Students developed solar electric car Luminetta Solar Car that generates more energy than it consumes

For many years, the strategy to combat overheating in concrete megacities has been to increase the number of green spaces. However, a new scientific study suggests that in regions with high humidity, this natural method may cause discomfort for residents.

Researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Gandhinagar and the University of Northeastern in the USA found that in humid urban environments, dense tree canopies can become a source of increased humidity and heat. They impede air circulation, leading to a rise in perceived temperature to dangerous levels.

The team analyzed data collected in 138 Indian cities between 2003 and 2020. Studying diverse climatic zones—from the arid northwest to the tropical south—the scientists sought to understand why urban greening benefits some places but proves ineffective in others.

It was established that the effectiveness of urban greening directly depends on the local climate and landscape characteristics. Vegetation typically cools the area in two main ways: shading and evapotranspiration.

Shading is a simple mechanism: leaves block solar radiation, preventing it from reaching buildings and ground, thereby reducing energy input. Evapotranspiration is more complex; it is the process by which plants release water vapor, consuming heat and lowering the surrounding air temperature.

In dry, arid cities, this process is very beneficial because the air can effectively absorb moisture, providing significant cooling. However, in cities with high humidity, the air is already saturated with water. When dense clusters of trees additionally release moisture through evapotranspiration, the atmosphere becomes heavy and stuffy.

The situation is exacerbated if the city's architecture, such as tall buildings and narrow streets, obstructs wind. As a result, moisture gets trapped. For humans, this creates extremely unfavorable conditions. The human body cools down through sweat evaporation from the skin. If the air is already saturated with moisture from local trees, sweat cannot evaporate, and a person feels a significantly higher temperature than what the thermometer indicates.

This perceived heat is known as the Heat Index, and this indicator was used by researchers to measure thermal discomfort.

The researchers applied machine learning methods and high-resolution satellite imagery to determine specific thresholds beyond which greening ceases to be beneficial. They found that moderate leaf area and overall greenery usually contribute to cooling, but when plant health or productivity (measured as fPAR) exceeds a certain limit in humid urban centers, the Heat Index begins to rise.

In some cases, dense greening in humid Indian cities was linked to an increase in the feeling of heat by two degrees Celsius. This indicates the need for a serious revision of standard policies that always favor more greenery in tropical climates.

Previously, studies often relied on land surface temperature measurements, which show how hot the asphalt appears from space. Nevertheless, surface temperature does not reflect the actual human experience. This new study focused on the Heat Index, which combines air temperature and humidity for a more accurate assessment of the impact of urban heat on public health.

Furthermore, the analysis of 138 cities over nearly two decades provided a large-scale view of these trends, unlike small computer simulations that may not account for the complex reality of urban life.

As climate change makes heatwaves more frequent and intense, there is a strong drive to plant forests on every available patch of land. However, this study demonstrates that a climate-adapted approach to design is critically important. In humid cities, planners should consider prioritizing the creation of sparse canopies that ensure better ventilation or focusing on strategic building shading, rather than relying solely on dense clusters of highly transpiring trees.

By identifying where and why nature-based solutions might be counterproductive, this allows governments to develop fairer and more effective cooling strategies. For millions of people living in rapidly warming tropical cities, these findings could be the deciding factor between a city sanctuary and a suffocating trap of humid heat.

A team of Indian botanists has discovered a new, rare fern species in the misty hills of Koli in the Eastern Ghats. The plant has been named Pteris madhusoodananii. Researchers from Government Victoria College and Sri Vyasa NSS College in Kerala identified this species during a series of scientific expeditions in Tamil Nadu.

The discovery is of particular urgency as this species was immediately classified as 'critically endangered' due to its extremely limited habitat and the threat of human encroachment.

The finding occurred during a taxonomic review of ferns in South India. While surveying the outskirts of the Puliyansolai forest, researchers noticed a fern population that did not match any known record. To confirm their suspicions, the team collected samples in the laboratory, where they used a combination of traditional physical measurements, scanning electron microscopy to study the plant's spores, and DNA sequencing to build its genetic tree.

Despite its external resemblance to other ferns in the Pteris family, Pteris madhusoodananii is distinguished by its stiff, leathery leaves with a glossy dark green color. Unlike its closest relatives, it possesses a very noticeable lobe at the base of the lower segments and a unique pinnate-pinnule architecture, where smaller leaflets are arranged along the stem. At the microscopic level, its spores feature a narrow, wavy band called a cingulum, which differentiates them from the smooth, wider bands found in similar species.

The plant's name is a tribute to a titan of Indian botany. The specific epithet madhusoodananii was chosen in honor of Professor Dr. P. V. Madhusoodanan, former head of the Botany Department at Calicut University. The authors noted that this name recognizes his outstanding contribution to fern studies and his role in inspiring new generations of scientists.

Despite the excitement of the find, the future of Pteris madhusoodananii remains uncertain. It is currently known to exist only in two small patches covering eight square kilometers. Since these areas lack official protection and are threatened by road construction, deforestation, and conversion to agricultural land, scientists are calling for immediate conservation measures to save this newly discovered piece of India's natural heritage.

The average temperature of oceans outside the polar caps and extreme polar regions exceeded 20.96 °C last month, breaking the previous record of 20.89 °C recorded in 2023.

One of the factors contributing to this increase was the exceptionally high temperatures over a vast area of the tropical Pacific Ocean. This zone is experiencing conditions of a meteorological phenomenon known as El Niño, which forecasts suggest will intensify in the coming months.

Around Europe, temperature records in the Atlantic and Western Mediterranean Seas were linked to intense marine heatwaves, which affected both ecosystems and coastal communities.

The western part of the continent experienced the hottest period combined for June and July in recorded history, reaching 21.62°C. This figure surpasses the 2022 record and is 2.79°C above the average. During this time, heatwaves occurred, and drought persisted, which began back in May.

Precipitation and soil moisture were exceptionally low for this period in France, Spain, parts of Germany, and the United Kingdom. According to a report published by C3S, river runoff in the affected regions dropped significantly below average or was extremely low, impacting water supply, irrigation, and energy production in several countries, especially along the Seine, Rhine, and Danube rivers.

Samantha Burgess from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts explained that 'persistent high-pressure systems held heat over Western Europe; extreme temperatures also exacerbated the overall drought. As the soil dries out, it loses its ability to naturally provide coolness.'

She added that this is 'a clear example of how climate change intensifies extreme temperatures, with heat and drought increasingly reinforcing each other.'

Globally, July last month was the second warmest on record, with an average sea surface temperature of 16.90°C. This figure matches last year's July but lags behind the July 2023 record, being 1.47°C above the pre-industrial average level of 1850–1900.

Lawrence Ruil, Director of the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service, noted that 'last month saw exceptional forest fire activity in Western Europe in terms of burning area and emissions.'

Ruil emphasized that climate change-induced conditions contribute to large and high-intensity fires in Southern Europe while extending the fire season northward. Furthermore, she warned that larger fires produce more smoke, which is released higher into the atmosphere, allowing it to travel further and affect even countries thousands of kilometers away where the number of fires is relatively small.