreate outside all summer too.

I've seen almost no one outside during the day all summer lol. Phoenix this summer has the deadest daytime sidewalks of any place I've ever lived.

the heat doesn't require you to go outside and do work, the mornings are also dramatically cooler. if they were to head out for a walk at 1700 it would be dangerous, but unlike shoveling snow it is optional

https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/04/climate/heat-waves-air-condit...

> The combination of a heat wave and power outages “is the most deadly climate-related event we can imagine,” said Stone.

> He and a team of scientists explored the potential impacts of a heat wave coinciding with a multi-day outage caused by extreme weather or a cyberattack. Focusing on Atlanta, Detroit and Phoenix, they looked at exposure inside people’s homes, a major driver of heat-related illness during a power outage.

> The figures were particularly stark for Phoenix. During a three to four-day heat event and outage, half the city’s population — nearly 800,000 people — would require hospital treatment for heat-related illnesses, according to the findings. More than 13,000 would die.

> A power outage in Phoenix causes a “very dramatic shift in heat illness,” Stone said, because the city’s climate is so extreme and people struggle to adapt. In an unfortunate irony, widespread air conditioning may actually make residents less resilient because they are so acclimatized to cooling in their homes and workplaces, Stone said.

Given how cheap solar is these days, enough solar as backup to run an air conditioner (and a backup air conditioner) everyone there should just have to be being prepared in that part of the world. Much like you have tornado shelters or earthquake kits, or hurricane storm windows and such.

>> 100 days of over 100F heat is going to kill you

I don't know whether you know this or not, but you don't actually have to be out in the 100F heat all day if you live in Arizona.

Somebody has to shovel the snow, though, if you live in the places people move to Arizona from. Otherwise your car can't get out of the garage. Sometimes you can't even get out of the front door.

No robots do that snow shoveling thing yet, when they do, sign me up.

That's still not going to stop the drain of people from Michigan or say upstate New York to Arizona.

The economy doesn't stop because it's hot out. People still exist outside all summer in Arizona doing construction, delivering packages, working in warehouses without climate control, living in open air prisons, etc.

> No robots do that snow shoveling thing yet, when they do, sign me up.

No robots, but you don’t really need to exert yourself to get rid of snow. Self-propelled snow throwers with heated grips and a cab are a thing. For example: https://snowfallblowers.com/2020/09/09/ariens-11528-snow-thr...

I have a setup similar to this, using it about as much effort as walking a small dog.

> That's still not going to stop the drain of people from Michigan or say upstate New York to Arizona.

Good, more fresh water, natural splendor, cheap housing, mild winters[0], and beautiful fall colors for us.

[0] To be honest I’ve only even used that snow thrower maybe thrice in the past 2 years in southeast Michigan, winters are getting warmer and warmer every year it seems. The river barely even freezes any more, we had enough snow to cover the grass for maybe 2 total weeks last year.

Daily, medium effort menial labour has been shown to be a boon to longevity. Don't be afraid of exerting effort as you age, embrace it as a tool for extended health.

Not advice everyone can take, but if you are just getting old and otherwise healthy, then use it or lose it is pretty sound advice.

>> Highest dew point ever recorded in the US comes from Minnesota in the summer.

Source? A quick google search indicates different info.

> a heart attack waiting to happen for anyone over 50

Not if you are healthy.

And if you don't push yourself.

> What they are giving up is shoveling snow, which is a heart attack waiting to happen for anyone over 50.

Spoken like someone who's never lived in a prime snowbelt region.

They don't shovel snow, they use snowblowers.

I injured myself as a teenager one winter in New Hampshire because I had the audacity to walk out the front door after an ice storm, slid about 5 feet, flew off the porch and then slammed on my back. It would probably kill an older person, no snow shoveling required.

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