48°C

48°C. That was the temperature today in New Delhi. And the record temperature for the year it was.

I don't think I've ever been in 48°C -- at least not in the recent past. There was that time when, one summer's day, and I was about nine years old that the family drove through Las Vegas. I think it was the time when my father and I spent the early hours of the morning going from casino to casino searching for my grandmother. The sun was just coming out when we spotted her coming out of a gambling hall, packed her in the car and headed back to the motel. Later that morning when we left the motel and loaded in the car to continue our travels, I recall being the temperature displayed on a sign - 115°F. But that was a long time ago. And, there is virtually no humidity in the desert.

Anyway, today it's 48°C and I have one room with one air-conditioner; the second bedroom, living room, kitchen and hallway have no cooling and only windows for ventilation. I closed the doors to the various rooms and am only cooling the bedroom. Unfortunately, the bedroom opens to a hallway which then opens to a kitchen which is only separated by a screen door and which has an exhaust fan leading outside. So any attempt to air-condition beyond the bedroom automatically becomes a bit of a battle to see if the air-conditioner can overcome the incessant infiltration of the heat from the outside.

48°C changes your perception of things. For instance, I set the air-conditioner for 30°C -- a temperature which would be considered unthinkably warm for for someone having lived in Switzerland for some 14 years. However, believe it or not, when walking in from 48°C into a 30°C room, it feels absolutely glacial.

Another surprise is that moving around in 48°C is not such a bad idea. For instance, just a little bit before noon time I decided to head out and go to the market. I had to visit the cable company, the Internet company, buy some groceries and the like. What I noticed is that as long as you're moving, 48°C is not too bad. The problem is is when you stop. And the problem is perspiration. You see, at 48°C if you're moving, you are perspiring. But it's evaporating fast enough that the perspiration is cooling you off. But when you stop, much of that evaporation ceases. So the moral of the story is keep moving or find in air-conditioned venue and have a beer.