Heat Stress, Russian Spy Boats, & SpaceX’s Stumble
April 21, 2023
You’re Melting, Europe
A new study suggests that European citizens are being exposed to increasing amounts of heat stress as climate change continues to cause extended periods of extreme weather. The study, conducted by the European Commission’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, shows that the continent experienced a record number of hot days last year, on top of record-high average temperatures for certain regions during the summer.
“Southern Europe experienced a record number of days with ‘very strong heat stress,’” says the report. Days with ‘very strong heat stress’ are defined as days when temperatures range from 38 to 46 degrees Celsius, or 100 to 115 degrees Fahrenheit. Days with ‘strong’ heat stress were also up (32 to 38 degrees Celsius) across the board, along with ‘extreme heat stress’ days where temperatures were higher than 46 Celsius. Relief from the broiler that our climate is becoming was also in short supply: “There is also a decreasing trend in the number of days with ‘no heat stress’,” the report reads.
Heat stress has become an increasingly monitored impact of climate change — experts say that increased temperatures can cause rashes, dehydration, and even heat stroke. According to the report, 2022 was the second warmest year on record for the European continent. The summer was the hottest on record, with temperatures 1.4 degrees Celsius (2.5 Fahrenheit) above average, and 0.3-0.4 degrees Celsius above the average for the summer of 2021, which itself was the hottest summer on record. These high temperatures lowered rainfall totals and sparked wildfires across the continent, even melting Alpine glaciers at higher rates. 2023’s summer is expected to be even hotter than 2022 as a global La Niña pattern — which lowers temperatures — is coming to an end.
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- Even better? 4/22 is Earth Day, which means their Earth Day Flash Sale is live for the next 24 hours. Try them with code EARTH30 for 30% off your first order.
India In Hot Weather
- Speaking of heat stress: according to a new study, extreme heat in India is hampering the country’s growth in unseen ways. The study shows that recent record-breaking heat waves were caused by human activity, and that current government climate goals don’t actually measure how heat affects Indian citizens.
- “It is high time that climate experts and policymakers reevaluate the metrics for assessing the country’s climate vulnerability,” said Ramit Debnath, the study’s lead author. His study shows that, while India’s government has effectively monitored and planned goals for many different climate risks, it has underestimated the monitoring required to track heat waves’ effects on people and crops, harming its chances at reducing poverty and improving health outcomes in much of the population.
- Another Indian climate expert chimed in on the study’s finding, saying that it “highlights that heat risk is an additional layer of risk that is emerging quite quickly,” adding that a rising number of extremely hot days are disproportionately harming India’s poorer populations. “For India as a whole, the threshold for adapting to heat and other climate impacts will be reached in a few decades from now,” he said. “For some, especially the poor, these limits have already been reached.”
Something Russian This Way Floats
- A joint investigation by public broadcasters from multiple Nordic countries has discovered something troubling in their icy waters. According to an investigation by state media from Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and Finland, some 50 Russian boats have been lurking off their coasts, gathering intelligence for over 10 years.
- The investigation compiled data analysis, radio communications, and intelligence sources to determine whether various Russian ships in the Nordic seas were being used by the Kremlin to gather information on the countries’ military installments, critical infrastructure, and even NATO exercises. Many of the surveillance ships were disguised as civilian vessels, including one that was supposedly a research vessel and another that was allegedly a fishing boat.
- One Norwegian military researcher says that Russia’s surveillance fleet could be much larger than just 50 ships. “We are talking about a very large system. Quite a large fleet. Altogether, we are talking several hundred,” he estimated.
Additional World News
- Stampede in Yemen at Ramadan charity event kills at least 78 (ABC)
- NATO chief says Ukraine’s ‘rightful place’ is in the alliance (AP)
- Protesters storm Paris Euronext building in anger over pension law (Reuters)
- More Leopards for Ukraine: Denmark, Netherlands to send 14 tanks (Politico)
- Chinese zero-Covid protesters released after four months in custody (CNN)
- Sudan army demands rivals’ surrender as cease-fire runs out (AP)
- Three German airports empty as transport strikes begin (Reuters)
“We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves.” – Buddha
This One Stings
- BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti sent a memo to his company’s staff on Thursday to announce that BuzzFeed News will be shutting down. The digital publisher is laying off nearly 200 people, or 15% of its employees, across BuzzFeed News and other divisions.
- BuzzFeed News launched in 2011. “While layoffs are occurring across nearly every division, we’ve determined that the company can no longer continue to fund BuzzFeed News as a standalone organization,” Peretti wrote.
- Peretti said that the division was unable to make a profit, and that it will now focus its news efforts on HuffPost, which it acquired from Verizon in 2020. Don’t worry, though – your BuzzFeed quizzes are safe, as the flagship site is staying up.
Pillow Talk Full Of Lies
- My Pillow CEO and election conspiracy theorist Mike Lindell convened a “cyber symposium” in 2021 and promised $5 million to any cyber security expert that could disprove his “data” related to the 2020 election. Robert Zeidman, who has decades in software development experience, sued Lindell over the sum after he was able to do just that.
- A decision by an arbitration panel handed down on Wednesday said that “[Zeidman] proved the data Lindell LLC provided, and represented reflected information from the November 2020 election, unequivocally did not reflect November 2020 election data. Failure to pay Mr. Zeidman the $5 million prized was a breach of the contract, entitling him to recover.” Lindell told CNN that the decision forcing him to shell out the cash “will end up in court.”
Additional USA News
- Abortion pill maker sues FDA to preserve access (Politico)
- 3 dead in possible tornado in Oklahoma as storms hit the state (NBC)
- Republican-led ban on transgender student athletes passes US House, moves to Senate (Reuters)
- 6-year-old girl, 2 adults shot after basketball rolls into North Carolina neighbor’s yard (CBS)
- Democrats advance seven Biden judicial nominees with GOP support amid Feinstein absence (NBC)
- Montana Republicans misgender trans lawmaker in letter calling for civility (WaPo, $)
- Biden labor secretary nominee Su faces doubts in Senate (AP)
Look Kids, A Falling Starship!
- On Thursday, SpaceX’s Starship rocket exploded just a few minutes after takeoff in a test run rescheduled from Monday. The rocket was supposed to reach an altitude of 90 miles before mostly orbiting the planet, falling into the Pacific at the end of its journey. Instead, Starship’s trip to the atmosphere ended roughly 24 miles above the ground, where it tumbled end over end for a few seconds before its flight-termination system was engaged, detonating onboard explosives and blowing the rocket into bits.
- SpaceX and its founder Elon Musk were quick to point to the test launch as a success despite its fiery ending. “Congrats @SpaceX team on an exciting test launch of Starship! Learned a lot for next test launch,” tweeted Musk after the launch. In a February press conference, SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell declared that “the real goal is to not blow up the launch pad.” In a July 2022 test, a prior version of the rocket had exploded when the company simply tried to fire its engines.
- This time, a few things went wrong. SpaceX says that multiple engines failed to fire during the flight, but the main problem came when the rocket was already in the air – the Starship was supposed to separate from its boosters using a spinning maneuver, but instead of a single clean spin, the rocket ended up somersaulting out of control, leading to the fireball in the sky.
Additional Reads
- NYC woman gets 21 years in attempted cheesecake poisoning of lookalike friend (CBS)
- World Press Photo won by image of wounded pregnant woman in Mariupol (BBC)
- Is My Daughter Horrible for Refusing to Release Me From Her Student Loans? (NYT, $)
- Blinding flash over Kyiv was probably meteor, says Ukraine space agency (BBC)
- Carnival bans cruise passengers over video of fishy behavior: ‘They will not be cruising on Carnival again’ (The Hill)
- Paramount alleges Warner Bros. Discovery owes $52M for ‘South Park’ streaming rights (TechCrunch)
- Book bans in US public schools increase by 28% in six months, Pen report finds (Guardian)