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☆ The Greek islands are grappling with a water crisis as tourist season kicks into gear
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-23 | by ( Laura Paddison | Chris Liakos | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —The Greek Islands, known for their idyllic towns, rugged landscapes and sun-baked beaches, are in the grip of a serious crisis. “They combine lack of water resources — shallow aquifers, rare rivers or dams — with a tremendous rise in water demand during summer,” he told CNN. Kottakis blamed the crisis on Leros on a failure to maintain the island’s two desalination units, which are both in disrepair. Tourism is “unsustainable and zero-planned,” which is leading to a tremendous rise in water demand, said Mylopoulos, the university professor. Multiple wildfires raged and at least six tourists, including British TV presenter and doctor Michael Moseley and an American tourist, died as high temperatures scorched the Greek islands.

Persons: ”, Dimitris Lianos, Lianos, what’s, Stelios Misinas, Nikitas Mylopoulos, Kostas Lagouvardos, Panagiotis, Krontiras, ” Kottakis, Timotheos Kottakis, Kottakis, Mylopoulos, Michael Moseley, Vassilis Psomas, ” Krontiras, ” CNN’s Allison Chinchar, Brandon Miller, Sara Tonks Organizations: CNN, Reuters, University of Thessaly, National Observatory of, Farmers, Greek Navy Locations: Crete, Kefalonia, Naxos, Prokopios, Greece, Cycaldes, “, National Observatory of Athens, Panagiotis Krontiras, Tinos, —, Lagouvardos, British, American, Sofiko, Corinth, Greece's Peloponnese

☆ Unusual world offers astronomers a glimpse into how planets become ‘hot Jupiters’
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-17 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

The star is one of a binary pair, so the planet orbits the primary star, while the primary star orbits a secondary star. While Jupiter takes 4,000 Earth days to complete one orbit around the sun, hot Jupiters complete one orbit every few days. Astronomers use “eccentric” to refer to the shape of a planet’s orbit on a scale from zero to 1. “It’s a pretty extreme process in that the changes to the planet’s orbit are massive,” Millholland said. Discovering a second hot Jupiter precursor is helping astronomers to confirm the idea that high-mass gas giants transform into hot Jupiters as they migrate from eccentric to circular orbits, the researchers said.

Persons: —, ”, Arvind Gupta, NOIRLab, Gupta, Suvrath Mahadevan, Verne, Willaman, Jason Wright, ” Wright, ” Gupta, Sarah Millholland, “, ” Millholland, Wright, James Webb Organizations: CNN —, Penn State, Astronomy, Mercury, NASA, Massachusetts Institute, Technology’s Kavli, for Astrophysics, Space Research, chrysalis Locations: Kitt, Arizona

☆ Argentina once led on LGBTQ rights. After 4 lesbians are set on fire, critics turn on Milei
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-06 | by ( Michael Rios | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

CNN —It was an attack that sent shockwaves through a country long considered a pioneer in LGBTQ rights. Local LGBTQ rights advocates condemned the attack as a hate crime and lesbicide, saying the women were targeted because of their sexual identity. After taking office in December, Milei took steps that critics say weakened protections for LGBTQ groups. The recent attacks have galvanized activists to fight for new policies and actions that would further protect LGBTQ rights. He also said that to reduce attacks on LGBTQ communities, their voices and demands should be amplified in more societal sectors.

Persons: Pamela Fabiana Cobas, Mercedes Roxana Figueroa, Andrea Amarante, Sofía Castro Riglo, Pamela, Roxana, Andrea, Sofía, Gabriela Conder, “, ” Conder, aren’t, Javier Milei, ”, Maria Rachid, –, ” Rachid, Juan Mabromata, Milei, Diana Mondino, Don’t, Martin Cossarini, ” Esteban Paulón, ” “, Jesi Hernández, Barracas, Rachid, ” Hernández, Sofia, Conder, Manuel Adorni, ” Adorni, Adorni, lesbicide, Paulón, Hernández Organizations: CNN, Local, Police, Argentine LGBT Federation, Getty, I’m, Ministry of Women, Ministry of Human, Justice, Pride, Reuters, ” CNN, National Observatory, Progressives, University of San Locations: Argentina, Barracas, Buenos Aires, Conder, AFP, “, Sofia’s, Argentina Argentina, America, University of San Andrés

☆ Northern China braces for record high temperatures in major heat wave
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-10 | by ( Nectar Gan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Hong Kong CNN —A major heat wave is forecast to spread across large swathes of northern China this week, bringing record high temperatures to some areas, according to China’s meteorological authorities. The heat wave, which began on Saturday, has already triggered government weather alerts and follows the country’s hottest spring on record. The national observatory on Monday issued an orange alert for high temperatures – the second most severe warning – as sweltering heat engulfed the country’s north. Beijing on Saturday raised its first yellow alert for high temperatures this summer, warning residents to avoid going outdoors during the hottest parts of the day. Zhong said the high temperatures were linked to El Niño, a natural climate pattern marked by warmer than average ocean temperatures in the equatorial Pacific.

Persons: Zheng Zhihai, Zhong, El Niño, El Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, National Meteorological Center, NMC, National Climate Center, Xinhua Locations: Hong Kong, China, Shandong, Hebei, Xinjiang, Beijing, ”, Beijing’s Chaoyang, Guangdong

☆ Scientists discovered a surprising cooling trend on glaciers in Mount Everest 10 years ago. Now they think they know what's causing it.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-06 | by ( Saugat Bolakhe | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

It's been collecting hourly data on measurements like the mountain's air temperature, total precipitation, humidity, and wind speed since the early '90s. On warm days, as sunlight heats the glaciers, the air just above the glacier's surface warms and rises. This creates a vacuum causing the cold air around the snowy peaks to rush down due to gravity. Then at night, the ice releases some of that stored heat energy, preventing the air temperature from dropping too low. The terrain has also gotten more technical as melting glaciers open up huge crevasses.

Persons: Everest, It's, Yifei Fang, Franco Salerno, Gordon Janow, Mount Rainier, We're, it's Organizations: Service, Nature, Business, Researchers, National Research Council, Institute of Polar Sciences Locations: Mt, Milan, Janow, Mount

☆ Got $1,350? Spend a Night in a Space Observatory. Here’s What It’s Like.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Bob Davis | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

CHECK IN TO OUTER SPACE Arizona’s Kitt Peak National Observatory is a rare astronomy center that lets star seekers spend the night. SlovinskyFROM THE TOP of Kitt Peak National Observatory, just 50 miles from downtown Tucson, the autumn night sky blazed; the Milky Way was so dense with stars it looked like a luminescent cloud. Jupiter shone like a beacon—so bright I wondered how I’d never noticed it before. After lifetimes in cities where urban lights blot out the night sky, my wife, Deb, and I have sought out stargazing opportunities. Count us among the many who have popularized so-called dark-sky tourism, in which star seekers travel to find better viewing conditions.

Persons: I’d, Deb, Count Organizations: Kitt Locations: Tucson

☆ Europe weather: Heatwave in Greece likely to become longest one country has ever recorded
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-22 | by ( Duarte Mendonca | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —A heat wave baking Greece is likely to become the longest the country has ever recorded, experts say, as the country battles wildfires and restricts access to its popular tourist sites. He told CNN that the streak could go beyond those days, but at the moment “it’s hard to predict.”The longest continuous heatwave that Greece has faced was 12 days long, back in July 1987, Lagouvardos said. The country also experienced record-breaking heat, with capital Rome hitting a new high temperature of 41 degrees Celsius on Tuesday. Scientists are warning that the extreme weather may only be a preview of what’s to come as the planet warms. “The weather extremes will continue to become more intense and our weather patterns could change in ways we yet can’t predict,” said Peter Stott, a science fellow in climate attribution at the UK Met Office told CNN.

Persons: National Observatory of Athens Kostas Lagouvardos, Lagouvardos, Socrates Baltagiannis, ”, Peter Stott Organizations: CNN, Staff, Research, National Observatory of, Reuters, Getty, Rome, UK Met Office Locations: Greece, National Observatory of Athens, Athens, Rhodes, Europe, Veneto, Balkans

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