Chris Infotainment

A cold gust sent shivers through Hong Yen as she opened her apartment balcony in Binh Phu Ward, HCMC, at 6 a.m. on Friday. She checked her phone and saw the temperature had dropped to 17 degrees Celsius. She went back inside to find a sweater that she usually wears only when visiting her husband’s hometown in Nghe An Province during the Lunar New Year. "Last night we turned off the air conditioner and slept under thick blankets but it was still cold in the morning. My seven-year-old said it felt like winter," the office worker said. Before sending her two children to school, she made them drink warm honey lemon water and wear hats and face masks. She also placed a few lozenges in their backpacks to prevent sore throats. On Friday morning, cold air spread into southern Vietnam, lowering temperatures in HCMC to 17-19 degrees Celsius. Weather apps showed that the perceived temperature in some areas was even lower, marking the city’s lowest level in the past 10 years. Locals...

The Impact of Extreme Heat on Newborn Survival in Africa Extreme heat is increasingly becoming a silent threat to newborn survival, particularly in Africa. Recent research has revealed that rising temperatures are not only undermining child survival gains but also highlighting how climate change exacerbates existing inequalities in child mortality across the continent. A groundbreaking study analyzing over 880,000 births in 33 African countries found that exposure to extreme heat during pregnancy significantly increases the risk of neonatal death—defined as death within the first month of life. This finding raises critical questions about how climate change is reversing progress in maternal and child health. Unlike adults, infants have limited ability to regulate their body temperature, making them highly dependent on the health and resilience of their mothers during pregnancy. High temperatures can discourage expectant mothers from attending prenatal check-ups, which are essential ...

Understanding the Emotional Impact of Rising Temperatures As global temperatures continue to rise, more people are experiencing a decline in their emotional well-being. A recent study has revealed that extreme heat not only affects our physical health but also significantly impacts our mood and overall sentiment. This growing concern highlights the need for a deeper understanding of how climate change influences human emotions on a global scale. The Study and Its Findings Researchers from MIT and other institutions around the world conducted an extensive analysis of social media data to track the emotional responses of individuals during periods of extreme heat. By examining over 1 billion social media posts from more than 150 countries, they were able to map out the correlation between temperature and mood. The study, published in the journal One Earth, found that when temperatures exceed 35°C, there is a noticeable drop in collective mood, particularly in lower-income countries. ...

The European AC Dilemma: A Cultural and Environmental Divide In a summer marked by the absence of any standout radio hits, one topic dominated conversations across Europe: the continent’s complex relationship with air conditioning. This issue has long been a point of contention, resurfacing every few years as temperatures rise. However, this year, the debate reached an unusual intensity, creating a rift in cultural relations between Europeans and Americans that rivaled the impact of Trump’s tariffs or disagreements over Ukraine’s future. Americans, puzzled by how Europeans manage without constant cooling, defend their reliance on air conditioning with a fervor reminiscent of how Italians defend their pizza toppings or how the French react to mispronounced words in their language. The statistics highlight the divide: nearly 90% of U.S. households have air conditioning, compared to around 20% in Europe, with some countries far below that figure. In France, the discussion has even ente...