Signals

The row over air conditioning at the Paris 2024 Olympics higlights the challenge we face in gaining support for green technologies, writes Smith Mordak.

Play streets are neighbour-led short road closures, creating a safe space for children to play freely together on their doorstep.

Chemical communication plays an essential role in ecosystems as it enables organisms to sense their environment, locate predators, food, habitats, or mates and interact with each other. We show that ...

Given health threats of climate change, a comprehensive review of the impacts of ambient temperature and ar pollution on suicide is needed. We performed systematic literature review and meta-analysis of suicide risks associated with short-term exposure to ambient temperature and air pollution. Pubmed, Scopus, and Web of Science were searched for English-language publications using relevant keywords. Observational studies assessing risks of daily suicide and suicide attempts associated with temperature, particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter ≤10 μm (PM10) and ≤2.5 mm (PM2.5), ozone (O3), sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and carbon monoxide (CO) were included. Data extraction was independently performed in duplicate. Random-effect meta-analysis was applied to pool risk ratios (RRs) for increases in daily suicide per interquartile range (IQR) increase in exposure. Meta-regression analysis was applied to examine effect modification by income level based on gross national income (GNI) per capita, national suicide rates, and average level of exposure factors. In total 2274 articles were screened, with 18 studies meeting inclusion criteria for air pollution and 32 studies for temperature. RRs of suicide per 7.1 °C temperature was 1.09 (95% CI: 1.06, 1.13). RRs of suicide per IQR increase in PM2.5, PM10, and NO2 were 1.02 (95% CI: 1.00, 1.05), 1.01 (95% CI: 1.00, 1.03), and 1.03 (95% CI: 1.00, 1.07). O3, SO2, and CO were not associated with suicide. RR of suicide was significantly higher in higher-income than lower-income countries (1.09, 95% CI: 1.07, 1.11 and 1.20, 95% CI: 1.14, 1.26 per 7.1 °C increased temperature, respectively). Suicide risks associated with air pollution did not significantly differ by income level, national suicide rates, or average exposure levels. Research gaps were found for interactions between air pollution and temperature on suicide risks.

This article explores the relationship between temperature and intimate partner violence against women in 34 developing countries. Exploiting the variation in average temperatures across women's resi...

Our results highlight hate speech online as a potential channel through which temperature alters interpersonal conflict and societal aggression. We provide empirical evidence that hot and cold temperatures can aggravate aggressive tendencies online. The prevalence of the results across climatic and socioeconomic subgroups points to limitations in the ability of humans to adapt to temperature extremes.

Combining standardized achievement data for 58 countries and 12,000 US school districts with detailed weather and academic calendar information, Park et al. show that the rate of learning decreases as the number of hot school days goes up.

Abstract This study offers some of the first evidence in a developing country context that transitory exposure to high temperatures may disrupt low-stakes cognitive activities across a range of age cohorts. By matching eight years of repeated cognitive tests among all the participants in a nationally representative longitudinal survey in China with weather data according to the exact time and geographic location of their assessment, we show that exposure to a temperature above 32°C on the test date, relative to a moderate day within 22°C–24°C, leads to a sizable decline in their math scores by 0.066 standard deviations (equivalent to 0.23 years of education). Further, the effect on the math test scores is more salient for individuals who are older or less educated.

(April 2019) - We analyze the impact of outdoor temperature on high-stakes decisions (immigration adjudications) made by professional decision-makers (US immigration judges). In our preferred specification, which includes spatial, temporal, and judge fixed effects, and controls for various potential confounders, a 10°F degree increase in case-day temperature reduces decisions favorable to the applicant by 6.55 percent. This is despite judgements being made indoors, "protected" by climate control. Results are consistent with established links from temperature to mood and risk appetite and have important implications for evaluating the influence of climate on "cognitive output."

It’s not just the planet and not just our health – the impact of a warming climate extends deep into our cortical fissures

A process called biofortification puts nutrients directly into seeds and could reduce global hunger, but it’s not a magic bullet

Are AI-generated sermons the future of faith? With religious attendance falling, faith groups are turning to new technologies to attract members.

As tensions mount in the South China Sea, Vietnam is dredging and filling in land, fortifying barriers and erecting new structures to create hundreds of acres.

Making cement -- the most commonly used substance on Earth after water -- is responsible for 8% of global carbon emissions. It generates CO2 both through combustion of fossil fuels & through chemical processes. Sublime Systems thinks it has solved both sides of that equation. I talk with the CEO.

Xenobots may change how we think about intelligence.

Ancestral lands will be returned to the Shasta Indian Nation as part of a massive Klamath River dam removal project.

Global study reveals dirty air is second only to malnutrition as cause of death among under-fives

State’s transport department given a 2045 deadline to fully decarbonize and achieve zero emissions under agreement

Eating meat with a lower carbon footprint often means killing more animals and treating them more poorly.

The largest earthquake to hit Taiwan this century rattled the entire island overnight, collapsing buildings, damaging roads, and shutting down...

An innovative insurance program is paying daily wage laborers in India a portion of their income on days the temperature breaches a threshold.

Multiple groups are working to keep Amazon, Google, and Microsoft from doubling the number of centers in the country, fearing environmental devastation.

A fungus living in the sea can break down the plastic polyethylene, provided it has first been exposed to UV radiation from sunlight. Researchers from, amo…

Automakers are exploring energy storage as a way to help utilities and save customers money, turning an expensive component into an industry asset.

As heat waves creep north, they are baking schools that previously did not need air conditioning. Fixing the problem will be neither cheap, nor easy.

This cohort study investigates the associations between air and noise pollution exposure in pregnancy through age 12 years with the development of psychotic experiences, depression, and anxiety at 13 to 24 years of age.

Mexico City gets about a quarter of its water from a system that is running dry. Some say it could be unable to provide water by June 26, known as “Day Zero” in the metropolitan area of 22 million.

First phase of trial starts this month and includes rice and pasta

Experts say booming demand for holidays afloat mean ocean liners’ burden on the environment is growing

Ministers say network of 27 radar dishes in Pembrokeshire crucial to defend against ‘increasing belligerence in space’