Reading view

The "sad inevitability" of Europe's heat wave

Europe is in the midst of its second big heat wave of the year, and it’s breaking more records. France just recorded its hottest day ever, with temperatures exceeding 44° Celsius in some places. Around 40 people have drowned in local water bodies, likely attempting to escape the heat, and thousands more are without electricity.

As temperatures hit a sweltering 36° in some regions of the United Kingdom, schools canceled classes and train delays abounded. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described London as “cooking.” As the city hosts its annual Climate Action Week, the UK meteorological service has issued a red alert for multiple regions, signaling that exceptionally hot and humid weather is forecasted and likely to impact the general public. Switzerland and Spain have also issued warnings to residents.

Emma Howard Boyd, the former chair of the London Climate Resilience Review who now chairs the National Heat Risk Commission in the UK, said that when it comes to heat resilience in the country, the problem is not just homes—which are usually not air-conditioned.

Read full article

Comments

© Anadolu via Getty

  •  

As global warming threatens corals, scientists search for reefs that can take the heat

MAJURO, Marshall Islands—Perched on the bow of an aluminum landing craft, Anne Cohen gazed a few yards ahead of the vessel toward a yellow robot gliding across the emerald Majuro lagoon.

The unmanned surface vehicle, called Yellowfin, was quickly becoming one of the coral researcher’s most dependable guides in these Central Pacific waters.

“She’s the best dive buddy,” said Cohen, a tenured scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Cape Cod. Programmed to navigate to a precise set of coordinates, the robot cut through small swells like a tiny sailboat without a mast, directing Cohen toward a destination she had traveled thousands of miles to revisit.

Read full article

Comments

© Lukasz Larsson Warzecha/Getty Images

  •  
❌