In June 2022, Pakistan started to receive an abnormal amount of rain. Within a month, the downpours had submerged substantial swaths of the country.Wherever the water accumulated, it brought destruction and death. And though the rain stopped several months ago, millions of people are still affected by its wreckage. With this in mind, what were the causes and the consequences of these floods, and what part, if any, did climate change play in the development of the disaster?What Were the Causes of ...read more
Hurricane season — from June through November in the Atlantic — is right around the corner. And while we won’t know the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) official predictions for another few weeks, that hasn’t stopped other long-range forecasters from staking their claims.In Colorado State University’s 2023 forecast are six hurricanes and two major hurricanes (meaning Category 3 or greater). Researchers at North Carolina State University tend to agree with that ...read more
Many things go wrong when a human spends months alone in a dark cave. Time stills and the body’s rhythms go awry. Sleep withers to a few hours a night, and menstruation may come to a halt. Enthralling stories, like that of Spanish climber and cave-dweller Beatrice Flamini's, shed light on what motivates someone to become a cave dweller.Flamini's Life as a Cave DwellerOn April 14, Flamini emerged from a cave in the country after spending a record 500 days isolated underground, save for a “tec ...read more
With the help of a local fisherman, identified as Jesus Artemio Poot Villa, scientists found the second-deepest blue hole in the world in an unlikely place — the shallow Chetumal Bay located on the southeastern side of the Yucatan Peninsula. Filled with a hostile, oxygen-starved environment, the newly-named Taam Ja’ Blue Hole (TJBH) could one day invite research into how life could survive on alien planets or other harsh environments.What Is a Blue Hole?A blue hole is a vertical cave typical ...read more
Elephants love eating bananas, and feast on them whole whenever they can. But Pang Pha, a 36-year-old Asian elephant who lives at the Berlin Zoo, is a little more precious: she happens to prefer her bananas peeled. While growing up, Pha was under the custody of an attentive caretaker who used to peel her bananas for her. Now, she seems to have taught herself to break the banana against her trunk and wriggle the insides of the fruit from its peel, discarding the latter and savoring just the pulp. ...read more
Author Vishay SinghPosted on Categories Discover Magazine
