The Washburn leader. [volume] (Washburn, McLean County, N.D.) 1890-1986, 1897-11-06
SEVERE CLIMATES.
Limits Of Mans Endurance Of Extreme
Heat and Cold.

Heat and Cold.
Nat the least interesting of the
many results of Nansen's expedi-
ton are the records OF meteorolog-
icul observations tlut were contin-
ued almost uninterruptedly for tho
better part of three years and which
throw distinct light upon the eli
matte conditions Of the fur north.
These show what had already been
we'll supported by scicntists-that,
SO far as Il minimum temperature is
concerned, tho highest northern lat
itudcs are more favorably situated
than many regions lying fully Is de-
grees or 20 OVERWHELMINGLY
1000 to 1,4OO miles-farther to the
south. The lowest reading of Nan
sens thermometer. registered on
board the Fran, was 61.5 degrees
F.. or some IL to Is degrees higher
than the minimum noted by the
British polar expedition of 1876
and 8 degrees above the minimum
of Kane. The lowest winter tenn
perature recorded by Mr.. Peary was
So degrees F. In strange contrast to
this, in itself sufficiently severe tenn
p%erature, L the rigors of certain
less favored localities lying to tho
south. Thus. in the Kara sea, which
lies between Nova Zembla and ST.
IBERIA and whose center is approx
matcly crossed by tho seventy third
parallel Of latitude, a temperature
Of CO degrees is by no means un-
common, ard the sea, partly from
this cause and partly from the fact
;hat it is so largely choked with ice,
has justly received the name Of the
ice cellar" of Eurasia.
At Yakutsk, in Siberia, Il we'll
known government post. lying con
%sidcrably southwark or outside Of
the arctic circle, q temperature of
from 20 degrees to so degrees below
is reported almost annually, and at
Vcrlhoiansk, which is situated al
most within the same broad region,
but somewhat III the polar side Of
the circle, there is IL registry of So
degrees for the month Of January,
1884. Professor Molr, the distin-
! r. lished Norwegian scientist, asserts,
moreover. that at the Russian sta
ton at the mouth Of the Lena river.
Siberia, the Extraordinarily low tenn
perature Ut 81 degrees F. has been
recorded.
That man should be able to en-
dure. oAe might say almost with
lmpuIity, such excessive severity Of
climate is not IL little remarkable.
and it is more surprising when it is
considered in connection with his
endurance OF the opposite extreme
i. g., the highest summer tempera-
turo. We have as yet perhaps no
absolutely relialled data for the high
est sun temperature OH the earth's
surface, but it may be safely as
Suulel to be in the neighborhood Of
or even beyond $50 degrees. 1t is
claimed by Alexander von Hum
boldt that Eitchie observed ne;r
| Mourzouk. in northern Africa, a
temperatu:e-in Il measure reflected
from the desert s:nds---of 1855 de-
erees in the shade, which is proba-
lily the highest that comes autlori-
tutiycly from The records Of travel
CTS. - this is true, t,,.cn there can be
suite doubt taat the sun tempera-
tnTe was fully - degrees higher.
With the two extremes before us,
then. we have for the human sub
ject IL climatic resistance of at least
24l degrees. or SO degrees more than
is found i'll tho range between zero
and the boiling point of water. How
much more than this man could en-
uure it is difficult to say, but doubt
loss l:luny degrees could yet be add
ed to either side of tho thermon1et-
rio scale without materially or nee
essarily affecting his system. His
resistance to the temperature of
furnace rooms, us il evidenced in
the work of the stokers ON board
the transatlantic liners, is an indi-
cation of this, and yet, more, the re-
nlarkable experiments recently con-
Quoted by tho eminent physicist,
Raoul Pictet, upon his own person,
when by artificial processes he sub
jected his body to. a temperature of
1855 degrees. -Indianapolis News.