Latest news with #Humidity
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Can air conditioning really make you sick? A microbiologist explains
Air conditioning can feel heaven-sent on hot summer days. It keeps temperatures comfortable and controls humidity, making indoor environments tolerable even on the most brutally warm days. But some people avoid using air conditioning (AC) no matter how hot it gets outside, out of fear that it will make them sick. While this may sound far-fetched to some, as a microbiologist I can say this fear isn't altogether unfounded. If an air conditioning system malfunctions or isn't properly maintained, it can become contaminated with infectious microbes. This can turn your AC unit into a potential source of numerous airborne infections – ranging from the common cold to pneumonia. Sick buildings 'Sick building syndrome' is the general name for symptoms that can develop after spending extended periods of time in air-conditioned environments. Symptoms can include headaches, dizziness, congested or runny nose, persistent cough or wheeze, skin irritation or rashes, trouble focusing on work and tiredness. The condition tends to occur in people who work in office settings, but can happen to anyone who spends extended periods of time in air-conditioned buildings such as hospitals. The symptoms of sick building syndrome tend to get worse the longer you're in a particular building, and are alleviated after you leave. A 2023 study from India compared 200 healthy adults who worked at least six-to-eight hours per day in an air-conditioned office with 200 healthy adults who didn't work in AC. The AC group experienced more symptoms consistent with sick building syndrome over the two-year study period – particularly a higher prevalence of allergies. Importantly, clinical tests showed those who were exposed to AC had poorer lung function and were absent from work more often, compared with the non-AC group. Other studies have confirmed that AC office workers have a higher prevalence of sick building syndrome than those who do not work in an air-conditioned environment. It's suspected that one cause of sick building syndrome is malfunctioning air conditioners. When an AC unit isn't working properly, it can release allergens, chemicals and airborne microorganisms into the air that it would normally have trapped. Malfunctioning air conditioners can also release chemical vapours from AC cleaning products or refrigerants into the building's air. Chemicals such as benzene, formaldehyde and toluene are toxic and can irritate the respiratory system. Poorly maintained air conditioning systems can also harbour bacterial pathogens which can cause serious infections. Legionella pneumophila is the bacteria that causes Legionnaires' disease – a lung infection contracted from inhaling droplets of water containing these bacteria. They tend to grow in water-rich environments such as hot tubs or air conditioning systems. A Legionella infection is most often caught in communal places such as hotels, hospitals or offices, where the bacteria have contaminated the water supply. Symptoms of Legionnaires' disease are similar to pneumonia, causing coughing, shortness of breath, chest discomfort, fever and general flu-like symptoms. Symptoms usually begin to show between two and 14 days after being exposed to Legionella. Legionella infections can be life-threatening and often require hospitalisation. Recovery can take several weeks. Fungal and viral infections The accumulation of dust and moisture inside air conditioning systems can also create the right conditions for other infectious microbes to grow. For instance, research on hospital AC systems has found that fungi such as Aspergillus, Penicillium, Cladosporium and Rhizopusspecies commonly accumulate within the water-rich areas of hospital ventilation systems. These fungal infections can be serious in vulnerable patients such as those who are immunocompromised, have had an organ transplant or are on dialysis – as well as babies who were born premature. For example, Aspergillus causes pneumonia, abscesses of the lungs, brain, liver, spleen, kidneys and skin, and can also infect burns and wounds. Symptoms of fungal infections are mostly respiratory and include persistent wheeze or cough, fever, shortness of breath, tiredness and unexplained loss of weight. Viral infections can also be caught from air conditioning. One case study revealed that children in a Chinese kindergarten class were infected with the norovirus pathogen from their AC system. This caused 20 students to experience the stomach flu. While norovirus is usually transmitted through close contact with an infected person or after touching a contaminated surface, in this instance it was confirmed, unusually, that the virus was spread through the air – originating from the air conditioning unit in a class restroom. Several other cases of norovirus being spread this way have been reported. However, air conditioners can also help stop the spread of airborne viruses. Research shows AC units that are regularly maintained and sanitised can reduce circulating levels of common viruses, including COVID. Another reason AC may increase your risk of catching an infection is due to the way air conditioners control humidity levels. This makes inside air drier than outside air. Spending extended periods of time in low-humidity environments can dry out the mucus membranes in your nose and throat. This can affect how well they prevent bacteria and fungi from getting in your body – and can leave you more vulnerable to developing a deep-tissue infection of the sinuses. Air conditioners are designed to filter air contaminants, fungal spores, bacteria and viruses, preventing them from entering the air we breathe indoors. But this protective shield can be compromised if a system's filter is old or dirty, or if the system isn't cleaned. Ensuring good AC maintenance is essential in preventing air-conditioner-acquired infections. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Primrose Freestone does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Yahoo
10-08-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Feel sticky this summer? That's because it's been record muggy East of the Rockies
Climate Stickiest Summer More than 70 million Americans sweated through the muggiest first two months of summer on record as climate change has noticeably dialed up the Eastern United States' humidity in recent decades, an Associated Press data analysis shows. And that meant uncomfortably warm and potentially dangerous nights in many cities the last several weeks, the National Weather Service said. Parts of 27 states and Washington, D.C., had a record amount of days that meteorologists call uncomfortable — with average daily dew points of 65 degrees Fahrenheit or higher — in June and July, according to data derived from the Copernicus Climate Service. And that's just the daily average. In much of the East, the mugginess kept rising to near tropical levels for a few humid hours. Philadelphia had 29 days, Washington had 27 days and Baltimore had 24 days where the highest dew point simmered to at least 75 degrees, which even the the weather service office in Tampa calls oppressive, according to weather service data. Dew point is a measure of moisture in the air expressed in degrees that many meteorologists call the most accurate way to describe humidity. The summer of 2025 so far has had dew points that average at least 6 degrees higher than the 1951-2020 normals in Washington, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Richmond, Columbus and St. Louis, the AP calculations show. The average June and July humidity for the entire country east of the Rockies rose to more than 66 degrees, higher than any year since measurements started in 1950. 'This has been a very muggy summer. The humid heat has been way up,' said Bernadette Woods Placky, chief meteorologist at Climate Central. Twice this summer climate scientist and humidity expert Cameron Lee of Kent State University measured dew points of about 82 degrees at his home weather station in Ohio. That's off the various charts that the weather service uses to describe what dew points feel like. 'There are parts of the United States that are experiencing not only greater average humidity, especially in the spring and summer, but also more extreme humid days,' Lee said. He said super sticky days are now stretching out over more days and more land. High humidity doesn't allow the air to cool at night as much as it usually does, and the stickiness contributed to multiple nighttime temperature records from the Ohio Valley through the Mid-Atlantic and up and down coastal states, said Zack Taylor, forecast operations chief at the National Weather Service's Weather Prediction Center. Raleigh, Charlotte, Nashville, Virginia Beach, Va., and Wilmington, N.C., all reached records for the hottest overnight lows. New York City, Columbus, Atlanta, Richmond, Knoxville, Tennessee and Concord, New Hampshire came close, he said. 'What really impacts the body is that nighttime temperature,' Taylor said. 'So if there's no cooling at night or if there's a lack of cooling it doesn't allow your body to cool off and recover from what was probably a really hot afternoon. And so when you start seeing that over several days, that can really wear out the body, especially of course if you don't have access to cooling centers or air conditioning.' An extra hot and rainy summer weather pattern is combining with climate change from the burning of coal, oil and natural gas, Woods Placky said. The area east of the Rockies has on average gained about 2.5 degrees in summer dew point since 1950, the AP analysis of Copernicus data shows. In the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and part of the 1990s, the eastern half of the country had an average dew point in the low 60s, what the weather service calls noticeable but OK. In four of the last six years that number has been near and even over the uncomfortable line of 65. 'It's huge,' Lee said of the 75-year trend. 'This is showing a massive increase over a relatively short period of time.' That seemingly small increase in average dew points really means the worst ultra-sticky days that used to happen once a year, now happen several times a summer, which is what affects people, Lee said. Higher humidity and heat feed on each other. A basic law of physics is that the atmosphere holds an extra 4% more water for every degree Fahrenheit (7% for every degree Celsius) warmer it gets, meteorologists said. For most of the summer, the Midwest and East were stuck under either incredibly hot high pressure systems, which boosted temperatures, or getting heavy and persistent rain in amounts much higher than average, Taylor said. What was mostly missing was the occasional cool front that pushes out the most oppressive heat and humidity. That finally came in August and brought relief, he said. Humidity varies by region. The West is much drier. The South gets more 65-degree dew points in the summer than the North. But that's changing. University of Georgia meteorology professor Marshall Shepherd said uncomfortable humidity is moving further north, into places where people are less used to it. Summers now, he said, 'are not your grandparents' summers.' ___ Borenstein reported from Washington and Wildeman reported from Hartford, Connecticut. ___ The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at Solve the daily Crossword
Rhyl Journal
30-07-2025
- Sport
- Rhyl Journal
Zavateri defies penalty with Vintage performance
A surprise winner of the July Stakes at Newmarket, he was still a fairly generous 8-1 for this Group Two affair, mainly due to the fact he was carrying 3lb more than such promising types as Humidity and Dorset. Charlie Bishop still had five in front of him with two furlongs to run, but when the gap came he shot through it and while immediately challenged by John and Thady Gosden's Morris Dancer, he stuck his neck out and had his head in the right place on the line. The Ed Walker-trained Do Or Do Not placed yet again in third. 'After Newmarket I didn't know where to go because when you have a 3lb penalty it's damn hard,' said Johnson Houghton. 'It was either come here or wait until Doncaster, but so glad we did. He had to win his race twice after cutting through them like a knife through butter. 'I put him in the Mill Reef this morning, but that's out of the question now as we will head for the Dewhurst with the Jean-Luc Lagardere as a back up. 'He's never had to tough it out at home, but he did today. What a dude he is, just a lovely, lovely horse. 'Dad (Fulke Johnson Houghton) trained (2002 Dewhurst winner) Tout Seul when I was around, and he was brilliant, but this one would be better, I think. There's nowhere to go now before the Dewhurst so we'll have to wait for that.' Bishop added: 'It's a massive performance with a penalty. We're getting closer, step by step (to thinking about the 2000 Guineas), I don't know how much more racing he'll have this year but the Dewhurst will be where we work back from, after that then I think we can talk about the Guineas. He's seen the seven out extremely well today, headed and rallied and was strong at the line.'
Leader Live
30-07-2025
- Sport
- Leader Live
Zavateri defies penalty with Vintage performance
A surprise winner of the July Stakes at Newmarket, he was still a fairly generous 8-1 for this Group Two affair, mainly due to the fact he was carrying 3lb more than such promising types as Humidity and Dorset. Charlie Bishop still had five in front of him with two furlongs to run, but when the gap came he shot through it and while immediately challenged by John and Thady Gosden's Morris Dancer, he stuck his neck out and had his head in the right place on the line. The Ed Walker-trained Do Or Do Not placed yet again in third. 'After Newmarket I didn't know where to go because when you have a 3lb penalty it's damn hard,' said Johnson Houghton. 'It was either come here or wait until Doncaster, but so glad we did. He had to win his race twice after cutting through them like a knife through butter. 'I put him in the Mill Reef this morning, but that's out of the question now as we will head for the Dewhurst with the Jean-Luc Lagardere as a back up. 'He's never had to tough it out at home, but he did today. What a dude he is, just a lovely, lovely horse. 'Dad (Fulke Johnson Houghton) trained (2002 Dewhurst winner) Tout Seul when I was around, and he was brilliant, but this one would be better, I think. There's nowhere to go now before the Dewhurst so we'll have to wait for that.' Bishop added: 'It's a massive performance with a penalty. We're getting closer, step by step (to thinking about the 2000 Guineas), I don't know how much more racing he'll have this year but the Dewhurst will be where we work back from, after that then I think we can talk about the Guineas. He's seen the seven out extremely well today, headed and rallied and was strong at the line.'
South Wales Guardian
29-07-2025
- Sport
- South Wales Guardian
Zavateri defies penalty with Vintage performance
A surprise winner of the July Stakes at Newmarket, he was still a fairly generous 8-1 for this Group Two affair, mainly due to the fact he was carrying 3lb more than such promising types as Humidity and Dorset. Charlie Bishop still had five in front of him with two furlongs to run, but when the gap came he shot through it and while immediately challenged by John and Thady Gosden's Morris Dancer, he stuck his neck out and had his head in the right place on the line. The Ed Walker-trained Do Or Do Not placed yet again in third. 'After Newmarket I didn't know where to go because when you have a 3lb penalty it's damn hard,' said Johnson Houghton. 'It was either come here or wait until Doncaster, but so glad we did. He had to win his race twice after cutting through them like a knife through butter. 'I put him in the Mill Reef this morning, but that's out of the question now as we will head for the Dewhurst with the Jean-Luc Lagardere as a back up. 'He's never had to tough it out at home, but he did today. What a dude he is, just a lovely, lovely horse. 'Dad (Fulke Johnson Houghton) trained (2002 Dewhurst winner) Tout Seul when I was around, and he was brilliant, but this one would be better, I think. There's nowhere to go now before the Dewhurst so we'll have to wait for that.' Bishop added: 'It's a massive performance with a penalty. We're getting closer, step by step (to thinking about the 2000 Guineas), I don't know how much more racing he'll have this year but the Dewhurst will be where we work back from, after that then I think we can talk about the Guineas. He's seen the seven out extremely well today, headed and rallied and was strong at the line.'
