All posts tagged: Extreme

‘Obsession’ Takes Gen Z’s Social Anxiety to the Extreme

‘Obsession’ Takes Gen Z’s Social Anxiety to the Extreme

Published by Sam Flores

The following contains spoilers for the film Obsession. The premise of the hit horror movie Obsession may sound relatable: What if you had a totally debilitating crush on someone but were too afraid to confess your feelings to them? In the early scenes of the director Curry Barker’s feature debut, a 20-something record-store employee named Bear (played by Michael Johnston) can’t work up the nerve to ask out his co-worker Nikki (Inde Navarrette)—even when she demands to know, point-blank, whether he likes her. Instead of confirming that he does and dealing with the consequences, he opts for a different way into her heart. He snaps a magical tchotchke (called a “One Wish Willow”) in half with the hope that Nikki will love him more than anything in the world. That desire becomes more than Bear ever bargained for. Nikki transforms from a free-spirited girl next-door into a woman possessed by jealousy who duct-tapes Bear’s front door shut, puts flesh from his dead cat into his sandwiches, and lurks in dark corners watching him sleep. She …

Beating the heat: study explores the search for cool during heatwaves | Extreme heat

Beating the heat: study explores the search for cool during heatwaves | Extreme heat

Published by Jenni Sidey

Heatwaves are now an increasingly expected part of summer for many. But how people stay cool varies from place to place. A new study uses mobile phone location data to track where people go when the mercury climbs, and assesses how we need to adapt to live better with the inevitable heatwaves to come. During the summer of 2025, a 10-day extreme period of heat across Europe led to 2,300 deaths. Globally, governments are implementing heat action plans, but social inequalities mean some people are more vulnerable to heat than others. Researchers used mobile phone location data across seven countries – Brazil, China, France, India, Nigeria, Turkey and the US – to assess how people stayed cool during heatwaves in 2022 and 2023. Not surprisingly, the results, published in Environmental Research Climate, show people tend to withdraw into their homes during heatwaves. However, places such as shopping malls and parks also became important refuges, particularly for people without air conditioning at home. In Mexico, people aged between 18 and 35 were disproportionately likely to die …

Trump says cognitive test proves “extreme intelligence,” doctors disagree

Trump says cognitive test proves “extreme intelligence,” doctors disagree

Published by Sam Flores

President Donald Trump is again highlighting his performance on a cognitive screening exam as evidence of what he called “extreme intelligence,” following the release of a White House medical summary of his latest physical. The condensed memo of the exam, issued by the White House physician after Trump’s annual examination at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, states that his cognitive function, assessed using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), was “within normal limits” with a score of 30 out of 30. “President Trump remains in excellent health.” pic.twitter.com/2VRiDJvINO — Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) May 30, 2026 Trump, however, framed the result differently in a Truth Social post, writing that he “scored a perfect 30 out of 30, considered ‘extreme intelligence,’” and calling for future presidential and vice-presidential candidates to undergo similar “high difficulty” testing. The MoCA is a widely used cognitive screening tool designed to assess memory, attention, language, visuospatial skills and other areas of cognitive function. Medical experts say it is intended to identify potential signs of cognitive impairment and determine whether further evaluation may …

My homemade air-con unit does the trick | Extreme heat

My homemade air-con unit does the trick | Extreme heat

Published by Jenni Sidey

For a cheap and simple air-con unit: take the blue blocks used in most cool bags from the freezer; put them in a metal saucepan (we use a wok); place them in the airflow of a fan. Remember to put them back in the freezer in the morning. Sleep tight!Helen CatonWoodmancote, Gloucestershire Putting external shutters on windows is a good idea (Letters, 27 May), but windows open outwards in the UK and inwards on the continent, which makes shutters possible and efficient.Claudine BurtonDoddinghurst, Essex Having failed to find suitable external shutters in the UK, I installed a tensioned wire above a large hall window and clipped on camouflage netting. Works perfectly.Jan Williams Aberangell, Gwynedd It was good to have the beneficial uses of screen time thoughtfully analysed (Screentime swaps: how to quit doomscrolling without quitting your phone, 22 May). I would add the benefits of using Wikipedia to check up on the voting records of our politicians and the wonderful science knowledge accessible to children in Octonauts.Maria GouldingGateshead, Tyne and Wear Frances Ryan’s preview of …

Why are our homes and cities all so hot? – podcast | Extreme heat

Why are our homes and cities all so hot? – podcast | Extreme heat

Published by Jenni Sidey

Temperatures across the UK and Europe this week have shattered May heat records. As the environment editor Fiona Harvey points out: we might expect heatwaves in July and August – but 30C in spring? Fiona talks to Nosheen Iqbal about a report from the Climate Change Committee warning that the UK is unprepared for extreme heat – the new normal – and explores a range of possible solutions to help keep the country cool, from tree-planting to heat pumps and scaling up renewables. Photograph: Tolga Akmen/EPA Source link

Water-related deaths rise to 11 amid UK heatwave | Extreme heat

Water-related deaths rise to 11 amid UK heatwave | Extreme heat

Published by Jenni Sidey

The number of water-related deaths during the UK’s recent heatwave has risen to 11 after the bodies of two teenage boys were recovered in Kent and Oxford. Emergency workers recovered the body of a 14-year-old boy from the River Thames near Donnington Bridge, Oxford, at about 5.30pm on Wednesday. Thames Valley police said the boy’s family had been informed and that his death was being treated as “unexplained but not suspicious”. The body of the other boy was recovered from a pond in Swanscombe, Kent. His death was also not being treated as suspicious. There have been several similar deaths thought to be linked to outdoor swimming in the record-breaking heatwave, during which temperatures climbed to 35.1C at Heathrow and Kew Gardens, in west London, on Tuesday. The Royal Life Saving Society UK has issued a plea for members of the public to “stop and think” before getting into the water. “Warmer weather unfortunately sees an increase in accidental drownings,” it said. The hot weather is expected to continue in the coming days, before easing …

Extreme heat in Europe ‘a brutal reminder’ of climate crisis, UN chief says | Extreme heat

Extreme heat in Europe ‘a brutal reminder’ of climate crisis, UN chief says | Extreme heat

Published by Jenni Sidey

The UN climate chief has said an extreme early heat event sweeping parts of western Europe was “a brutal reminder of the spiralling impacts of the climate crisis”, after France and the UK set new temperature records for May on two consecutive days. Simon Stiell, the executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, said on Wednesday the “main culprit” was humanity’s burning of coal, oil and gas – known to be the primary driver of climate change. “The science is clear that human-induced climate change is making these heatwaves more frequent and extreme,” Stiell said, as France, Spain and the UK sweltered in temperatures usually associated with July or August. “Protecting human lives, businesses and economies from extreme heat and the many other soaring costs of climate change is core business for every nation, and it starts with kicking the fossil fuel addiction much faster.” The war in the Middle East had laid bare the “soaring costs” of fossil fuel reliance and the need to pivot to cleaner sources of energy, Stiell …

Water safety experts warn of dangers of outdoor swimming as heatwave grips UK | Extreme heat

Water safety experts warn of dangers of outdoor swimming as heatwave grips UK | Extreme heat

Published by Jenni Sidey

Water safety experts have warned about the dangers of outdoor swimming after a spike in drownings as people try to escape soaring temperatures by cooling off in rivers, lakes, reservoirs and other bodies of water. In recent days, emergency services have reported at least seven deaths because of water-related incidents, with six involving young people, as Britain’s heatwave sends crowds of people to the seaside and other swimming spots. On Wednesday, Cheshire Constabulary said they had recovered a body after searching for a 17-year-old boy who was last seen in the water at Pick Mere, a lake in Northwich. Earlier this week, a teenage girl and four boys died in separate incidents in Yorkshire, Warwickshire, Lincolnshire and Lancashire. And on Monday, a man in his 60s died after suffering cardiac arrest having entered the water at Tregirls Beach near Padstow, in Cornwall, to help two relatives who had got into trouble. Dr Heather Massey, an associate professor in extreme environments and physiology at the University of Portsmouth, urged parents to ensure children visited supervised swimming …

‘Mind-bogglingly crazy’: climate experts alarmed by deadly spring heatwaves searing Europe | Extreme heat

‘Mind-bogglingly crazy’: climate experts alarmed by deadly spring heatwaves searing Europe | Extreme heat

Published by Jenni Sidey

Malcolm Mistry knew it was going to get “very warm, very quickly” on Monday morning but a slow start out of bed delayed his plans for an early game of cricket with his son. It was already 10am by the time the pair arrived at the sun-soaked nets of their local club in south-west London, and to the embarrassment of the 48-year-old scientist, who played cricket in his youth, his body was struggling after just half an hour of bowling. Had he continued for another hour, Mistry reckons he would have probably suffered from heatstroke. Had he and his son stayed until noon, they would have found themselves straining their bodies in direct sunlight while a nearby weather station logged the UK’s hottest May temperature since records began. “I could feel I was panting a bit more heavily,” said Mistry, a leading climate and health researcher at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. “That’s when I said to myself: ‘I need to stop here right now, immediately, before something happens.’” The dark side …

Wednesday briefing: ​Can the UK adapt in time to a new normal of extreme heat? | Extreme heat

Wednesday briefing: ​Can the UK adapt in time to a new normal of extreme heat? | Extreme heat

Published by Jenni Sidey

The UK swelters once again. On Tuesday, temperatures surged to 35C, condemning millions of people to another sticky night in homes ill-prepared for such warm conditions. The heat is record-breaking: we are still in spring, yet temperatures are close to extremes we once never expected even in high summer. Yorkshire experienced its first ever “tropical night” in spring on Monday, when the evening temperature failed to fall below 20C. Health alerts remain in effect across large parts of the country due to the increased likelihood of deaths, particularly among vulnerable and elderly people. Yet, experts warn, this may just be the road to a new normal. For today’s First Edition, I have spoken with the Guardian’s environment editor, Damian Carrington, about how the country can adapt to heatwaves and improve resilience to extreme heat. But first, the headlines. Five big stories UK politics | Tony Blair has accused Keir Starmer, Andy Burnham and Wes Streeting of putting Labour’s future at risk by abandoning the centre ground, warning that the party’s “almost infinite capacity for self-delusion” …