Aggregator

Europe is facing its fifth round of dangerously high temperatures this summer, the New York Times reports. Now climate scientists wonder if global warming is doing more than raise temperatures... The weather patterns that create heat domes aren't new, but today they arise on top of the warming caused by greenhouse gas emissions. That makes it more likely that heat waves reach record-shattering temperatures for long stretches. But other environmental changes — natural, human-influenced or both — might also be causing heat domes to become more frequent and longer lasting. And it's these changes that scientists around the globe are trying to puzzle out. One change has to do with the Arctic. The differences in temperature between the hot Equator and the frigid far north help keep weather moving around the Northern Hemisphere. But with the top of the world now warming at several times the pace of the rest of the globe, those temperature gradients are narrowing. That might be causing the movements of weather systems to become more sluggish, producing more persistent heat waves. In Europe, reduced air pollution could be having a similar effect. Industrial emissions can contain particles called aerosols that reflect sunlight. Curbing aerosols has improved air quality, but it may also have altered the way air moves across the continent. Scientists haven't come to firm conclusions about how these shifts might be affecting European summers, said Antje Weisheimer, a climate scientist at the University of Oxford. The complex, fine-scale interactions in the atmosphere that drive weather dynamics are tough to capture in computer simulations, Dr. Weisheimer said. "It's tricky," she said. "We're making small progress." Dim Coumou, a professor of climate science at the Dutch university VU Amsterdam, sees artificial intelligence as one way forward. In a recent study, he and his colleagues used an A.I. algorithm to help a weather model better predict summer temperatures in Europe. They not only improved the model's forecasts; they also discovered why some of the model's predictions had been off: It misrepresented the way conditions in the western Pacific Ocean influenced atmospheric patterns that eventually made their way to Europe. With A.I., "we can also learn what the climate models are missing," Dr. Coumou said.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

A Mail on Sunday poll shows the extent of that local opposition, with 57 per cent of voters saying that they do not want any more migrants in their area. Just 15 per cent are happy with the idea.

Deer antlers could hold the secret to helping broken bones heal more quickly after scientists discovered they contain chemicals which accelerate the repair process.

Ariana Grande is said to have prepared for her London tour dates by holing up in the Oxfordshire countryside after announcing she was taking a break from the spotlight.

On the issue of immigration, there has always been a great deal of long-distance charity and plentiful signalling of virtue by the new Left-wing elite.

A dedicated prison wing has been created in a centre at HMP Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire.

This isn't just any carrier bag. This is a £70 vintage-inspired Marks & Spencer tote in butter-soft leather.

Figures obtained under Freedom of Information laws show an average of 47 devices going missing every week across Government departments.

A "massive influx" of jellyfish forced Electricite de France SA to shut three units at its Gravelines nuclear power plant this week and reduce output at a fourth, reports Bloomberg. Just as summer temperatures surged, 3.2 gigawatts went offline — and the power utility was already facing cuts other nuclear sites as high temperatures reduced the river water available for cooling. More details from ScienceAlert: As Politico reports, the Gravelines nuclear power plant spent hundreds of thousands of euros in 2025 to stop this happening again, only to see a repeat 12 months later... Increasing temperatures in the water can produce more of the plankton and animals that jellyfish feed on, as well as accelerating life cycles and extending breeding seasons.... It's not just jellyfish that have a habit of disrupting human energy infrastructure. Last year in Connecticut, a single raccoon caused more than a thousand power outages, as reported by CT Insider. It's not clear exactly what the raccoon did, but we do know it somehow got into a substation and caused damage to the equipment in there. The unwitting act of sabotage left more than 2,500 customers in the area without power at one stage — though repairs were swiftly carried out. Reuters reported Tuesday on how the French utility responded to their jellyfish swarm: EDF has installed fixed cameras at the intake canals and on the filter drum screens to detect any incoming blockages as soon as possible, an engineer told Reuters... The company has also partnered with a French fishing organisation and a sea rescue organisation, which monitor for swarms and can raise an alert to launch targeted trawling operations by fishermen to reduce the swarm's density before it reaches the plant, the engineer said. The fishing boats were deployed [last] Saturday after an initial alarm was raised, limiting the impact from the swarm. The jellyfish that are already on site are being removed with vacuum trucks, he said. No new jellyfish are arriving, so cleanup is finishing, which should lead to a quick restart of the units, they added... Scientists warn such events could become more common due to factors including global warming, the arrival of invasive species, habitat loss of predators and over-fishing. Thanks to Slashdot reader Bruce66423 for sharing the news.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Nail technicians in the UK will face strict restrictions on the use of gel polishes containing toxic TPO from today, following a ban on chemicals in the EU.

A manufacturing technician who worked on production lines for Lemsip and for constipation treatment, Fybogel - says dust and fumes from the products' ingredients triggered health issues.

A whole host of dogs went head-to-head to try and claim the title at the annual Sonoma-Marin Fair in Santa Rosa on Friday.

Strictly Come Dancing host Emma Willis has revealed that Ellie Taylor has been named as the new presenter for the spin-off show.

RIATH AL-SAMARRAI: Dina Asher-Smith handed a baton to Amy Hunt at 9.52pm and around 31 seconds later, Britain's newest sprint hero had a third gold medal.

The Royal Osteoporosis Society (ROS), whose president is Queen Camilla, has written to the statistics watchdog to complain that Labour is using bogus figures.

Less than a year ago he was the #1 richest man in the world. 10 weeks ago he was #2. But yesterday Larry Ellison dropped to #8, Forbes reports, falling behind Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. Ellison's net worth is now estimated at just $192.6 billion — after a $104 billion decline: Shares of Oracle plunged roughly 54% between hitting a high of just over $250 on June 1 to a low of $114.50 on July 28, though the stock rebounded slightly to $150.52 as of Friday. A decline followed Oracle telling investors it expected to raise $40 billion through debt and equity financing, with capital expenditures surging 162% to $55.7 billion and spending expected to top $95 billion by fiscal 2027. Jacob Bourne, an analyst at eMarketer, told Reuters there are broader concerns about how Oracle would fund its capital spending to match its revenue projections, and Bank of America analysts separately flagged in a note cautioning that more than 50% of Oracle's remaining performance obligation comes from OpenAI. Melius Research analysts wrote last month that Oracle's spending plans may not hold if OpenAI or Anthropic demands more computing capacity. S&P Global also downgraded Oracle's credit rating in July, arguing the firm's "rapidly expanding" AI infrastructure business could pay off, but may be too expensive and could weaken Oracle's financial position in the meantime. $443 billion. That's how much Oracle's market valuation has dropped since peaking at $877.1 billion in September, hitting $433.5 billion as of Friday... Oracle, once viewed as a potential winner of the booming AI infrastructure buildout, has since raised concerns among investors who appear to view the firm as taking on too much financial risk to fund its projects. Wall Street has cautioned that mega-cap tech firms may be taking on too much spending to match growing demand for AI products, with firms like Amazon expecting to spend more than $200 billion. Oracle's backlog has exploded to $638 billion, but more than half is reportedly associated with OpenAI, and some analysts have cautioned that most of those funds may not be guaranteed.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

The NFL star, 36, had a life-changing offseason, marrying pop sensation Taylor Swift in a star-studded celebration at Madison Square Garden in New York City on July 3.

RIATH AL-SAMARRAI IN BIRMINGHAM: The 33-year-old, clearly unfit after recent difficulties with a calf issue, effectively jogged the 800m to bring an end to her hugely underwhelming campaign.

In 2001, defying lingering allegations of child molestation, Michael Jackson decided to make a fly-on-the-wall-style documentary.

Gomez has broken her silence two days after she and her mother were accused of fraud in a lawsuit filed by investors in her mental health company, Wondermind.