which is more deadly extreme cold or heat

[Moonbacon 384]

now ever since i have learned about astronomy i have been asking myself this question which is deadlier extreme cold or heat. 

 

which is more painfull

 

which kills you the fastest

 

and which is more common

 

 

so yea opinions away.

[Rascal~ 657]

I would believe that heat may be more common, but for everything else I reckon maybe the cold. Though are many aspects and ways for you to die in each category I always find that the cold is an icey killer

[Doctor XFizzle 8,669]

I see it like this:

 

you would have to knowingly die by extreme cold because there are tons of ways to prevent it and prepare for it

dying by extreme heat I think tends to sneak up on people more because of dehydration and what you may think is bearable weather and going outside to play and be active is really not if you don't drink water or take a timeout to chill down

[Moonbacon 384]

both heat and cold can kill you slowly but which is more painful?

[Side Bird 566]

I'm going cold. Since humans can survive longer in heat. Getting too cold or hot would kill you obviously. In heat though, you'll hold out longer then being in extreme cold. Cold would kill you faster. And is deadlier

Edited January 6, 2014 by Princess Luna~<3

[Wingnut 6,990]

Hyperthermia and Hypothermia are equally deadly.  I don't care for either extreme but if I am forced to choose, I think excess cold is less uncomfortable.  As the Doctor said, precautions should be taken to avoid exposure to any temperature extremes.  Space is a very hostile environment and only a handful of planets would have the narrow temperate range that humans can live in. 

[Malinter 3,064]

Cooling down is much easier that warming up so I'd say cold is the greater threat.

[Moonbacon 384]

unless your going to count flying into the sun or going into space without a space suit i guess cold is deadlier 

[Fhaolan 4,483]

In my experience extreme cold is less 'painful' than extreme heat. In extreme cold your body shuts down quite rapidly , and you stop feeling pretty much anything. In extreme heat it takes longer for your nervous system to burn out and to cease sending pain signals.

[~Silver Essence~ 2,625]

I say by extreme heat.

 

I hate the sun, and boiling, suffering, and getting even more symptoms that are worse than cold weather makes it the worst in my opinion.    

[Moonbacon 384]

heat is more painful cold is less painful k then

[Ceremi 10]

I'm gonna say heat, only because you can add layers to yourself to attempt to keep warm but you can only remove some much stuff before you're down to skin and you can't remove that.

[DarkDarsi 124]

Extreme Cold kills faster, you body shuts down rather than gets overworked/overwhelmed, but going out through heat would probably feel worse, because you would probably retain feeling for longer.

[ChoroChii 284]

I would say that it's about both. They can both be equally as deadly. 

[Sunny Fox 5,950]

Some say the world will in end in fire, some say in ice.

From what I've known of desire, I hold with those who favour fire.

And yet, for destruction, ice is just as nice, and will suffice.

- Robert Frost (somewhat paraphrased)

 

Extremes in either direction kill. I would prefer to freeze than burn, personally. With cold, you hallucinate and start to feel warm. Burning... not so much.

Edited January 7, 2014 by SolarFox

[Nerdy Luigi 2,065]

Extreme heat is the bigger concern. (I think my pun gave you a hint to why I think that.)

We are close to our sun, whose heat is, literally, only known to be exceeded by lightning. But what I said, is how far we would get before frying.

This threat also is greater because it has lashed Earth several times already. We only live because of our magnetic fields, that block off the solar flares and UV radiation.

There is no entity close to us that is extremely cold, either.

Medically, I would say neither one. They both do the same thing in a different way. They both shut the body down, if just as extreme, at the same rate. One causes dehydration and hyperthermia, the other causes gangrene and hypothermia.

 

Medically, I don't know, but in an astronomical sense, heat, it's closer to us.

[Neon Fire 473]

I'd say cold.  And of course that may just be that I hate the cold too and prefer heat.  But you can get frostbite and other things.  Heat, yes, you can get dehydrated but if you're in a desert, you can drink the juice from a cactus or if you have water near by...drink that first.

[Hyper Tumble 1,483]

I would imagine extreme cold kills the fastest, leaving extreme heat to being the more painful death.

[DubWolf 17,263]

Well extreme cold can only go so far (close to zero kelvin) whereas extreme heat has no limits. I could only imagine being instantly transmitted to the sun via a TARDIS...you would instantly be vaporized. If you're full of hot air, it might take a while for the extreme freeze to get you  .

 

However, if we're picking just the right temperature that you wouldn't instantly disappear, I would say extreme heat would be much more painful as you would watch yourself melt and sizzle away as you turn into a puddle. Extreme cold...well I'm not too sure, I'm sure it also feels bad.

 

Extreme cold is more likely (unless your definition of extreme heat is ~150 Fahrenheit). Can't tell you off the back.

Edited January 9, 2014 by Wingin'Wolf

[crazitaco 596]

Well, it seems they are acutally quite similar, or atleast the ways the human body reacts to extreme temperatures. I think its kinda hard to say one is more "painful" than the other, they are just two different types of bad. I think they kill at about the same rate.

 

In both cases, it seems organ failure is the final cause of death, the person experiences severe mental confusion, and both may result in some sort of painful skin conditions.

• Hypothermia would be accompanied with frostbite, intense shivering, mental confusion/disorientation, and the slowing of all body processes (including heart rate) until the point of organ failure. The body starts to go completely numb. While the rest of the body shuts down, the brain takes longer to die.
• Hyperthermia would similarly result in organ failure and mental confusion, but the pain comes from stroke. The person experiences severe nausea and vomiting, may experience seizures. Heartrate becomes increasingly rapid, and there may be heat cramps or heat rash which is caused when the body is no long able to produce sweat and the skin starts to blister.

 

I shouldn't be talking since i've never experienced extreme (or even moderate) cold, but i would assume the cold would be a little less painful since you would atleast be too numb to feel much pain. In the heat, blood is pumped even quicker throughout your body and you get to feel the lovely sensations of intense headache, vomiting, and throbbing veins.

 

People seem to be more aware of Hypothermia than hyperthermia anyway, but heat related deaths are also pretty common in hotter climates. And one does not have to be in a desert to die from heat stroke. One of biggest causes of hyperthermia death is probably people leaving living creatures trapped in a car on a hot day without rolling down the windows. Not just kids, pets too. Its more common than alot of people realize. And also dehydration, which can occur without the person even noticing until they're passed out on the floor.

Edited January 9, 2014 by crazitaco

[Pinkie Dust 85]

I would say cold because heat you can last longer also cold hurts more.

[~Sugar Sprinkles~ 638]

In all honesty, im going with both which are very deadly. Honestly, the cold can be BAD. Infact, in my state, few days ago reached the coldest in my state since 20 years ago. It reached below 30. I am NOT lying ...and basically, the news warned us to STAY INSIDE because you could get frost bite or hypothermia within minutes. Unless you NEEDED to go outside, BUNDLE UP in layers they said. 

 

We have had very hot summers, that reached up to about 107 degrees, which was HOT, but what really smothers you, is the humidity we get here. They do recommend to not go outside, but you can always go swimming.

 

I dunno, both are VERY bad,,,but I think cold is the worst...probably because I hate the cold... 

[DragonKing235 198]

bolth because if your not ready for it you could die.