Man, sit down and hold on tight, 'cause I got news that'll make you crave AC more than a cold beer at Fane's. The heatwave hit, bro, and flipped us over like polenta in a pot. Three-quarters of the country are under red code - that means Berceni, Alba, Arad, even Oradea, at the Bolojan model, you're melting on the street. At noon, Bucharest felt 44 degrees, and Oradea 42 - like you're on a grill, not the sidewalk. Authorities slapped red code until Wednesday morning, with highs of 41 degrees in Banat and Crișana and tropical nights with lows of 17-25 - so you don't even escape at night, cuz.
And look what came out of the heat: three people died. A 56-year-old sheep guard found passed out in a field in Iași, with a body temp of 40 degrees - docs say he also drank alcohol, but anyway, if I'd been there with Mioara, I'd have told him to save the booze for summer. Then a 17-year-old girl drowned in a pond near Sânnicolau Mare, Timiș, and a man in Lake Tei in Bucharest - they wanted to cool off and kicked the bucket. In Europe, the heatwave killed over 1,300 people, so we're not alone, but somehow we still get it worse.
In the last four days, 5,465 people needed an ambulance just in Bucharest and Ilfov - of which 3,574 with serious emergencies, red and yellow code. Over 700 were on the street when they collapsed. ISUBIF recorded a 3% increase in calls and are working like it's Christmas at the hospital. And I left Brian with his games at home and he said he felt sick - I thought he was exaggerating, but now I realize he might've been right, poor kid.
The heatwave hits the economy too, bro. In the capital, it's red code, and ordinance 99/2000 forces employers to take measures when the thermometer passes 37 degrees. In HoReCa, losses are colossal - restaurants nearly empty, 'cause nobody eats sarmale at 40 degrees. Construction sites stopped, 'cause you can't pour concrete in the scorching heat. The Territorial Labor Inspectorate slaps hefty fines on bosses who don't follow the law - and good, 'cause when I worked in renovations, the boss left us in the sun with helmets on, frying like little sausages.
Doctors are sounding the alarm for kids. Dr. Oana Ciuhureanu, a family doctor, explains that heatstroke in kids appears faster than in adults, because they eliminate heat harder and forget to drink water when playing. If you see drowsiness, confusion, or convulsions, call emergency - I've been watching Ioana all day so the heat doesn't hurt her, 'cause she's my princess.
And now, the craziest part: meteorologists announce the heatwave will persist, with highs of 30-41 degrees across the country, but in the afternoon and evening come strong storms, with torrential downpours, gusts of 50-70 km/h (locally over 80 km/h), lightning, and hail of 1-4 cm. So from frying straight to hail that smashes cars. Water amounts can reach 15-25 l/m2, and locally over 30-40 l/m2. Nights stay tropical, with lows between 15 and 25 degrees.
So, bro, get your umbrella and hydration ready, 'cause the hail's coming just when you thought you were safe. I'm off to give Brian a non-alcoholic beer and tell Mioara not to wash the laundry 'cause it won't dry in this humidity. You stay home, 'cause outside it's a mess - and don't forget, we Romanians pay the electricity bill after cooling off with AC non-stop.
