WEBVTT - Best of: How else can an air-con nation keep cool in a heatwave? 0:00:00.250 --> 0:00:03.579 You're listening to AC N A podcast. Hey, guys, the 0:00:03.589 --> 0:00:08.210 Climate Conversations Team will be taking a break in December, hooray. 0:00:08.220 --> 0:00:13.529 But we'll, but we'll be back in January 2025. In 0:00:13.539 --> 0:00:16.370 the meantime, we're bringing back some of the most memorable 0:00:16.379 --> 0:00:19.779 episodes from this year in case you've missed them. Have 0:00:19.790 --> 0:00:22.989 a listen and enjoy the holidays. Talk to you next year. 0:00:23.000 --> 0:00:24.030 Bye for now. 0:00:28.049 --> 0:00:32.200 Can you feel that it's summer and this year it 0:00:32.209 --> 0:00:36.129 feels hotter than ever. Is your air conditioning on right now? 0:00:36.139 --> 0:00:40.500 Mine is, and for good reason, right across Southeast Asia, 0:00:40.509 --> 0:00:45.930 sweltering temperatures are taking a toll on our workplaces, our schools, 0:00:45.939 --> 0:00:49.549 our commutes and the health of our loved ones. Is 0:00:49.560 --> 0:00:53.790 this the new reality this week? We're battling the heat. 0:00:53.950 --> 0:00:56.909 Hi and welcome to Climate Conversations. 0:01:01.000 --> 0:01:03.779 I'm Jack Boyd, your new host of the podcast. Let 0:01:03.790 --> 0:01:07.819 me introduce myself. I'm CN A's climate change correspondent and 0:01:07.830 --> 0:01:10.378 I'm based in Bangkok. I do lots of on the 0:01:10.389 --> 0:01:13.470 ground reporting all around Southeast Asia and sometimes when I'm 0:01:13.480 --> 0:01:17.009 lucky beyond and things might be sounding a little bit 0:01:17.019 --> 0:01:19.819 different as we start a new season of the show. 0:01:20.294 --> 0:01:23.154 The format is changing a bit. We're gonna be bringing 0:01:23.165 --> 0:01:26.514 you closer to the CN A newsroom to the stories 0:01:26.525 --> 0:01:29.165 that my colleagues in Singapore and all around the region 0:01:29.184 --> 0:01:31.995 are covering in this space. And you'll be hearing about 0:01:32.004 --> 0:01:35.175 some of my stories too and the journeying I'm doing 0:01:35.184 --> 0:01:38.774 to bring this huge and challenging topic to life. 0:01:39.160 --> 0:01:42.279 And I'm also excited to tell you about my co-host. 0:01:42.290 --> 0:01:45.900 She's here. It's Li Ling Tan. She's in Singapore. She's 0:01:45.910 --> 0:01:49.080 done lots of awesome journalism throughout her career all around 0:01:49.089 --> 0:01:51.650 the world. Li Ling. Hello. Hi there, Jack and a 0:01:51.660 --> 0:01:55.000 big hello to everyone joining us on the show. I 0:01:55.010 --> 0:01:58.680 am executive news editor at Singapore des I cover climate 0:01:58.690 --> 0:02:00.500 sustainability and the environment 0:02:00.809 --> 0:02:03.239 themes that we'll be addressing here on the new climate 0:02:03.250 --> 0:02:07.050 conversations and yes, there will be doom, there will be gloom, 0:02:07.080 --> 0:02:11.179 but we'll also be talking about solutions breakthroughs and game 0:02:11.190 --> 0:02:13.960 changing policies. So all up for discussion. 0:02:15.860 --> 0:02:18.799 Very nice to be hosting this with you. I'm gonna 0:02:18.809 --> 0:02:23.339 start you out by really testing your climate knowledge and 0:02:23.350 --> 0:02:26.690 the climate knowledge of the listeners as well. We're starting 0:02:26.699 --> 0:02:29.119 with a climate question. We're gonna do this every week. 0:02:29.360 --> 0:02:31.948 Are you ready? Yes, I am. And it's gonna be 0:02:31.960 --> 0:02:38.008 heat related. What is the hottest temperature ever recorded in 0:02:38.020 --> 0:02:41.139 Southeast Asia? Where do you think it was? And when 0:02:41.149 --> 0:02:43.660 do you think it was, I'll give you the length 0:02:43.669 --> 0:02:45.820 of the podcast to think about your answer. No, it's 0:02:45.830 --> 0:02:48.538 not in Bangkok today. Although it feels like it might 0:02:48.550 --> 0:02:51.579 be and we'll see how you go towards the end. Ok. 0:02:51.589 --> 0:02:52.630 I'll have a think about it. 0:02:54.720 --> 0:02:59.220 Let's look at some of the interesting climate environment stories 0:02:59.229 --> 0:03:02.059 from this week, Lee Ling, you're right there in the newsroom. 0:03:02.070 --> 0:03:05.429 Take us through what's captured your attention over the past 0:03:05.440 --> 0:03:06.100 week or so. 0:03:08.570 --> 0:03:13.369 Dengue. Dengue danger, Dengue danger alert. We've already topped 5000 0:03:13.380 --> 0:03:16.288 cases in just the first three months of the year. 0:03:16.300 --> 0:03:18.880 And that's in Singapore. It's a bit worrying, you know, 0:03:18.889 --> 0:03:21.440 not too long ago, we hit a record high of 0:03:21.449 --> 0:03:26.320 35,000 Dengue cases. This was back in 2020 we had 0:03:26.330 --> 0:03:28.360 about 32 people dying from it. 0:03:28.779 --> 0:03:30.918 The numbers did go down a little bit before surging 0:03:30.929 --> 0:03:33.440 again two years ago. And, you know, this is an 0:03:33.449 --> 0:03:36.350 ongoing battle. It's endemic in Singapore, but it's not just 0:03:36.360 --> 0:03:40.600 Singapore's battle, Malaysia and Indonesia. They've also seen numbers going 0:03:40.610 --> 0:03:42.440 up and a big part of this is due to 0:03:42.449 --> 0:03:46.220 El Nino which causes hotter drier weather as well as 0:03:46.229 --> 0:03:47.000 the rainy season. 0:03:47.279 --> 0:03:50.509 What we're also reading about is part of Singapore's anti Dengue. 0:03:50.789 --> 0:03:54.490 Arsenal includes the Wolbachia bacteria. You may have heard of 0:03:54.500 --> 0:03:59.520 this Jack, they inject the mosquito with this Wolbachia bacteria 0:03:59.529 --> 0:04:01.800 and then they release it into the wild. And what 0:04:01.809 --> 0:04:05.330 it does is it suppresses Mozzie eggs from hatching. 0:04:05.729 --> 0:04:07.949 So it's kind of like a trojan horse. But with 0:04:07.960 --> 0:04:10.770 mosquitoes and going by the numbers, I think it seems 0:04:10.779 --> 0:04:14.449 like it's work in progress in an ongoing battle and 0:04:14.460 --> 0:04:18.450 we know climate change is making these types of diseases worse. Absolutely. 0:04:18.459 --> 0:04:22.839 Speaking about El Nino, we're looking at rice prices in Indonesia, 0:04:22.959 --> 0:04:25.399 rice prices have been going up and it continues to 0:04:25.410 --> 0:04:25.808 hit in 0:04:25.855 --> 0:04:28.805 in Asia, especially hot. Now, remember this is a country 0:04:28.815 --> 0:04:31.635 with the largest population in the region and the highest 0:04:31.645 --> 0:04:36.376 rice consumption that dwarves any other country here in Southeast Asia. Now, 0:04:36.385 --> 0:04:39.925 El Nino last year meant longer dry seasons that disrupted 0:04:39.936 --> 0:04:44.165 production prices have also gone up more than 24%. The 0:04:44.175 --> 0:04:45.566 lead up to Ramadan 0:04:45.981 --> 0:04:48.062 also meant more demand for the staple and that put 0:04:48.071 --> 0:04:52.522 more pressure on prices. So this really is another sign 0:04:52.532 --> 0:04:55.332 of how vulnerable food systems in the region are to 0:04:55.342 --> 0:04:58.761 changes in climate patterns and weather patterns and the need 0:04:58.772 --> 0:05:02.321 to diversify our food choices and our food sources. Yeah, 0:05:02.332 --> 0:05:05.260 really tough when rice which is so important is becoming 0:05:05.272 --> 0:05:06.002 so expensive. 0:05:06.410 --> 0:05:09.420 And then finally a more of a novel but kind 0:05:09.428 --> 0:05:13.558 of a sad story about the Sakura blossoms in Tokyo. Yes, 0:05:13.570 --> 0:05:15.149 they came late in Tokyo this year. I'm sure a 0:05:15.160 --> 0:05:17.250 lot of you have heard about this, I think on 0:05:17.260 --> 0:05:20.730 average it was four days later. But get this, this 0:05:20.738 --> 0:05:23.928 Jack is an anomaly in an anomalous trend. And what 0:05:23.940 --> 0:05:26.339 that means is they flowered earlier last year and they 0:05:26.350 --> 0:05:27.230 also flowered early 0:05:27.436 --> 0:05:31.044 in 2021 and then the year before that 2020 as well. 0:05:31.255 --> 0:05:35.765 And the Japanese Meteorological agency says the average start date 0:05:35.776 --> 0:05:40.756 has been getting earlier by about 1.2 days every decade. 0:05:41.096 --> 0:05:43.756 So it's another sign of the impact of the weather 0:05:43.765 --> 0:05:47.186 system and of course, makes it more difficult. Definitely make 0:05:47.196 --> 0:05:48.145 sure you planning your 0:05:48.261 --> 0:05:51.532 holiday even more difficult. I tried to see the Sakura 0:05:51.851 --> 0:05:54.802 one year and I was there way too early now. 0:05:54.940 --> 0:05:57.332 You missed out. When were you there? It was about 0:05:57.342 --> 0:05:59.861 10 years ago. I really tried to see the cherry blossoms. 0:05:59.872 --> 0:06:02.502 No one or you could come to Singapore. I think 0:06:02.511 --> 0:06:04.772 there's a cherry blossoms thing going on at gardens by 0:06:04.782 --> 0:06:07.851 the bay right now. Ok. That's always an option. I'll 0:06:07.861 --> 0:06:09.002 take you there. Let's go. 0:06:14.170 --> 0:06:17.410 Now, as promised, we're gonna dig into our main story 0:06:17.420 --> 0:06:21.149 for this week. It's getting hot in here, right? Things 0:06:21.160 --> 0:06:24.549 are getting hotter around here. If you're listening right now 0:06:24.559 --> 0:06:28.519 from anywhere in Southeast Asia, you'll know that the mercury 0:06:28.529 --> 0:06:33.058 has been soaring recently. Heat is a silent killer. And 0:06:33.070 --> 0:06:35.809 the scary thing is this could just be the start 0:06:35.820 --> 0:06:38.739 of longer, hotter days and nights 0:06:39.000 --> 0:06:44.029 if temperatures rise by 1.5 °C, the best case scenario 0:06:44.040 --> 0:06:48.738 under the Paris Agreement, 2.3 billion people could be vulnerable 0:06:48.750 --> 0:06:51.899 to heat waves with the majority of them in Asia. 0:06:52.359 --> 0:06:56.618 Three quarters of the entire global population will be exposed 0:06:56.630 --> 0:07:00.799 to deadly heat conditions every year by 2100 under the 0:07:00.809 --> 0:07:04.950 current trajectory of greenhouse gas emissions. And that's according to 0:07:04.959 --> 0:07:06.618 the Asian Development Bank 0:07:06.899 --> 0:07:11.220 here in Bangkok right now it's a blistering 37 degrees 0:07:11.329 --> 0:07:14.239 peak summer. What about you, Lee Ling, I'm sure Singapore 0:07:14.250 --> 0:07:16.839 isn't much better. Oh, I'm just pulling up the thermometer 0:07:16.850 --> 0:07:19.450 on my phone. Just give me a second. It is 0:07:19.459 --> 0:07:22.540 a scorching. It's, oh, wait, it's 30 degrees. But it 0:07:22.549 --> 0:07:24.869 feels a lot hotter. I came out of home on 0:07:24.880 --> 0:07:27.230 the way in and I was just drenched. So, 0:07:27.470 --> 0:07:30.970 yes, it's hot. It's erratic. Some days it's wet and sticky. 0:07:30.980 --> 0:07:35.899 Other days it's just absolutely scorching. I'm sunburned or sweaty. 0:07:35.940 --> 0:07:40.470 My plants are either soggy or crispy. It is miserable, 0:07:40.480 --> 0:07:42.950 but at least I'm in the newsroom where there's air 0:07:42.959 --> 0:07:45.429 conditioning most of the day. You're out in the elements though, 0:07:45.440 --> 0:07:46.929 aren't you Jack? How do you cope? 0:07:47.114 --> 0:07:49.654 It's really tough at this time of year being out 0:07:49.665 --> 0:07:53.214 in the field and carrying around heavy camera equipment. It 0:07:53.225 --> 0:07:56.744 just makes everything a struggle. But we can hardly complain. 0:07:56.755 --> 0:07:59.454 We have officers with air conditioning all the time. It's 0:07:59.464 --> 0:08:03.475 the marginalized people in the community that have no choice. 0:08:03.484 --> 0:08:06.695 The rice farmers, the grab delivery riders, 0:08:06.890 --> 0:08:09.630 the construction workers who really can't escape the heat that 0:08:09.640 --> 0:08:12.130 I really feel for, especially this time of year and 0:08:12.140 --> 0:08:14.359 we better get used to it as well. The projections 0:08:14.369 --> 0:08:16.739 are that it'll get even hotter over the next few 0:08:16.750 --> 0:08:19.529 decades and by the end of the century, almost every 0:08:19.540 --> 0:08:22.828 day will be a very hot day. That's based on 0:08:22.839 --> 0:08:26.380 recent projections out of a Singapore climate change study. And 0:08:26.559 --> 0:08:28.350 they're saying, compared to now, when we 0:08:28.505 --> 0:08:33.924 about 21 very hot days a year come 2099 or 2100, 0:08:33.934 --> 0:08:38.684 we could get about as many as 351 days of 0:08:38.695 --> 0:08:41.434 very hot days. In the worst case scenario, we're going 0:08:41.445 --> 0:08:45.184 to need some real solutions. Right. Yeah, absolutely. I don't 0:08:45.195 --> 0:08:48.015 think we'll be around but certainly our kids and does 0:08:48.025 --> 0:08:49.843 the report go into what might happen 0:08:50.159 --> 0:08:52.579 in the rest of the region as well? Yes, it 0:08:52.590 --> 0:08:55.380 does cover the rest of the region and it's projecting 0:08:55.390 --> 0:08:59.789 around 5.5 to 6 degrees warmer weather in a high 0:08:59.799 --> 0:09:02.489 emissions or worst case scenario by the end of the century, 0:09:02.590 --> 0:09:04.650 like you said, our children's lifetime 0:09:04.979 --> 0:09:08.650 and their children's lifetime. So it's actually not that far 0:09:08.659 --> 0:09:11.679 off if you think about it. Actually, we're feeling it 0:09:11.690 --> 0:09:13.479 but other people in the rest of the parts of 0:09:13.489 --> 0:09:15.619 the world will be feeling it even worse. It really 0:09:15.630 --> 0:09:20.080 comes down to the impact it has on people and places. Today, 0:09:20.169 --> 0:09:21.280 we recently did 0:09:21.375 --> 0:09:24.395 a study at CN A Singapore desk about the impact 0:09:24.405 --> 0:09:28.155 of heat stress on people and industry. Here's an excerpt 0:09:28.164 --> 0:09:31.714 from the piece by Marcus Tan remo construction work site. 0:09:31.724 --> 0:09:35.515 He's speaking with Perry Asami Saravanan who is a workplace 0:09:35.525 --> 0:09:37.635 safety and health officer on duty. 0:09:39.140 --> 0:09:42.690 These construction workers are feeling the full effects of the 0:09:42.700 --> 0:09:48.099 midday sun. It falls to safety and health officers like 0:09:48.630 --> 0:09:51.609 Saravanan to call his colleagues in for wellness checks and 0:09:51.619 --> 0:09:52.630 water parades 0:09:53.359 --> 0:09:56.098 on a big project like this. There are plenty of 0:09:56.109 --> 0:10:00.739 opportunities for signs of heat stress to manifest. Saravanan cites 0:10:00.750 --> 0:10:05.539 physical symptoms like rashes and breathing problems or mental symptoms 0:10:05.549 --> 0:10:06.619 like confusion, 0:10:07.380 --> 0:10:10.559 all of which could lead to accidents happening on the 0:10:10.570 --> 0:10:15.799 job for drivers or operators and also the worker working 0:10:15.809 --> 0:10:19.679 under the hot sun. So the rules require higher mental 0:10:19.690 --> 0:10:25.729 faculties and decision making abilities, construction site or susceptibly to 0:10:25.739 --> 0:10:27.358 impairment by heat stress. 0:10:28.179 --> 0:10:31.559 Six in 10 construction workers survey in the project heat 0:10:31.570 --> 0:10:35.090 safe studies say they felt fatigued due to heat stress. 0:10:35.780 --> 0:10:38.919 Nearly two in five also complained of headaches brought on 0:10:38.929 --> 0:10:40.530 by prolonged heat exposure. 0:10:40.989 --> 0:10:44.579 And so it messes with brain function, screws with decision 0:10:44.590 --> 0:10:47.718 making and balance which can cause workplace injuries that marketers 0:10:47.729 --> 0:10:50.229 had touched on that. Now, more bricks to cool off 0:10:50.239 --> 0:10:53.049 and you know, water breaks. These also disrupt schedules and 0:10:53.059 --> 0:10:56.030 construction deadlines. So it hits at the bottom line. The 0:10:56.039 --> 0:10:59.200 study estimates that the impact could cost the country billions 0:10:59.210 --> 0:11:00.859 of dollars a year in productivity. 0:11:06.070 --> 0:11:10.929 So how do we adapt? We turn on our air conditioner. 0:11:11.380 --> 0:11:15.150 Sometimes it feels like we probably can't live without air 0:11:15.159 --> 0:11:18.570 con on. I remember speaking to an expert on heat 0:11:18.580 --> 0:11:20.880 who said that, you know, air conditioning can't be the 0:11:20.890 --> 0:11:24.239 problem if you keep using it. It's like you're getting fatter, 0:11:24.330 --> 0:11:26.409 but instead of going on a diet, you just keep 0:11:26.419 --> 0:11:29.590 buying larger pants. Yeah, it's not sustainable, right? It just 0:11:29.599 --> 0:11:31.289 makes the problem worse, especially when 0:11:31.385 --> 0:11:33.525 you're talking about living in cities in the urban Heat 0:11:33.534 --> 0:11:37.444 Island effect. Experts are also saying that air conditioning is 0:11:37.455 --> 0:11:39.765 not the best solution it takes in too much energy 0:11:39.775 --> 0:11:43.914 spits out too much emissions, very bad for the environment, 0:11:44.025 --> 0:11:46.645 very bad for cities, very bad for the planet. 0:11:46.989 --> 0:11:49.859 So experts are saying we should start to think about 0:11:49.869 --> 0:11:54.179 acclimatizing to the warmer weather. Stop the air con addiction 0:11:54.190 --> 0:11:56.460 and dependency or at least dull it back by not 0:11:56.469 --> 0:11:59.609 setting the thermostat so low. Which kind of makes sense 0:11:59.619 --> 0:12:01.849 because you know, when you enter malls in Singapore, you're 0:12:01.859 --> 0:12:04.530 kind of going from scorching heat to like optic freeze 0:12:04.539 --> 0:12:10.630 in the cold weather in Singapore, which is just ridiculous. 0:12:10.940 --> 0:12:14.080 I'm a 24 degrees kind of guy with my air con. 0:12:14.200 --> 0:12:15.569 I think that's not too bad. 0:12:15.890 --> 0:12:19.260 But obviously, whenever you have the comfortable temperature inside, you're 0:12:19.270 --> 0:12:23.140 creating the heat outside. And that energy consumption is a problem. 0:12:23.150 --> 0:12:25.869 And also one thing we don't think about is it 0:12:25.880 --> 0:12:29.770 increases the inequalities between communities, people who can afford air 0:12:29.780 --> 0:12:32.400 con and people who can't. And that's something I see 0:12:32.409 --> 0:12:35.429 a lot in my daily work. And of course, rising 0:12:35.440 --> 0:12:38.348 heat is changing the way that we live and we 0:12:38.359 --> 0:12:39.468 work and we play 0:12:39.890 --> 0:12:42.549 and it's not just air conditioning, but how we build 0:12:42.559 --> 0:12:46.239 and how we design cities. And Singapore obviously is at 0:12:46.250 --> 0:12:49.309 the forefront of that lot of cities around the world. 0:12:49.320 --> 0:12:51.650 And when I travel and speak to experts, they're often 0:12:51.659 --> 0:12:55.108 looking at what Singapore is doing as kind of this 0:12:55.119 --> 0:12:58.789 prototype model of a hot city trying to get cooler. 0:12:58.799 --> 0:13:01.570 What have you learned about that Li Ling in Singapore? 0:13:01.580 --> 0:13:03.859 We're looking at more sustainable district 0:13:03.979 --> 0:13:08.489 cooling systems exploring innovative building materials because the built environment 0:13:08.500 --> 0:13:10.488 is really a big part of this, right? It takes 0:13:10.500 --> 0:13:14.510 up so much energy to develop and construct. So we 0:13:14.520 --> 0:13:18.000 are looking also at reflective pain, for example, to keep 0:13:18.010 --> 0:13:21.549 buildings cool. So there's less pressure to cool it internally. 0:13:21.570 --> 0:13:24.799 We're planting trees where we can, we've got rooftop gardens. 0:13:25.130 --> 0:13:27.390 So there's a lot of thought that goes into not 0:13:27.400 --> 0:13:27.950 just the built in 0:13:28.340 --> 0:13:31.809 but the landscaping as well. So that overall there's less 0:13:31.820 --> 0:13:36.010 energy intensiveness. What about you, Jack? What's Thailand doing to 0:13:36.020 --> 0:13:39.380 cool down? I think the challenge is much greater than 0:13:39.390 --> 0:13:42.640 maybe Singapore's experience and we're a little bit further behind 0:13:42.650 --> 0:13:46.289 but definitely a range of different innovations. They're trying to 0:13:46.299 --> 0:13:52.090 utilize cool roofs, cooling technologies to minimize this air conditioning demand. 0:13:52.429 --> 0:13:56.719 Looking after workers to prevent them from such high levels 0:13:56.729 --> 0:13:59.650 of heat stress, I know they're trying to do things 0:13:59.659 --> 0:14:03.710 like green roofs and walls, planting more trees, bringing back 0:14:03.750 --> 0:14:07.530 mangroves in different parts of the coastal areas near the city, 0:14:07.570 --> 0:14:11.460 little pocket parks in this. What is a very dense 0:14:11.469 --> 0:14:14.710 urban landscape. But I mean, if you've been to Bangkok before, 0:14:14.719 --> 0:14:17.530 you know that the greenery is pretty limited. So a 0:14:17.539 --> 0:14:18.880 long way to go. 0:14:19.229 --> 0:14:22.840 Just one aspect that I think we also maybe underappreciate 0:14:22.849 --> 0:14:25.820 is there's just a lack of data around which parts 0:14:25.830 --> 0:14:30.369 of cities are hot, which parts of cities are dangerous 0:14:30.380 --> 0:14:33.960 for workers or commuters. And I profiled a company in 0:14:33.969 --> 0:14:36.140 the UAE actually at the end of last year when 0:14:36.150 --> 0:14:38.010 cop 28 the UN 0:14:38.440 --> 0:14:41.330 climate change talks are being held there. And basically they're 0:14:41.340 --> 0:14:45.130 aiming to become the google of temperature and they want 0:14:45.140 --> 0:14:49.690 city planners to be able to immediately visualize temperature times 0:14:49.700 --> 0:14:54.229 locations so that they're able to actually put in solutions 0:14:54.239 --> 0:14:56.570 and make plans around keeping 0:14:56.669 --> 0:14:59.710 cities cooler. So I thought that was pretty interesting if 0:14:59.719 --> 0:15:03.090 you were able to just search your building or your 0:15:03.099 --> 0:15:06.049 street in this platform and find out, oh, how hot 0:15:06.059 --> 0:15:08.669 is it five degrees hotter than the next street? Why 0:15:08.679 --> 0:15:10.809 is that? Yeah, it would help us make, you know, 0:15:10.820 --> 0:15:13.010 better decisions about where to go to cool off instead 0:15:13.020 --> 0:15:15.000 of relying on air conditioning as well. 0:15:20.239 --> 0:15:25.469 OK, quiz answer time. A reminder of the question, the 0:15:25.479 --> 0:15:29.750 hottest temperature ever recorded in South East Asia. Where do 0:15:29.760 --> 0:15:32.130 you think it was? And when do you think it was? 0:15:32.250 --> 0:15:35.349 I gotta say it probably was last year, right. Jack 0:15:35.359 --> 0:15:37.580 around the Asia heat wave, I remember some 0:15:37.880 --> 0:15:41.140 staggering numbers 43 degrees I think it was in Laos, 0:15:41.150 --> 0:15:44.469 44 in Vietnam, 45 in Bangkok. But I'm not sure 0:15:44.479 --> 0:15:47.000 if that's the highest on record. It would be really 0:15:47.010 --> 0:15:50.500 worrying you're spot on there. That last year's heat wave 0:15:50.510 --> 0:15:54.520 was crazy. And a lot of countries actually broke their 0:15:54.530 --> 0:15:57.700 all time records. Now, I'm kind of cheating with this 0:15:57.710 --> 0:16:00.809 answer because it wasn't the real temperature, it was the, 0:16:00.820 --> 0:16:05.719 feels like temperature and that was 54 °C 0:16:06.210 --> 0:16:10.739 in Bangkok last April. And I've just heard recently that 0:16:10.750 --> 0:16:14.140 we're expecting plus 50 again this summer in Thailand. 0:16:15.640 --> 0:16:18.299 And that's gonna lead us into another segment we'll be 0:16:18.309 --> 0:16:21.729 doing each week, which is the sustainability word of the week, 0:16:21.739 --> 0:16:24.690 something that we think you might have been hearing in 0:16:24.700 --> 0:16:27.570 the news and you're wondering what does it mean? And 0:16:27.580 --> 0:16:29.669 why is it important for me to know about it 0:16:29.880 --> 0:16:33.039 and sticking with the heat theme this week, the word 0:16:33.049 --> 0:16:36.940 we've chosen is heat index. So that kind of plays 0:16:36.950 --> 0:16:37.890 into what I was just talking. 0:16:37.979 --> 0:16:40.479 This feels like temperature and you might see it on 0:16:40.489 --> 0:16:44.840 your phone app when you're checking the temperature that there's 0:16:44.849 --> 0:16:48.460 a discrepancy between the real temperature and the feels like temperature. 0:16:48.609 --> 0:16:52.640 So this heat index is also known as the apparent temperature. 0:16:52.650 --> 0:16:55.520 It's a measure of how hot it feels to the 0:16:55.530 --> 0:16:58.960 human body when you also take into account air temperature 0:16:59.179 --> 0:17:00.280 and humidity. 0:17:00.549 --> 0:17:03.979 It also then considers how difficult it is for the 0:17:03.989 --> 0:17:07.300 human body to regulate temperature. So I think that's a 0:17:07.310 --> 0:17:11.699 useful way to think about temperature and heat impact these days. 0:17:11.709 --> 0:17:14.969 We don't have to just look at the raw number, 0:17:14.979 --> 0:17:17.849 but think about actually what that temperature is doing to 0:17:17.859 --> 0:17:18.369 our body. 0:17:19.989 --> 0:17:22.989 Alright. That's all we have for this week. Everyone. We 0:17:23.000 --> 0:17:26.079 hope you enjoyed this conversation. We have an important favor 0:17:26.089 --> 0:17:26.910 to ask you 0:17:27.369 --> 0:17:31.319 first go and click follow on any major podcast platform 0:17:31.329 --> 0:17:35.219 like Spotify or Apple. And as we close the episode, 0:17:35.229 --> 0:17:37.219 we'd like to call out for listeners to send us 0:17:37.229 --> 0:17:40.550 your questions and we'll answer them each week because we 0:17:40.560 --> 0:17:44.369 would like your input as part of the climate conversations. 0:17:44.489 --> 0:17:46.790 And finally, if you've got any feedback, hit us with 0:17:46.800 --> 0:17:49.729 it too. Our thanks to the CN A podcast team 0:17:49.739 --> 0:17:52.780 until we chat again next week. I'm Li Ling Tan. 0:17:52.859 --> 0:17:53.770 I'm Jack Ford.