Australians are struggling through one of the most brutal heatwaves and hottest summers on record. Day after day, temperatures into the high 30s are turning homes into ovens, workplaces into hazards, and everyday tasks into endurance tests. All of us are feeling it. But spare a thought for the millions of renters trying to survive this heat in homes that were never designed to cope with it.
Wildfires raging across central and southern Chile have killed at least 15 people, scorched thousands of hectares of forest and destroyed scores of homes, authorities said, as the South American country swelters under a heatwave. Chile's president, Gabriel Boric, declared a state of catastrophe in the country's central Biobio region and the neighbouring Nuble region, about 500km (300 miles) south of Santiago, the capital.
Victoria's Emergency Management Commissioner Tim Wiebusch said firefighters were battling around 30 active blazes as the state's fire danger rating hit the highest "catastrophic" level. Temperatures were forecast to reach 46 degrees Celsius (115 degrees Fahrenheit), with damaging winds expected to make conditions "undefendable" in some areas, authorities said. Dozens of communities have been evacuated and many parks and campgrounds closed as the fires continue to spread. "If you don't leave now, it could result in your life being lost," Wiebusch said.
Unlike humans, pets especially breeds with thicker coats like huskies and samoyeds can struggle to regulate their body temperature in hot weather. So always make sure they have access to cool, fresh water and plenty of shade that lasts throughout the entire day, RSCPA NSW's chief veterinarian, Dr Liz Arnott, says. You need to set up multiple water bowls in case one is spilled and keep them out of direct sunlight.
Around 70 members of the team behind the open source database have been shown the door as part of Oracle's latest round of redundancies, according to one high-level source in the MySQL community. Michael "Monty" Widenius, who co-authored the original MySQL in the 1990s, posted that he was "Heartbroken to hear about the widespread layoffs at MySQL last week, and while I'm not surprised that Oracle is going in this direction with MySQL, it still saddens me that it's come to this."
Driven out by fire. Greece's wildfires on 13 August, some of the country's worst this year, led thousands of people and their livestock to be evacuated from several regions, including Patras city and the islands of Chios and Zakynthos. Hot, dry and windy conditions caused more than 150 blazes to erupt in a single day. Parts of western Europe have experienced exceptionally high temperatures this summer.
The National Weather Service has issued a swath of heat advisories, watches and warnings, along with red-flag alerts, warning the public to prepare. This dangerous level of heat will pose a threat to anyone without effective cooling and adequate hydration, NWS forecasters said in an outlook issued on Wednesday, outlining temperature highs that could climb past 110F (43C) in the desert south-west and above 100F across southern California.
Temperatures were around of 122 degrees (50 Celsius) in Israel both Thursday and Wednesday, as well as some other regional hotspots like Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Iran, including a national record for Israel that rounds up to 122 degrees (49.7 C).
