Though Southeast Asia and India are used to hot summer months, 2016 has been particularly brutal as temperatures across the region have hit an all-time high.
The deadly heat wave that has been scorching this part of the world is being held responsible for 150 deaths and it seems like it won’t relent anytime soon.
In Thailand, for instance, the scorching weather has been dubbed the longest heat wave the usually humid country has experieced in at least six decades.
The Associated Press reports that a new record for national energy consumption was reached on the last week of April. The temperature spiked to 44.3 degrees Celsius, or 111.7 degrees Celsius midway through the month. The same can be observed in neighboring countries like the Philippines, Cambodia, and Laos.
In the Philippines, the highest temperature reached was 45 degrees Celsius. While in Cambodia, the spike went up to 43 degrees.
As India braces for the moonsoon months, they have to endure warmer temperatures as a natural response to the anticipation of rain.
The key factors that are causing these intense spikes in temperature are a massive El Niño event which cause humid conditions as well as global warming, which causes recurring, and intensifying heat waves.
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100-year-old model becomes first woman her age to appear in Vogue
Who says fashion is only for the young?
Bo Gilbert, 100, is proving that true style is timeless as she appears in Vogue magazine as part of a campaign that sheds light on ageism in the fashion industry.
Quite fittingly, Bo’s fashion campaign for U.K. department store Harvey Nichols coincided with the fashion magazine’s centennial anniversary.
For her first ever campaign shoot, Bo Gilbert paired a Victoria Beckham top with Dries Van Noten coat and donned bespoke Valentino glasses, Céline shoes, and a Lanvin necklace. When she’s not lives in an assisted living facility in Birmingham.
Photographed by Phil Poynter, the groundbreaking campaign will also be the subject of a documentary film by Kell Stewart.
“I do things that I think a lot of people wouldn’t do at my age,” says Gilbert in the behind-the-scenes video below. “I just suit myself. I certainly don’t dress up for boys,” she continued.
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A new life-threatening disease is threatening banana industry
A staple in many homes, the banana could easily be one of the world’s most beloved fruits.
But even this is currently under attack by a life-threatening disease that’s spreading across the globe, threatening Latin America’s banana industry, in particular.
CNN Money reports that the export industry have become increasingly alarmed that they transferred the International Banana Congress from Costa Rica to Miam in order not to accidentally transport the disease to Costa Rica.
Latin America is the main source of bananas for North America and Europe.
The disease in question is the “Panama disease” or what is known as “Fusarium wilt”. It specifically affects the Cavendish banana (the most common type exported to the West) and has reportedly spread from Asia to certain parts of Australia.
The $36 billion banana industry is at great risk and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization warns that necessary actions must be taken “to tackle one of the world’s most destructive banana diseases”.
Scientists are experimenting on growing suitable alternative to the popular Cavendish banana. In Taiwan, they have created what has been called a “mutant” Cavendish banana, which is currently being tested in the Philippines and in China.
“The spread of Fusarium wilt could have a significant impact on growers, traders and families who depend on the banana industry,” plant pathologist Fazil Dusunceli from the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization tol CNN Money.
Billions of dollars and billions of tons of bananas are at risk and planting new varieties of bananas are very expensive. The developing world is most at risk and though there are scientific interventions underway, there is no instant fix for this growing global crisis.
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