Underwater lake heatwaves are on the rise, threatening aquatic life: A view of Lake Superior, one of the Great Lakes. Travis J. Camp/Shutterstock Lakes are essential to ecosystems, providing freshwater, supporting biodiversity and offering crucial habitat for fish and other aquatic species. But a recent study by my colleagues and I shows that lakes around …
Clownfish shrink during marine heatwaves – new study: Clownfish that shrank during heatwaves were more likely to survive them. Morgan Bennett-Smith As the world contemplates dealing with more extreme temperatures, one coral reef fish has found a novel way to beat the heat: shrinking. Wanting to know how clownfish cope with changes to their environment, …
How weather ‘blocks’ have triggered more extreme heatwaves and floods across Europe: On several occasions this summer, Europe’s weather seemed to get itself stuck, leading to prolonged heatwaves and floods. In the UK, a long hot and dry spell throughout May and June gave way to a similarly persistent cool and wet period. In September, …
Heatwaves and hot temperatures are hard on the body – but a series of in-built adaptations make it easier to cope: The body is well-equipped to cope with the heat. tommaso79/ Shutterstock Record-breaking temperatures have been recorded in many countries in 2023. In some parts of Europe, summer temperatures even exceeded 45?. While this kind …
One of 2023’s most extreme heatwaves is happening in the middle of winter: Temperature anomaly on Wednesday August 2 2023. Red areas of Chile and northern Argentina are much hotter than the long-term average for this time of year. ClimateReanalyzer.org, CC BY-SA Temperatures in parts of Chile and northern Argentina have soared to 10°C-20°C above …
Deadly heatwaves threaten to reverse India’s progress on poverty and inequality – new research: PradeepGaurs/Shutterstock Record-breaking heatwaves in April 2022 put 90% of people in India at increased risk of going hungry, losing income or premature death, according to our new study. After 2022 was designated the hottest in 122 years, extreme heat has appeared …
Four ways winter heatwaves affect humans and nature: Temperature anomaly in Europe, Jan 1. Much of the continent was 10°C or more (dark red and grey) above the long-term average. WX Charts, CC BY-NC An extreme winter heatwave meant countries across Europe experienced a record-breaking New Year’s Day. New daily temperature records for the month …
Tour de France: future heatwaves may make it untenable to hold the race in July: As the men’s Tour de France wraps up and the women’s tournament begins, the European heat wave rages on. If you look closely, the heat can be seen in photos of the event: cooling towels around racers’ necks, water splashed …
Heatwaves: why ethnic minorities in the UK are more vulnerable, and what to do about it: Temperatures in the UK recently breached 40°C for the first time in recorded history. The country is set to experience more frequent and more extreme heatwaves as carbon emissions continue to accumulate in the atmosphere. Heatwaves have worrying implications …
Why UK railways can’t deal with heatwaves – and what might help: UK rail lines don't do well in the heat hxdyl/Shutterstock The UK’s rail service has been hit with widespread train delays and high levels of cancellations during the heatwave. The whole of the east coast line between Edinburgh and London was closed for …
Four things cool countries can learn from hot ones about dealing with heatwaves: Taking a rest in the hottest part of the day has traditionally been a way of coping with high temperatures. D Bond/Shutterstock With our planet heating up, we all need help coping with increasing temperatures in our day-to-day lives. The UK provisionally …
Five ways to help wildlife in heatwaves: Extremely hot weather is becoming more common. The top ten warmest years since 1884 all happened in the last two decades. While experts can help people take adequate precautions to beat the heat, who’s looking out for the rest of the animal kingdom? Hot temperatures are uncomfortable and …
Heatwaves worsen mental health conditions: sun ok/Shutterstock Heatwaves have a huge impact on our physical and mental health. Doctors usually dread them, as emergency rooms quickly fill up with patients suffering from dehydration, delirium and fainting. Recent studies suggest at least a 10% rise in hospital emergency room visits on days when temperatures reach or …
Heatwaves are an invisible killer – and the UK is woefully unprepared: The COVID-19 pandemic continues to cause suffering around the world, but another killer has silently struck in summer 2020. With relatively little by way of official warning or advice on how people can stay safe, recent heatwaves may have cost thousands of lives …
Heatwaves often end with spectacular thunderstorms and lethal floods – but where and when they’ll strike is hard to predict: sam-whitfield1 / shutterstock If you’re in the UK, you may not have slept well this week. According to the weather gauges at the University of Reading, where I work, Tuesday 11 August was the third …
Heatwaves don’t just give you sunburn – they can harm your mental health too: Monika Wisniewska/Shutterstock Heatwaves undoubtedly bring a certain joy at the opportunity to be out in the sunshine. But as the planet heats and weather records tumble, increasingly normal bouts of baking heat aren’t all sun and games. Aside from the grief …
Heatwaves can kill – research uncovers the homes most vulnerable to overheating: Around 19% of EU households get uncomfortably warm during the summer and in some countries, the figure is close to 50%. It isn’t simply a matter of comfort, though – overheating in homes can be fatal. In the UK, there were 892 excess …
Heatwaves and flash floods: yes, this is Britain’s ‘new normal’: “It’s hard to believe, isn’t it, that we had a heatwave just last week?” Those words were spoken by a BBC news presenter, in front of graphic images of fire service rescues, as heavy rain caused floods and landslides which closed many roads and railway …