It's not the heat...

While our family and friends back in the Midwest enjoyed some unseasonably cool weather in August, Hong Kong experienced the hottest August since 1963. According to this morning's South China Morning Post there were 14 days that were 33 degrees Celsius (91 degrees Fahrenheit) or more.

Really, 91 degrees doesn't sound that hot to me (maybe that's because I really like hot weather), but it has felt super hot because of - you guessed it - the humidity. The high temperatures are expected to continue this week, with the relative humidity estimated at 70-90%. I tried to figure out what that means for how hot it feels (the heat index), but only came up with a calculation that looked like this:

So, I'll just assure you that it feels HOT.

While coming inside to air conditioning feels good after being in the heat, the great indoors also has its fair share of moist air. When we first arrived, we were told to buy dehumidifiers ASAP and were warned that if we go away for a few days that we should hire someone to manage the dehumidifiers. We didn't need much convincing on either counts after we heard stories about furniture and carpet being covered in mold after just four days of "full humidity."

So, we have four dehumidifiers that run 24/7, along with eight window air conditioners that are on most of the time. (We know, we know - this is not an environmentally sensitive arrangement.) All of dehumidifiers must be emptied at least twice a day. We use the water for watering our plants. It is sort of like having a rainbarrel - no downspout required. (See, we aren't complete environmental deadbeats! Or perhaps this "recycling" just makes us feel a little better.)

Yet, despite all of our efforts to keep things dry, our indoor humidity level hovers at 60% and sometimes goes higher. We really need to get serious about buying that fifth dehumidifier!