It's hot!

Summer time...and the livin' is easy. Fish are jumpin' and the cotton is high. Do you recognize the words? They are from an opera composed by George Gershwin, although you generally hear the song sung as a a jazz piece or in a blues style such as the one Janis Joplin did. 

It's hot where I am, how about where you are? If you're in the Northern Hemisphere, it's summer but if you are in the Southern Hemisphere you are in the middle of winter. Right now, it's 32 degrees here in eastern Canada and much of the eastern United States is sweltering in a heat wave.

How do you say it's hot in English? Sweltering is a good word. Roasting is another. You will also hear this classic line, "It's not the heat, it's the humidity." On the radio these days you will hear two temperatures, the first is the pure temperature and the second is 'with the Humidex'. The Humidex scale adds degrees to the pure temperature, depending on the humidity. When it is humid, as you may know, it feels  much hotter than it really is.

The reason it feels hotter is because your skin can't get rid of the perspiration as quickly because the air is already full of moisture. When it is dryer, it feels much cooler because the skin can get rid of the moisture faster due to evaporation.

I hope you can stay cool if you are in a hot zone. We have a pool in the backyard which makes it really nice when the air is warm. I was out for a swim last night at midnight, it was wonderful!

Thanks for reading. Keep cool if you can!