The residents of Nagla Tulai, a farming village in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, have always endured hot summers, but recent years of relentless heat have tested their strength. In May, it reached 49°C (120°F), the highest India has recorded in 122 years. Since then, local news reports have attributed more than 50 deaths to the record heat.
In late April, when the daytime temperature reached 45 °C (113 °F), most residents of Nagla Tulai sought help from the wind blowing outside. It is one of the few Indian villages that is still electrified. That means no fans, no coolers and no air conditioners for the 150 or so households.
The men in the village are forced to work no more than two hours a day to avoid the sun at its hottest. As temperatures get higher every year, they fear they have no choice but to leave Nagla Tulai in search of work in the cities; jobs that will not pay enough to take their families with them.
We need to get carbon down – not just stop emitting it
The news: The UN climate panel has warned that the world must remove billions of tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere each year, on top of rapid emissions cuts, to pull the planet back from increasingly dangerous levels of warming. Researchers and startups are working on a variety of methods, including building factories that suck up greenhouse gases and using minerals to lock in carbon.
Controversial plans: Carbon removal has become a touchy subject – there are real concerns that the growing focus on lowering levels of the greenhouse gas could encourage governments and businesses to explore the most obvious and direct way to tackle climate change set or even avoid: preventing emissions from reaching the atmosphere in the first place.
A Complicated Solution: Experts warn that unfortunately, after decades of delays, there are now few ways to meet the climate change goals that don’t both reduce current emissions and build the capacity to absorb massive amounts of carbon dioxide in the future. Read the full story.
By Zeke Hausfather, chief of climate research at Stripe Climate, and a contributing author to the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report, and Jane Flegal, chief of market development and policy at Stripe Climate.
The must reads
I’ve scoured the internet to find today’s funniest/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.
1 The Large Hadron Collider Comes Back To Life Today
Scientists at CERN hope to gain more insight into how the universe works. (NPR)
It’s been 10 years since the Higgs boson was discovered. (Economist $)
2 An updated covid vaccine is coming in the fall
The problem is, we need them now. (NYT$)
The risk of reinfection is forcing health experts to reconsider booster shots. (FT$)
3 AI Can Help Eliminate Discrimination Against Black Home Buyers
By evaluating how a $25,000 recovery grant could bolster home deposits. (New Scientist)
4 It’s Time To End The Stigma Around Menstrual Blood
Some scientists and doctors are hesitant to study it, even though it could give us valuable insight into women’s health. (dark)
+ What if you could diagnose illnesses with a tampon? (MIT Technology Review)
5 NASA’s Probe Is On Its Way To The Moon
It is on track to reach the moon in November. (Gizmodo)
+ The agency has also been working on a detailed map of Mars. (Input)
6 Rising Inflation Means We Can’t Afford To Upgrade Our Computers
Which, coupled with the crypto crash, doesn’t bode well for semiconductor makers. (WSJ$)
7 Conservative Radio Stations Are Passing On Misinformation
Experts repeat the same false claims accusing Democrats of cheating in the 2020 presidential election (NYT$)
Subtitling 8 Popular TV Shows Is Really Hard
Awkward translations can mistranslate crucial moments for an unwitting audience. (CNET)
+ Better captioning online benefits everyone. (MIT Technology Review)
9 The Internet Really Wants A Magnet Driven Car
Unfortunately, physics disagrees. (Wired $)
10 A Mummified Baby Woolly Mammoth Is Discovered In The Yukon
She may have coexisted with the ancestors of today’s First Nations peoples. (Gizmodo)
Researchers are divided on how a winged pterosaur could fly. (Ars Technica)
The big story