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Quiet beach town offering $450k job with free house and car

<p>A picturesque beach town in Western Australia has found a creative way to bring jobs to the area: by offering a range of enticing bonuses. </p> <p>The town of Bremer Bay, south-east of Perth, is desperate for healthcare providers to join the small town and have offered a range of persuasive perks to a doctor who would be willing to leave a big city for the job in the regional location. </p> <p>Bremer Bay is next to the Fitzgerald River National Park and nearly 40 minutes away from the closest town. Currently, they only have one temporary doctor; the next permanent GP is in Albany, almost 200 kilometres away, and the town is looking for the "Swiss army knife of doctors" to step up.</p> <p>According to the job listing on Seek, the successful applicant will be granted a rent-free five-bedroom house and a four-wheel drive, on top of a salary of up to $450,000 a year.</p> <p>"Live rent-free in a scenic location, experiencing the true essence of rural Australia," the advertisement reads.</p> <p>"We offer a competitive 70 per cent of Billings or a generous Salary, based on your preference. In addition, you'll enjoy the convenience of a beautiful new 5-bedroom home and 4X4."</p> <p>Applicants must be registered with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency and be willing to train as a rural generalist.</p> <p>According to the <a title="Australian Institute of Health and Welfare" href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/rural-remote-australians/rural-and-remote-health" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Australian Institute of Health and Welfare</a>, people living in rural and remote areas have higher rates of hospitalisations, deaths and injury compared to city-dwellers, while also having poorer access to primary health care services.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Shutterstock</em></p>

Money & Banking

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"Arrogance personified": Rich lister slammed for "pointless" job advice

<p>An Aussie rich lister has gone viral for all the wrong reasons, after her "tone deaf" advice for young Aussies to get a job fell flat. </p> <p>Sarina Russo, who made her start on the property market, shared the importance of relying on yourself to achieve financial independence.</p> <p>Ms Russo, who is ranked 59th on Australia’s 2024 Rich Women list with an estimated net worth of $271 million, runs a business that provides government-funded entrepreneurship programs to create self-employment opportunities.</p> <p>Known for handing out unsolicited financial advice, Russo was filmed on sharing her opinions on young people holding down work. </p> <p>“Today I thought I would emphasise how important it is to have a job,” she said. “You know, I’ve been thinking about this. I’ve been an ambassador for being the ‘Job Queen’ for Australia and global for something like 45 years," she said.  </p> <p>“I just want to emphasise that if you have a job, you have dignity. You have a job, you have more respect and positive self esteem."</p> <p>“If you have a job, you become financially (in)dependent and absolutely empowered. You can become more, enjoy more, have more and see more."</p> <p>“So today, I’m going to say to you and say to myself ... let’s get a job, let’s get excited, let’s get that passion growing and I’ll see you at the top. Ciao for now.”</p> <p>Given the current state of the job market for young Aussies in the wake of increased reliance on AI, many were quick to slam Ms Russo's comments. </p> <p>Social media users said her comments were "hypocritical" and "arrogance personified" given that she made her fortune as a landlord and became a multimillionaire based off other people's employment. </p> <p>“Yes watch Sarina, dressed in designer funk wear, as she meanders through the extravagant but ultimately aimless alleyways of the wealthy yet pointless. With each step, she peels off essential life lessons, like “I’m the jobs Queen; Get a job!” Classic. So tone deaf” one person wrote on Twitter.</p> <p>“Standing outside the Westin Hotel telling people to get a job as if nobody’s thought of it. Last day of the comedy festival - no stars,” another wrote under her Instagram video.</p> <p>This is not the first time Ms Russo' controversial comments caused a stir, attracting controversy two years ago after posting a video of herself telling victims of the devastating Queensland floods that “it’s the time to exercise”.</p> <p>Ms Russo told the victims “fitness is everything” and to “just do it”.</p> <p>“We’re here overlooking the most beautiful city called Brisbane and sadly last week we had massive floods – once in a hundred year flooding, and it called massive devastation,” she said to the camera.</p> <p>“But you know, when things are going wrong and endorphins are low, this is the time you need to exercise.I really believe that fitness is everything.”</p> <p><em>Image credits: Instagram</em></p>

Money & Banking

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"Just doing her job": Hero cop Amy Scott breaks silence after Bondi stabbing

<p>The hero police officer who shot Joel Cauchi after his killing spree has spoken out after the devastating incident. </p> <p>NSW Police Inspector Amy Scott was confronted by the knife-wielding 40-year-old after he had fatally stabbed six people and injured several others at Bondi Junction Westfield on Saturday afternoon. </p> <p>Witnesses of the incident recall hearing the officer shout for Cauchi to "put it down" before the knifeman charged at her, prompting her to fire her weapon and shoot him dead. </p> <p>“Amy is content with what she had to do," Police Association of NSW boss Kevin Morton said. </p> <p>“I spoke to her last night and again this morning and she said, ‘It was a night with not a lot of sleep’.”</p> <p>Mr Morton said the officer, who he has known personally for years, was playing down the praise she had received after being dubbed a "hero" for her actions. </p> <p>“She knows she has been tagged a hero but to her she was doing her job. I didn’t ask her about the exact incident, because she is yet to be formally interviewed,” he said.</p> <p>“Everyone will be keeping an eye on her obviously, there will be a lot of support from everyone,’’ he said</p> <p>She also drew praise from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, and NSW Premier Chris Minns, as well as NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb.</p> <p>“She showed enormous courage and bravery,” Ms Webb said.</p> <p>Witnesses backed up the officer's actions at the shopping centre, as Bondi man Jason Dixon witnessed Inspector Scott's response firsthand. </p> <p>“All she said was ‘Put it down’. Just once. Then she shot him in the chest and he went down,” Mr Dixon told <em>The Sunday Telegraph</em>. </p> <p>“Then when he fell on the ground she was giving him CPR,” Mr Dixon said.</p> <p>“She had to shoot him, because he just kept coming,” Mr Dixon said. “He had a knife and he wasn’t going to stop.</p> <p>“He was advancing at her and he was running, coming to get someone else,” Mr Dixon said.</p> <p>“She shot him once in the heart or the chest,” he said. “I’m glad she got him, because if she didn’t he would have stabbed her too.”</p> <p>Inspector Scott will be formally interviewed by police later this week as part of the major investigation into the stabbing. </p> <p><em>Image credits: news.com.au / X (Twitter)</em></p> <div class="media image side-by-side" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-bottom: 24px; display: flex; flex-direction: column; align-items: center; width: 1209.375px; max-width: 100%; font-family: Charter, Georgia, serif; font-size: 18px;"> </div>

Caring

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Summer’s over, so how much sun can (and should) I get?

<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/katie-lee-228942">Katie Lee</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-queensland-805">The University of Queensland</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/rachel-neale-891731">Rachel Neale</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/qimr-berghofer-medical-research-institute-1811">QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute</a></em></p> <p>As we slide of out summer, you might be wondering how careful you need to be about sun exposure. Excessive exposure causes <a href="https://www.cancer.org.au/about-us/policy-and-advocacy/prevention-policy/national-cancer-prevention-policy/skin-cancer-statistics-and-issues/uv-radiation">skin cancer</a>, but sun exposure also has <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9976694/">benefits</a>. How do you balance the two?</p> <p>A new <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1326020023052949?via%3Dihub">position statement</a> from cancer, bone health and other experts <a href="https://www.assc.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Sun-Exposure-Summit-PositionStatement_V1.9.pdf">aims to help</a> Australians balance the good and bad effects of sun exposure by taking into account their skin colour, risk of skin cancer, and where they live.</p> <h2>What are the benefits of sunlight?</h2> <p>Ultraviolet (UV) radiation (the wavelengths in sunlight that cause skin cancer) also leads to vitamin D production. <a href="https://dermnetnz.org/topics/vitamin-d">Vitamin D</a> is very important for maintaining strong bones, and is likely to have <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9976694/">multiple other health benefits</a>.</p> <p>But vitamin D probably isn’t the whole story. Sunshine, including UV radiation, is thought to affect health in <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9976694/">other ways</a> such as improving our mood and reducing the risk of autoimmune diseases and infections. So for many people, avoiding the sun and taking a vitamin D supplement may not be the best approach.</p> <h2>How much time does it take to make vitamin D?</h2> <p>It’s complicated, but for most people and most of the year across most of Australia, it’s a lot less than you think.</p> <p>The <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/php.13854">amount of time needed</a> depends on the amount of skin covered by clothing and the intensity of UV radiation (indicated by the UV index). More skin exposed and higher UV index equate to less time needed.</p> <p>Both the UV index and the amount of the year that UV radiation is high increase as you get closer to the equator. In summer, all of Australia is bathed in sunshine. But in winter, opposite ends of the country have <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/php.13854">very different exposures</a>.</p> <p>In summer, everybody except those with deeply pigmented skin can make enough vitamin D in <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1326020023052949?via%3Dihub">just five minutes</a> between 9am and 3pm, anywhere in Australia, provided they are wearing shorts and a T-shirt.</p> <p>In winter it’s a different story. In <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1326020023052949?via%3Dihub">Darwin and Brisbane</a>, 5–10 minutes between 10am and 3pm will do the trick, but in <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1326020023052949?via%3Dihub">Hobart</a>, factoring in winter clothing, it will take nearly an hour in the middle of the day.</p> <p>Hover your mouse over the lines below to see the length of exposure needed at specific times of day.</p> <p><iframe id="X5szQ" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" style="border: none;" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/X5szQ/" width="100%" height="400px" frameborder="0"></iframe></p> <p>Staying out for longer than needed doesn’t necessarily make more vitamin D, but it <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1326020023052949?via%3Dihub#bib25">does cause skin damage</a>.</p> <h2>Hang on, what about those with darker skin?</h2> <p>People with deeply pigmented, brown to black skin accumulate both vitamin D and DNA damage at a much slower rate than people with lighter skin tones.</p> <p>When UV radiation hits a DNA strand, it causes the DNA to become distorted. If the distortion isn’t fixed, it will cause a mistake when the DNA is copied for a new cell, causing a permanent mutation that sometimes leads to cancer.</p> <p>Melanin, the brown pigment in the skin, absorbs UV photons before that can happen, and the high melanin content in the darkest skin tones provides <a href="https://faseb.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1096/fj.201701472R">60 times</a> as much UV protection as the small amount in very fair skin.</p> <p>The flip side is the risk of vitamin D deficiency is much higher than the risk of skin cancer.</p> <p>The new statement accounts for this by putting people into <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1326020023052949?via%3Dihub">three groups</a> based on their risk of skin cancer, with specialised advice for each group.</p> <h2>Highest skin cancer risk</h2> <p>This includes people with very pale skin that burns easily and tans minimally, but also people with darker white or olive skin who can tan easily but have extra skin cancer risk factors because they:</p> <ul> <li>have had <strong>skin cancer</strong> before</li> <li>have a <strong>family history</strong> of melanomas</li> <li>have many <strong>moles</strong></li> <li>are taking <strong>immunosuppressant</strong> medications.</li> </ul> <p>For these people, the harms of sun exposure almost certainly <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1326020023052949?via%3Dihub">outweigh the benefits</a>.</p> <p>These people should wear sunscreen every day the <a href="https://www.arpansa.gov.au/our-services/monitoring/ultraviolet-radiation-monitoring/ultraviolet-radiation-index">UV index</a> is forecast to get to <a href="https://www.assc.org.au/peak-health-bodies-recommend-new-approach-to-sunscreen-use/">three or more</a>, and use the <a href="https://www.cancer.org.au/cancer-information/causes-and-prevention/sun-safety/be-sunsmart">five sunsmart steps</a> whenever the UV index is above three:</p> <ul> <li><strong>slip</strong> on clothing covering as much of the body as possible</li> <li><strong>slop</strong> on SPF30+ sunscreen on areas that can’t be covered up</li> <li><strong>slap</strong> on a hat</li> <li><strong>seek</strong> shade</li> <li><strong>slide</strong> on sunglasses.</li> </ul> <p>They shouldn’t spend time outdoors deliberately to make vitamin D, but should discuss vitamin D supplements with their doctor.</p> <h2>Intermediate skin cancer risk</h2> <p>This means people with dark white/olive skin that sometimes burns but tans easily, and who don’t have other skin cancer risk factors.</p> <p>These people should still apply sunscreen as part of their usual routine on all days when the UV index is forecast to get to <a href="https://www.assc.org.au/peak-health-bodies-recommend-new-approach-to-sunscreen-use/">three or more</a>, but they can spend enough time outdoors to get a “dose” of vitamin D on most days of the week.</p> <p>Once the time needed for their vitamin D dose is up, they should also use the <a href="https://www.cancer.org.au/cancer-information/causes-and-prevention/sun-safety/be-sunsmart">slip-slop-slap-seek-slide</a> steps to avoid accumulating DNA damage.</p> <p>If they’re unable to do this because of health or lifestyle factors, like being housebound, working night shifts, or always covering up with clothing, they should see their doctor about whether they need vitamin D supplements.</p> <h2>Lowest skin cancer risk</h2> <p>This covers people with deeply pigmented brown to black skin that rarely or never burns.</p> <p>These people can <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1326020023052949?via%3Dihub#bib14">safely spend enough time outdoors</a> to make vitamin D and get the other benefits of sunshine. But because more time is needed, it can be difficult, particularly when the weather is cold. Vitamin D supplements might be needed.</p> <p>They don’t need to routinely protect their skin, but might need to <a href="https://www.cancer.org.au/cancer-information/causes-and-prevention/sun-safety/be-sunsmart">slip-slop-slap-seek-slide</a> if they are outdoors for more than two hours.</p> <h2>How do I get the feel-good effects of sunshine?</h2> <p>Spending time outdoors in the early morning is the best way to get the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9976694/">feel-good effects</a> of sunshine. An early morning walk is a great idea for all of us, but it won’t make vitamin D.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/224144/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/katie-lee-228942">Katie Lee</a>, PhD Candidate, Dermatology Research Centre, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-queensland-805">The University of Queensland</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/rachel-neale-891731">Rachel Neale</a>, Principal research fellow, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/qimr-berghofer-medical-research-institute-1811">QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images </em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/summers-over-so-how-much-sun-can-and-should-i-get-224144">original article</a>.</em></p>

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Why you should travel solo this summer

<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/claire-mccamley-446927">Claire McCamley</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-huddersfield-1226">University of Huddersfield</a></em></p> <p>When you think about booking a summer holiday, you might think of trips with partners, friends or family. The idea of going on holiday alone can be daunting, or even unappealing. It raises all kinds of questions – who will you talk to? Who will you eat with? Will you be safe?</p> <p>There has long been a <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0267257X.2015.1073170?journalCode=rjmm20">stigma against solo consumption</a>. Societal norms encourage us to be with someone – leisure experiences are billed as something to <a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/IJCHM-06-2019-0584/full/pdf?title=dining-alone-improving-the-experience-of-solo-restaurant-goers">share with others</a>. There may also be a level of guilt or self-indulgence associated with solo travel, feeling as if you are shirking responsibility or abandoning time with family.</p> <p>An increase in <a href="https://www.euromonitor.com/article/single-person-households-to-record-128-percent-growth-by-2030">single-person households</a>, however, means the hospitality industry is now serving solo consumers in addition to families and couples. The continuously <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/adigaskell/2020/05/11/is-a-blurred-work-life-balance-the-new-normal/?sh=5c9db6341813">blurred line</a> between work and play, particularly for Millennials and younger generations, makes it easier to work remotely or travel as part of our jobs. We are more transient than ever, and have more opportunities to work and travel alone without feeling completely disconnected from the rest of our lives.</p> <p>In recent years, people have been <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/comment/whats-behind-the-rise-in-solo-travel/">increasingly</a> travelling alone – including younger vacationers. They also share their experiences to a large audience on social media – the hashtag #SoloTravel has over 7 million posts associated with it on Instagram. Solo travellers are taking part in the growing <a href="https://www.futuresplatform.com/blog/solo-economy-new-consumption-patterns">solo economy</a> – new products and services targeting the lone consumer.</p> <p>Hotels, <a href="https://www.ncl.com/uk/en/freestyle-cruise/solo-cruising">cruises</a>, restaurants, tourism <a href="https://www.flashpack.com/">companies</a> and festivals are showing how design, staff and technology can be tailored to accommodate – and even encourage – solo consumption in travel. <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/14705931211017184">Our research</a> into the experience of solo consumers in coffee shops offers insight into how solo consumption can be as pleasurable and fulfilling as going with a partner or friend. Through <a href="https://www.research.ucsb.edu/sites/default/files/RD/docs/FREEWRITING-by-Peter-Elbow.pdf">freewriting</a> exercises, these consumers shared their own experiences. Their words offer some reasons you should try it too.</p> <h2>Be together, alone</h2> <p>Our research participants highlighted key factors that help them enjoy their solo experience – high seats and window views allowing them to sit back and observe others’ lives without any direct interaction or connection. You don’t need to arrive with others to feel part of a social environment. Alone in a crowded square or on a busy beach, the proximity of other people and their conversations can be a source of comfort, distraction or even entertainment.</p> <blockquote> <p>The seat is important -– I like the window especially a stool and “shelf” table facing out … I see people, imagine their lives, see cars and life pass by. I watch other customers, I watch the street out the window, the cliché of “watching the world pass by”. The setting, context and environment of the café are important to that moment of pause.</p> </blockquote> <h2>Take time for yourself</h2> <p>Being alone can be a <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/14705931211017184">therapeutic experience</a>, a time to process thoughts, feelings and emotions and leave you ready to tackle the world again. Perhaps take time to write, draw or practice another creative activity in your own time. Bask in your own thoughts without feeling pressure to please anyone else or force a conversation.</p> <blockquote> <p>Sitting alone with my thoughts can be a comforting experience; picking a seat, getting comfy…I can find silence with my thoughts and don’t feel any pressure to act for anybody or involve myself in a conversation that doesn’t interest me.</p> </blockquote> <h2>Get out of your comfort zone</h2> <p>Being able to do your own thing, without needing to consider others can be relaxing and can also give you the opportunity to do something you’ve never done before, free of judgement. You might want to go to some sort of class, shop or have a complete chill-out day.</p> <p>Findings from our research indicate that time spent doing things alone can relieve some of the pressures that companions can bring. Alone time gives you the space to experience things in your own time and take in your surroundings without distraction. In doing this, you may find yourself in new situations, away from your comfort zone – an energising and enthralling experience.</p> <h2>Embrace solo traveller culture</h2> <p>Solo travellers have their <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0278431921002516">own way of doing things</a>, they have a shared behaviour and process and often become a collective in themselves. They acknowledge the process of travelling alone and respect others doing the same, and may even seek out spaces to be alone, together. Solo travellers can engage in a shared experience and dialogue while maintaining their own individualism – helping each other when needed, but also leave one another alone.</p> <blockquote> <p>We search for places where we feel we fit … We are happy to smile at one another. We don’t need to chat to engage. We are happy on our own with a coffee. I am amongst my tribe.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/184000/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> </blockquote> <p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/claire-mccamley-446927"><em>Claire McCamley</em></a><em>, Senior Lecturer in marketing, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-huddersfield-1226">University of Huddersfield</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-you-should-travel-solo-this-summer-184000">original article</a>.</em></p>

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Yes, it’s getting more humid in summer. Here’s why

<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/steven-sherwood-272">Steven Sherwood</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/unsw-sydney-1414">UNSW Sydney</a></em></p> <p>Has Sydney felt more like Cairns lately? You’re not imagining it – millions of Australians up and down the east coast have sweltered through exceptionally high humidity in recent weeks.</p> <p>It’s due to normal weather patterns combined with a boost from global warming. Right now, the temperature of the sea surface is <a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/products/IDYOC052.Aus.SSTAnomaly.shtml">1–3°C above normal</a> for this time of year up and down the east coast. It’s particularly hot around the Queensland-New South Wales border and Tasmania’s east coast.</p> <p>When we have high ocean temperatures, we get more water evaporating. This is taken up by the air, which can hold more moisture when the air is hotter. This moist air is then carried to us by winds, and the sweating begins.</p> <h2>Where does humidity come from?</h2> <p>Humidity is just gaseous water held in the air after evaporating from liquid water or ice. It is called a vapour because it condenses into rain — the more humid, the more likely rain is.</p> <p>Higher humidity makes us feel hotter in warm weather, and slows the drying of laundry on a clothesline or of plants in the garden.</p> <p>How do we measure it? Two common ways are the “dew point” and “relative humidity”.</p> <p>At any given air temperature, there’s a limit to how much vapour the air will retain. Any vapour above this limit will just condense out. But the limit roughly doubles with every 10°C of warming; the dew point is the temperature where the vapour would hit the limit. The less vapour there is in the air, the colder the dew point.</p> <p>Relative humidity is the ratio of how much vapour the air has compared to the maximum it would retain.</p> <p>If you’re in Tasmania and see that relative humidity is at 100%, you might be confused. But this measure essentially tracks how “full” the air is. At 100% relative humidity, the dew point matches the actual temperature and no more vapour can be added. If the dew point is 10°C below the actual temperature, relative humidity is about 50%.</p> <p>How do we measure it? The dew point can be measured directly using a chilled mirror and a laser to detect condensation. More often it’s calculated from measurements of relative humidity and temperature.</p> <p>Relative humidity determines whether material exposed to the air will moisten or dry out. That’s why relative-humidity sensors use cheap water-absorbing materials (early ones used a strand of human hair!).</p> <h2>What does a changing climate mean for humidity?</h2> <p>The world’s higher ocean temperatures are unambiguously attributable to global warming, largely from the greenhouse gases we have added by burning fossil fuels. To date, more than 90% of all the extra heat thereby trapped has gone into the oceans.</p> <p>The amount of water vapour over the oceans has increased by roughly 5% since the industrial era began, in lockstep with global warming.</p> <p>Global warming will continue until we stop it. That means the atmosphere will keep getting more humid.</p> <p>If the world manages to keep global warming below 2°C, we should avoid the worst health outcomes from more humidity. But even then, we would expect up to another 5% increase in peak water vapour.</p> <p>Right now, we are seeing higher-than-normal temperatures in most of our surrounding oceans, with only a few exceptions. The areas hit hardest by rising humidity are mostly those that are already humid, like Queensland and the Northern Territory.</p> <p>Although peak dew points are rising, you may be confused to hear average relative humidity is actually <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.1722312115">falling over land</a>. That’s because the land is warming so fast the average dew points aren’t quite keeping up with temperature, lowering the ratio.</p> <p>That means, alas, that Australia faces a double whammy: increasing water stress and bushfire risk as well as sweatier summers.</p> <h2>Humidity can be very dangerous</h2> <p>Our natural cooling system in hot weather is evaporation of sweat. Sweat forms on your skin, and the air evaporates it, taking the heat with it.</p> <p>But this only works to a point. When the dew point is higher, our self-cooling methods get less and less effective. How important this is depends on how hot you feel. On a moderate but muggy day, you might feel fine until you need to climb four flights of stairs and end up sweaty and exhausted. On a hotter but less muggy day you’d feel the heat at the outset, but would more easily handle the stairs.</p> <p>The Bureau of Meteorology uses something called “<a href="https://media.bom.gov.au/social/blog/1153/apparent-feels-like-temperature/">apparent temperature</a>” to capture the combined effect of temperature and humidity, although this assumes you’re not exerting yourself.</p> <p>How you feel with more exertion can be captured by other measures, such as the “wet bulb globe temperature” now being used at sporting events such as the Australian Open.</p> <p>The Bureau has recently begun providing <a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/places/nsw/sydney/forecast/detailed/">humidity and apparent temperature forecasts</a> as a beta product, which is great for activity planning.</p> <p>This type of information will become more important as the heat builds. As humidity increases during peak humid heat episodes, it makes heat stress worse and moves us toward our body’s physical limits.</p> <p><a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2316003120">Recent research</a> has shown the combination of humidity and heat could make parts of the planet unlivable if Paris Agreement targets are not met, beginning in India and spreading elsewhere in the tropics – including the Top End of Australia.</p> <p>We need to prepare now for increasing heat, while doing everything we can to stop the routine burning of fossil fuels as soon as possible to maintain a margin of safety for humanity.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/221748/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/steven-sherwood-272"><em>Steven Sherwood</em></a><em>, Professor of Atmospheric Sciences, Climate Change Research Centre, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/unsw-sydney-1414">UNSW Sydney</a></em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/yes-its-getting-more-humid-in-summer-heres-why-221748">original article</a>.</em></p>

Domestic Travel

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Jimmy Barnes' granddaughter's touching tribute at Red Hot Summer

<p>With Jimmy Barnes currently recovering from <a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/health/caring/the-dose-of-magic-helping-jimmy-barnes-recover-after-surgery" target="_blank" rel="noopener">open heart surgery</a>, there was no way he could perform at the Red Hot Summer Tour, but his family and friends have come together to put on a show in honour of the star. </p> <p>The<em> Barnes All-Stars</em>, formed by none other than Jimmy's own daughter Mahalia, includes stars like Jon Stevens, Chris Cheney, and his legendary <em>Cold Chisel</em> bandmate, Ian Moss.</p> <p>The band have been headlining for the first three shows of the tour, and performed classic songs by <em>Cold Chisel</em> and Jimmy Barnes, which were compiled by the rock star himself.</p> <p>While the band put on a stellar show, Jimmy's granddaughter, Ruby Rogers' performance of the the Chisel classic <em>Flame Trees, </em>stole the hearts of fans. </p> <p>"In case you didn’t get to see this fantastic performance, this is granddaughter Ruby filling in for me on the weekend," Jimmy tweeted, gushing over her performance. </p> <p>"I love her so much.  Thanks everyone. Full video on my FB page," he added. </p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">In case you didn’t get to see this fantastic performance, this is granddaughter Ruby filling in for me on the weekend. I love her so much. Thanks everyone.</p> <p>Full video on my FB page <a href="https://t.co/DgOApqBwnZ">pic.twitter.com/DgOApqBwnZ</a></p> <p>— Jimmy Barnes (@JimmyBarnes) <a href="https://twitter.com/JimmyBarnes/status/1746809216399265998?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 15, 2024</a></p></blockquote> <p> </p> <p>The clip shows Ruby singing an acoustic version of the song, and the crowd of over 8000 people can be heard singing along with her. </p> <p>Fans have taken to the comments to praise Ruby's talent. </p> <p>"Doing you proud Jimmy. What a beautiful voice Ruby has. Such a talented family you and Jane have," one wrote. </p> <p>"Absolutely stunning beautiful Ruby. You are so privileged Jimmy to have such a beautiful granddaughter," another added. </p> <p>"Wow how proud you guys must be. That was a wonderful tribute to you. Such a beautiful, talented girl ❤️" commented a third. </p> <p><em>Images: Facebook/ Instagram</em></p> <p> </p>

Family & Pets

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Our dogs can terrify (and even kill) wildlife. Here’s how to be a responsible owner this summer

<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/melissa-starling-461103">Melissa Starling</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-sydney-841">University of Sydney</a></em></p> <p>In Australia, dog ownership often goes hand-in-hand with a love for the great outdoors. Whether it’s walking on the beach, going camping, or having a barbecue in the park, we tend to keep our canine companions close as we soak up the sun.</p> <p>But many of us forget a key fact about our dogs: they are predators. Even the fluffy little 5kg ball that spends most of its time in your lap derives from an apex predator – and its predatory instincts can kick in at any time.</p> <p>And while many of our dogs don’t have the same hunting skills as their distant ancestors (who had to hunt for a living), wildlife doesn’t know that.</p> <p>The impacts of domestic dogs on wildlife aren’t well studied, and likely vary depending on the environment. Nonetheless, there’s good evidence domestic dogs, when left unobserved, can have detrimental effects in the places they visit.</p> <p>With that in mind, here are some things to consider next time you take your pup out for a bushwalk.</p> <h2>How dogs impact ecosystems</h2> <p>There are <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0006320717305967">five main ways</a> domestic dogs can negatively impact the natural environments they visit. These are:</p> <ol> <li>direct physical harm through predatory behaviour</li> <li>disturbance through chasing and harassment</li> <li>increased exposure to diseases</li> <li>interbreeding, which can alter the gene pool of wild canid populations</li> <li>increased competition for resources.</li> </ol> <p>The good news is the last three points aren’t particularly relevant in Australia. For one thing, there’s little overlap between diseases common in domestic dogs and Australian wildlife. There’s also little resource overlap, except perhaps in some areas where feral or semi-feral dogs live alongside dingoes.</p> <p>And regarding potential interbreeding, while it was once thought this could threaten the dingo gene pool, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/mec.16998">recent research</a> suggests it’s not nearly as common as we thought.</p> <p>As such, the main harms Aussie dog owners should focus on are physical harms through predatory behaviour and disturbance to ecosystems.</p> <h2>Dogs can kill</h2> <p>We know dogs are capable of injuring and killing wildlife, but it’s difficult to determine how common this is, because many events go unreported. While smaller animals such as lizards, gliders and possums are at higher risk, larger species such as koalas can also fall prey to dogs.</p> <p><a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0206958">One study</a> that looked at wildlife coming into care at Queensland rehabilitation centres reported dog attacks as the cause in about 9% of cases. These cases often resulted in severe injury or death.</p> <p>Dog owners should be especially wary of small, localised populations of vulnerable species. A <a href="https://ri.conicet.gov.ar/bitstream/handle/11336/202640/CONICET_Digital_Nro.29048152-7a5c-4ea2-8068-e73d42cba01d_B.pdf?sequence=2&amp;isAllowed=y">study</a> in Argentina’s Patagonia region details several cases of dogs decimating local penguin populations after gaining access to protected island areas during low tide.</p> <p>Not to mention, dog attacks on wildlife can bring risk to dogs as well. Kangaroos can defend themselves with <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-10-16/mildura-man-fights-kangaroo-to-protect-dog/102983926">their powerful limbs</a>, monitor lizards are equipped with sharp claws and teeth, and many snake species <a href="https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/queensland/dogs-twice-as-likely-to-die-from-snake-bite-as-cats-research-finds-20200519-p54ufd.html">are highly venomous</a>.</p> <h2>The impact of harassment</h2> <p>You might think it’s harmless for your dog to chase wildlife if it never manages to catch the animals it chases, but that isn’t true. Wild animals optimise their behaviours to meet their needs for foraging, breeding and resting, and being chased by a dog can disrupt this.</p> <p>For example, certain threatened bird species will nest on the beach and find foraging opportunities based on the tides. One dog forcing one bird to abandon this important activity may have a small impact. But if it happens repeatedly throughout the day, it can become a <a href="https://wilderness-society.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Dogs-as-agents-of-disturbance-Michael-A.-Weston-and-Theodore-Stankowich.pdf">much bigger problem</a>. It may even drive animals out of the area.</p> <p><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2391219/">Research</a> conducted in Sydney has shown the mere presence of a leashed dog is enough to temporarily, yet dramatically, reduce the number of bird species detected.</p> <h2>Keep an eye on your furry pal</h2> <p>Responsible dog ownership involves making sure our dogs have a minimal impact on others, including wildlife. How can we achieve this when our dogs are simply engaging in behaviours that come naturally to them, and may even be rewarding for them?</p> <p>Training your dog to have general obedience – especially to come when called – is worth sinking considerable time and effort into. This can save both your dog and any wildlife they may be after. For instance, calling a dog away from a snake is one of the most effective ways of managing snake bite risk.</p> <p>One <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/333344634_Applying_Social_Marketing_to_Koala_Conservation_The_Leave_It_Pilot_Program">pilot study</a> in Victoria found positive outcomes from a program that helped owners train their dogs to be more obedient around wildlife.</p> <p>That said, recall training is an art form, and recalling a dog that likes to run off and chase animals can be a huge challenge.</p> <p>Another solution is to rely on leashes when passing sensitive areas, or where there’s a risk of wildlife harassment. In Australia, many beaches that allow dogs have signs with information about vulnerable birds in the area and how to protect them from your dog.</p> <p>This could mean keeping your dog off rock platforms, leashing them when you see birds foraging on the beach, or keeping them out of fenced areas. Some areas are simply too vulnerable for dogs to run amok, so always look for signs and read them carefully.</p> <p>If you’re hiking, use a long line (a leash that’s more than five metres long) and look for signs of your dog detecting something of interest. Often their ears will come up high and forward, and they will freeze and stare intently.</p> <p>At this point, it doesn’t matter what they’re excited about: take the opportunity to leash them or shorten their leash, and get their attention before they can take off. Investing in a long leash will allow your dog more freedom without putting wildlife at risk.</p> <p>If your dog does injure an animal, you should quickly contact a wildlife rescue organisation or take the animal to a veterinary practice or sanctuary. For small animals, even minor injuries from a dog will usually require veterinary attention.</p> <p>It’s our responsibility to be respectful visitors when we’re out in nature, and to make sure our dogs are too. <!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214722/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/melissa-starling-461103"><em>Melissa Starling</em></a><em>, Postdoctoral Researcher in Veterinary Science, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-sydney-841">University of Sydney</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/our-dogs-can-terrify-and-even-kill-wildlife-heres-how-to-be-a-responsible-owner-this-summer-214722">original article</a>.</em></p>

Family & Pets

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What does El Niño do to the weather in your state?

<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/kimberley-reid-767059">Kimberley Reid</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/monash-university-1065">Monash University</a></em></p> <p>You’ve probably heard El Niño brings hot and dry weather to the eastern states, but what about the rest of Australia? Are we all in for a scorcher this summer?</p> <p>El Niño is what scientists call a <a href="https://www.climatechangeinaustralia.gov.au/en/overview/climate-system/australian-climate-influences/">climate driver</a>. But it’s just one of many.</p> <p>These climate drivers control year-to-year variations in the weather. Some years are hotter and drier, while others are cooler and wetter.</p> <p>Australia is particularly prone to weather whiplash because our continent is buffeted by climate drivers to our north, south, east and west. The dominant driver in your state may be one of the lesser-known influences.</p> <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/iVhi1wq2sTY?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><figcaption><span class="caption">Understanding Climate Drivers (Bureau of Meteorology)</span></figcaption></figure> <h2>East: El Niño Southern Oscillation</h2> <p>The El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is the resident climate driver in the Pacific Ocean and the driver with the biggest influence over Australian weather. Differences in sea surface temperatures and winds across the Pacific determine whether we swing towards El Niño (the boy) or La Niña (the girl).</p> <p><a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/about/?bookmark=enso">During the El Niño phase</a>, sea surface temperatures near South America are warmer than normal and they are cooler than normal off the coast of eastern Australia. Additionally, trade winds that blow from east to west across the Pacific weaken.</p> <p>El Niño brings hotter daytime temperatures, but often <a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/enso/#tabs=Pacific-Ocean&amp;pacific=History">cooler nights</a>. That’s because reduced cloud cover allows more heat to escape into space overnight. So the same process that increases the chances of heatwaves can also raise the <a href="https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/climate-weather/historical-frost-and-heat-maps-south-west-land-division">risk of frost</a> in Western Australia, New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory and Victoria.</p> <p>Australia as a whole is typically drier during an El Niño event. In the tropical regions, El Niño can delay the <a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/updates/articles/a008-el-nino-and-australia.shtml">onset of the monsoon and reduce the likelihood of tropical cyclones</a>. In the southern states, the hot and dry conditions increase the chance of intense bushfires.</p> <p>La Niña is the opposite phase. Waters off eastern Australia are warmer than usual, increasing the <a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/enso/#tabs=Pacific-Ocean&amp;pacific=History&amp;enso-impacts=La-Ni%C3%B1a-impacts">chance of tropical cyclones</a> and an earlier start to the monsoon for WA, the Northern Territory and Queensland.</p> <p>So what does El Niño do to the weather in your state? Hover over your state in the interactive map to find out.</p> <p><iframe id="tc-infographic-1008" class="tc-infographic" style="border: none;" src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/infographics/1008/7f37ae91389db072906b320ffd54d0fefd840c0d/site/index.html" width="100%" height="400px" frameborder="0"></iframe></p> <h2>West: Indian Ocean Dipole</h2> <p>The <a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/about/?bookmark=iod">Indian Ocean Dipole</a> is like ENSO’s Indian Ocean cousin. A positive Indian Ocean Dipole is declared when ocean temperatures near Africa are warmer than normal and ocean temperatures off the coast of Sumatra are cooler than usual.</p> <p>A positive dipole tends to bring warmer and drier conditions, particularly to western and central Australia. A negative Indian Ocean Dipole is the reverse and is associated with wetter than normal weather and an increase in <a href="https://pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/articles/why-more-clouds-can-mean-less-rain-in-australia">northwest cloudbands</a>.</p> <h2>North: Madden-Julian Oscillation</h2> <p>The <a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/about/?bookmark=mjo">Madden-Julian Oscillation</a> is a pulse of storms that start in the Indian Ocean, travel over Northern Australia and Indonesia and die in the Pacific Ocean. Ahead of the pulse, the air sinks, causing sunny and dry weather. Under the pulse is high storm activity and typically heavy rainfall.</p> <p>We describe the Madden-Julian Oscillation based on whether the pulse of storms is <a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/mjo/">active or inactive</a> and where the storm activity is located on its path between the Indian and Pacific Oceans. As well as causing rainfall, the Madden-Julian Oscillation can control the timing of the monsoon onset and <a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/about/?bookmark=tc">tropical cyclone formation</a>.</p> <h2>South: Southern Annular Mode</h2> <p>The <a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/about/?bookmark=sam">Southern Annular Mode</a> controls the north and south position of the westerly winds that whizz around the globe in the Southern Ocean. When the winds are further north than usual, we call this the negative phase. But when the westerly wind move towards Antarctica, we call this the positive phase.</p> <p>The phase of the Southern Annular Mode <a href="https://rmets.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/joc.1370">affects how many weather systems</a>, like cold fronts, make landfall over southern Australia. A positive mode may also draw tropical moist air south, which happened in 2022 during the extensive flooding over eastern Australia.</p> <h2>Climate drivers control the odds, but not the result</h2> <p>These four key climate drivers affect the weather on average (over months and seasons), but they do not dictate the exact day-to-day weather we experience. As the Gippsland region of Victoria <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/oct/05/victoria-floods-flooding-warnings-gippsland-region-flood-and-fires-evacuation">saw in October</a>, heavy rainfall can still occur during an El Niño.</p> <figure class="align-center zoomable"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/561494/original/file-20231124-16-ip8fja.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/561494/original/file-20231124-16-ip8fja.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/561494/original/file-20231124-16-ip8fja.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=407&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561494/original/file-20231124-16-ip8fja.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=407&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561494/original/file-20231124-16-ip8fja.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=407&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561494/original/file-20231124-16-ip8fja.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=512&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561494/original/file-20231124-16-ip8fja.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=512&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561494/original/file-20231124-16-ip8fja.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=512&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" alt="Map of Australia showing the difference from normal rainfall during October 2023, with a large wet patch around Gippsland, Victoria." /></a><figcaption><span class="caption">Difference from normal rainfall during October 2023, showing defined wet area around Gippsland, Victoria surrounded by drier conditions.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">The Bureau of Meteorology</span></span></figcaption></figure> <p>Climate drivers are like a football coach. They can select the best players and develop ingenious strategies, but that doesn’t guarantee a win every time.</p> <p>Players can get injured on the field or simply have a bad game. These uncontrollable factors are challenging to predict and may change the result from what we would expect. Scientists call this stochasticity. The climate drivers are the football coach, but the day-to-day weather systems are the players.</p> <p>The Bureau of Meteorology <a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/enso/">releases an update</a> on all of these drivers every two weeks. The update explains which drivers are currently active and the forecast for the next few weeks.</p> <p>So, if you are wondering why the weather is cooler during summer, or it’s raining in the middle of the dry season, perhaps take a look at which driver is steering Australia’s weather at the moment.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/218257/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/kimberley-reid-767059">Kimberley Reid</a>, Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Atmospheric Sciences, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/monash-university-1065">Monash University</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Shutterstock</em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-does-el-nino-do-to-the-weather-in-your-state-218257">original article</a>.</em></p>

Domestic Travel

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It’s extremely hot and I’m feeling weak and dizzy. Could I have heat stroke?

<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/lily-hospers-1060107">Lily Hospers</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-sydney-841">University of Sydney</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/james-smallcombe-1412548">James Smallcombe</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-sydney-841">University of Sydney</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/ollie-jay-114164">Ollie Jay</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-sydney-841">University of Sydney</a></em></p> <p>Australia is braced for a hot, dry summer. El Nino is back, and this year it will occur alongside an <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-08-22/positive-indian-ocean-dipole-to-coincide-with-el-nino/102756378">Indian Ocean dipole</a>, a climate pattern which will further amplify this hot and dry effect.</p> <p>Hot weather can place great stress on our bodies. When the environmental conditions exceed the limit at which we can adequately cope, we can suffer from heat-related illnesses.</p> <p>Heat illnesses can vary, from relatively mild heat exhaustion to the potentially life-threatening condition of heat stroke.</p> <h2>What are the signs and symptoms?</h2> <p>If you’re suffering from heat exhaustion, you may feel weakness, nausea, headaches or dizziness.</p> <p>Mild <a href="https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/environment/beattheheat/Pages/heat-related-illness.aspx">symptoms of heat exhaustion</a> can often be treated at home by reducing your levels of physical activity, finding shade, removing excess clothing, hydrating with water and perhaps even taking a cool shower.</p> <p>If left unchecked, heat exhaustion can progress to the far more serious condition of heat stroke, where your core temperature climbs upwards of 40°C. <a href="https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/environment/beattheheat/Pages/heat-related-illness.aspx">Symptoms</a> can develop rapidly and may include confusion, disorientation, agitation, convulsions, or it could even result in a coma.</p> <p>Heat stroke is a medical emergency and requires urgent treatment. Call an ambulance and start rapid, aggressive cooling by immersing the person in cold water (such as a cold bath). If this isn’t possible, apply ice packs to their neck, armpits and groin and cover the skin with lots of cool water.</p> <p>When it comes to cooling someone with suspected heat stroke, the quicker the better: cool first, transport second.</p> <h2>Why do we overheat?</h2> <p>Environmental conditions play an important role in determining our heat stress risk. If the air temperature, humidity and levels of sun exposure are high, we are much more likely to dangerously overheat.</p> <p>When the body gets hot, the heart pumps more warm blood to our skin to help lose heat. As air temperature rises, this way of shedding heat becomes ineffective. When air temperature is higher than the temperature of the skin (normally around 35°C), we start gaining heat from our surroundings.</p> <p>Sweating is by far our most effective physiological means of keeping cool. However, it is the <em>evaporation</em> of sweat from our skin that provides cooling relief.</p> <p>When the air is humid, it already contains a lot of moisture, and this reduces how efficiently sweat evaporates.</p> <p>Our physical activity levels and clothing also impact heat stress risk. When we move, our bodies generate metabolic heat as a by-product. The more intense physical activity is, the more heat we must lose to avoid dangerous rises in core temperature.</p> <p>Finally, clothing can act as an insulator and barrier for the evaporation of sweat, making it even more difficult for us to keep cool.</p> <h2>Who is most vulnerable in the heat?</h2> <p>Some people <a href="https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/environment/beattheheat/Pages/people-most-at-risk.aspx">are at greater risk</a> of developing heat illness than others. This can result from physiological limitations, such as a decreased capacity to sweat, or a reduced capacity to adapt our behaviour. When these two risk factors coincide, it’s a perfect storm of vulnerability.</p> <p>Take, for example, an elderly outdoor agricultural worker. Being aged over 60, their physiological capacity to sweat is reduced. The worker may also be wearing heavy safety clothing, which may further limit heat loss from the body. If they don’t slow down, seek shelter and adequately hydrate, they become even more vulnerable.</p> <p>When a person dies of heat stroke – which is relatively easy to diagnose – heat will be listed as a cause of death on a death certificate. Between 2001 and 2018 in Australia, 473 heat-related deaths were <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212420921006324">officially reported</a>.</p> <p>However, the true association between heat and death is thought to be far greater, with an <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/article/PIIS2542-5196(20)30100-5/fulltext">estimated 36,000 deaths</a> in Australia between 2006 and 2017.</p> <p>This is because most people who die during extreme heat events do not die from heat stroke. Instead, they they die of <a href="https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/nejm199607113350203">other medical complications</a> such as cardiovascular or renal collapse, as additional strain is placed on essential organs such as the heart and kidneys.</p> <p>People with underlying health conditions are more likely to succumb to heat-associated complications before they develop critical core temperature (over 40°C) and heat stroke.</p> <p>In such cases, while the additional physiological strain imposed by the heat probably “caused” the death, the official “cause of death” is often listed as something else, such as a heart attack. This can make understanding the true health burden of extreme heat more difficult.</p> <h2>How to stay safe in the heat</h2> <p>Thankfully, there are effective, low-cost <a href="https://twitter.com/TheLancet/status/1677702906789740545">ways</a> of staying safe in the heat. These include: <!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/215084/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <ul> <li>staying adequately hydrated</li> <li>getting out of the heat to a cooler area indoors or shaded area outdoors</li> <li>loosening or removing clothing</li> <li>cooling down any way you can: <ul> <li>using an electric fan (which can be used at 37°C and below, irrespective of age and humidity)</li> <li>using a cold-water spray</li> <li>applying a cool, damp sponge or cloth</li> <li>wetting clothes and skin</li> <li>having a cool shower or bath</li> <li>applying ice packs or crushed ice in a damp towel on the neck, groin and armpits.</li> </ul> </li> </ul> <p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/lily-hospers-1060107"><em>Lily Hospers</em></a><em>, PhD Candidate, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-sydney-841">University of Sydney</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/james-smallcombe-1412548">James Smallcombe</a>, Post-doctoral Research Associate, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-sydney-841">University of Sydney</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/ollie-jay-114164">Ollie Jay</a>, Professor of Heat &amp; Health; Director of Heat &amp; Health Research Incubator; Director of Thermal Ergonomics Laboratory, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-sydney-841">University of Sydney</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/its-extremely-hot-and-im-feeling-weak-and-dizzy-could-i-have-heat-stroke-215084">original ar</a><a href="https://theconversation.com/its-extremely-hot-and-im-feeling-weak-and-dizzy-could-i-have-heat-stroke-215084">ticle</a>.</em></p>

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"So beautiful": Summer Warne overwhelmed by Coldplay's tribute to Shane

<p>Summer Warne has captured the emotional moment that Coldplay frontman Chris Martin paid tribute to her late father on stage. </p> <p>During their show in Perth on Sunday night, Martin bean singing an original acoustic song that honoured Shane Warne in a unique way. </p> <p>Shane's daughter Summer was in the audience for the performance, and was incredibly touched by the gesture. </p> <p>During the song, Chris Martin sang the lyrics, "Friends come, and friends go, there are just some people you're lucky to know. If I could, I'd do it all again, so thanks for everything Shane."</p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cz1Ln4fRVQU/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cz1Ln4fRVQU/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Summer Warne 🍒 (@summerwarne)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p>He even joked at one point, singing "I needed sunglasses just to look at your teeth," and poked fun at the late cricketer's lack of rhythm. </p> <p>Summer posted a clip of the emotional moment to Instagram with the caption, "The most amazing song dedicated to Dad. Thank you Chris, so beautiful <a title="" href="https://www.instagram.com/coldplay/?hl=en" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">@coldplay</a> Love you dad xx."</p> <p>This isn't the first time Martin has honoured the star in song, as Coldplay dedicated an acoustic cover of their hit song <em>Yellow</em> to the sporting legend at Shane's memorial. </p> <p>The performance was done via video, as Chris began saying, "I am sorry I cannot be there today."</p> <p>"We are on tour in Central America and there are a lot of background noises, but I feel like that may be OK with him. I think chaos and Shane were good friends."</p> <p><em>Image credits: Instagram</em></p>

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Tiny house, big dreams: How to take a trip and give back at the same time

<p dir="ltr">When it comes to getting away over the summer, there is no one size-fits-all option to accommodate everyone’s unique needs. </p> <p dir="ltr">Some of us may prefer an off-the-grid adventure to the bush to reconnect with nature, while others just can’t pass up an opportunity to lay on the beach and frolic in the ocean. </p> <p dir="ltr">But if there’s one thing every holiday goer can agree on, it's the absolute need to relax. </p> <p dir="ltr">Luckily, <a href="https://reflectionsholidayparks.com.au/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reflections Holiday & Caravan Parks</a> has something for everyone this summer. </p> <p dir="ltr">From blissful camping and caravanning sites to luxurious tiny homes and creature-comfort cabin accommodation, Reflections is proud to be New South Wales’ largest holiday park operator, showing 2 million visitors a year the magic of the outside.</p> <p dir="ltr">You can feel good about your stay with Reflections, as the company is the first and only holiday park group in Australia that is certified as a <a href="https://www.socialtraders.com.au/news/what-is-a-social-enterprise" target="_blank" rel="noopener">social enterprise</a>.</p> <p dir="ltr">That means the profits from the parks go back into the Crown land nature reserves the company manages to protect and nurture the land, for their lasting preservation and the community’s enjoyment while also giving back to local areas.</p> <p dir="ltr">A holiday here is essentially giving back to the local environment and community.</p> <p dir="ltr">I was lucky enough to be invited for a trip away with Reflections, and stayed in a charming Tiny House at the Jimmy’s Beach park in Hawk’s Nest on the mid-coast of NSW. </p> <p dir="ltr">Despite bringing the dreary Sydney rain with me up the coast, my stay with Reflections was nothing short of a dream. </p> <p dir="ltr">The tiny house provided all the comforts we needed on an overcast weekend, with the cosy atmosphere providing the perfect place to fully unwind from busy city life. </p> <p dir="ltr">Despite being, by name, a tiny house, the one bedroom home provided everything we needed, including a comfy bed, spacious shower, a large lounge and TV, as well as everything you could need to cook your own meals. </p> <p dir="ltr">A spacious deck was also most welcome, giving you the chance to sit in the sun and take in the picturesque nature around you, while spotting the best of Australia's wildlife. </p> <p dir="ltr">As the sun came out, we were able to indulge in all that Reflections had to offer, including bush walks, trips to the beach and even a dip in the pool. </p> <p dir="ltr">The sense of community in Reflections holiday parks is palpable, as making friends and meeting new people is encouraged and fostered, with a welcoming environment making it easy to hear the life stories of others as you cross paths in communal areas. </p> <p dir="ltr">The holiday parks are also perfect for families, with playgrounds available for the little ones, and even an ice cream truck making the rounds while playing Waltzing Matilda to signal the arrival of delicious treats. </p> <p dir="ltr">So, when booking your summer trips away, whether you’re after a quiet beach stay, a family-friendly destination, or an exploration off the beaten track, a stay at a Reflections Holiday Park is sure to leave you refreshed, reconnected, and ready for whatever comes your way.</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image credits: Supplied</em></p>

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Santas needed! Surprising Christmas shortage spells job openings for Aussie grandads

<p>A nationwide Santa shortage has many shopping centres hoping for a Christmas miracle, before festive families line up in droves for a snap with Father Christmas. </p> <p>According to talent agency <a href="https://scenetobelieve.com.au/santa-jobs/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Scene to Believe</a>, who are responsible for hiring Santas in over 180 around Australia, there are not have enough applicants for Santa roles this December. </p> <p>The agency's head Christmas recruiter, Viviana Diaz, told <a href="https://www.news.com.au/finance/work/careers/santa-jobs-go-unfilled-despite-fall-in-aussie-job-ads/news-story/de7f3c5b6d95c6f78f9718d1bb60a099" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>news.com.au</em></a> that the seasonal shortfall was nationwide, but the situation was more pronounced in Sydney.</p> <p>The company said issue has been growing over the last three years, with the problem believed to have stemmed from the Covid pandemic. </p> <p>Ms Diaz said that contrary to popular belief, Santas can come in all shapes, sizes and ages, and that women are also eligible to apply. </p> <p>“Sometimes they think they have to look like Santa,” Ms Diaz said.</p> <p>“But we provide a full Santa suit and they don’t have to have a real beard.”</p> <p>Previous experience is also not required, as Scene to Believe runs a dedicated Santa School where new incoming Santas can learn tips from experienced Santas.</p> <p>The company states that Santas “need to be jolly, have a great HOHOHO and enjoy working with children”, while a genuine love of the festive season, patience and compassion, and good communication skills.</p> <p> A current Working with Children Check and Police Check, or willingness to get these, are also important.</p> <p>Ms Diaz added, “Being a shopping centre Santa is a perfect job for Aussies looking to help their hip pocket come Christmas time, with flexible working arrangements and casual rates.”</p> <p>Experienced Santa Tony Hooper said it’s “perfect for older Australians wanting to dip their toe back into the workforce”. </p> <p>“Being a Santa is by far the best work I’ve ever done. It’s flexible, I work when I want and I spend my days talking to young families and getting in the festive spirit.”</p> <p>“It’s also a great way to earn extra cash right before Christmas, which is when I need it most. And the best part is, I can still receive my pension!” </p> <p>Ms Diaz said failing to fill its Santa positions was not an option, and they would do everything in their power to have a flock of Santas ready to spread Christmas cheer on December 1st.</p> <p>“We have to find a lot of people because Santa has to be there. We will perform a Christmas miracle!”</p> <div> </div> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p>

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"Hot girl summer": Jackie O turns heads in swimsuit on enchanting getaway

<p>Radio host Jackie 'O' Henderson has embarked on a "magical" vacation to Ningaloo Reef in Western Australia, accompanied by her close friend, Gemma O’Neill – leaving left her fans in awe with the beachside photos she shared online.</p> <p>The 48-year-old shared an image of herself and Gemma on the sandy shore, prompting her followers to declare that Jackie was fully embracing a "hot girl summer".</p> <p>"Deserted beaches, sunsets, super moons, no phones, and swimming with gentle whale sharks 💛 @gemmyjean, thank you for this incredible birthday gift," Jackie captioned the photos, some of which showed the duo swimming alongside these magnificent creatures.</p> <p>"Wow, that looks absolutely amazing 🙌," remarked Kylie Gillies.</p> <p>"It looks absolutely incredible! Adding it to my list ❤️❤️❤️," chimed in Michelle Bridges.</p> <p>"Your beautiful friendship with Gem is heartwarming. Hip, hip hooray, Jack! ❤️," gushed Melissa Hoyer.</p> <p>"Seems like you had a blast on your little getaway! Looks like so much fun," one user commented, while another exclaimed, "Absolutely stunning!"</p> <p>"That's the way to live 🙌," added a third.</p> <p>"Radiant beauties basking in the joy of life!" another fan noted.</p> <p>Several others complimented Jackie, calling her "gorgeous" and the experience "magical".</p> <p>This exciting adventure followed an amusing incident in which Jackie was caught with an embarrassing item in her luggage while en route to Western Australia.</p> <p>Before her departure, the producers of the Kyle and Jackie O show surreptitiously placed a large vibrator in her carry-on bag, ensuring it would be discovered by airport security by attaching it to a sizeable aerosol can.</p> <p>Jackie recounted the prank to her listeners on-air, stating, "That [phallic object] was in my suitcase, planted by our staff, so that when I went through security, it was uncovered. I could have died!"</p> <p>"They placed this [adult toy] in my bag, thinking it would be a funny joke," she continued. "[Airport security] showed me the X-ray and asked, 'What is this?' And I genuinely had no idea."</p> <p>Video footage of the prank was shared on the show's Instagram account, featuring Jackie with airport security as they inspected her bag.</p> <p>"I'm turning beet red! Stop it! Someone has placed something in there. It's not mine," she exclaimed to the unamused security personnel. "I'm mortified. My colleagues at work played a prank on me. I'm sure you've seen this happen before."</p> <p>"I felt like such a fool," Jackie admitted to her producers.</p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/reel/CxxDebVPe72/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/CxxDebVPe72/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Kyle and Jackie O (@kyleandjackieo)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p>Ultimately, Jackie had to retain the item and dispose of it herself, tossing it into a nearby bin.</p> <p>"Seriously, do you realise how humiliating that was? It was an incredibly lifelike object!" she exclaimed in the video once she realised that her producer had filmed the prank at the airport.</p> <p>Listeners thoroughly enjoyed the prank, with one Instagram user writing, "I'm currently in the hospital, and this made my day."</p> <p>"Best prank ever!!! It brightened my day," another fan praised.</p> <p>"OMG, this is hilarious!" a third person added. "I'm sorry, Jackie, I know you were embarrassed, but it was genuinely funny."</p> <p><em>Images: Instagram</em></p>

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Fire authorities are better prepared for this summer. The question now is – are you?

<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/graham-dwyer-908955">Graham Dwyer</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/swinburne-university-of-technology-767">Swinburne University of Technology</a></em></p> <p>Last year, campers had to evacuate <a href="https://www.thegreynomads.com.au/caves-2/">because of floods</a>. This year, they’re evacuating because of fire. Over Victoria’s long weekend, campers and residents in Gippsland had to <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-10-01/gippsland-fires-burn-briagolong-loch-sport-erica/102922014">flee fast-moving fires</a>, driven by high winds.</p> <p>The megafires of the 2019–2020 Black Summer came off the back of an earlier El Niño climate cycle. Now, after three years of rain and floods, El Niño is arriving on Australian shores again. With it comes fire weather – hot, dry and windy.</p> <p>The question is – <a href="https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/comment/topic/2023/09/30/climate-change-and-the-fire-season-ahead#mtr">are we ready?</a></p> <p>Last week, emergency management minister Murray Watt moved to reassure an anxious country. “Australia is much better prepared for this season than we were heading into Black Summer,” he said, <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-09-24/australia-better-prepared-for-bushfire-threat-than-black-summer/102895018">speaking after</a> a national summit on disaster preparedness.</p> <p>Yes, authorities are better prepared. But by and large, we as individuals are not. Far too often, Australians think it’s the job of the authorities to be ready, which breeds a false sense of security.</p> <h2>This fire season may pack a punch</h2> <p>The Black Summer bushfires of the 2019–20 summer were a stark reminder of how fire prone Australia is. But they were more than that – they <a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-black-summer-of-fire-was-not-normal-and-we-can-prove-it-172506">were not normal</a>. Around 20% of all of our forests went up in flame.</p> <p>2019 was the <a href="https://www.newscientist.com/article/2019-2019-was-australias-hottest-and-driest-year-on-record/#:%7E:text=Last%20year%20was%20Australia's%20hottest,are%20the%20worst%20on%20record.">hottest and driest</a> year on record for Australia. But 2023 <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/sep/01/australia-records-warmest-winter-caused-by-global-heating-and-sunny-conditions">may break that record</a>, as climate records topple around the world and extreme weather events multiply. This year is likely to be the hottest on record globally, and next year the record <a href="https://www.climatecouncil.org.au/resources/what-the-return-of-el-nino-means/#:%7E:text=Looking%20ahead%20%E2%80%93%20with%20El%20Ni%C3%B1o,above%20the%20pre%2Dindustrial%20average">may well fall again</a>.</p> <p>Sustained rain from three successive La Niña years has driven widespread vegetation growth across Australia’s 125 million hectares of forest, bush and grasslands. Over the coming weeks, many areas could dry out quickly and become tinder for bushfires.</p> <h2>Climate cycles do give us time to prepare</h2> <p>Australia’s wet-dry climate cycles have one benefit – during wet years, fire authorities get a reprieve. That lets governments, emergency services and the community <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-09-22/bushfire-royal-commission-revisited-after-el-nino-weather/102880144">coordinate, plan and prepare</a> for bushfire seasons ahead.</p> <p>That’s why Minister Watt can accurately claim Australia is better prepared. The capacity and capability of our emergency services to predict the spread of fires and issue timely warnings to communities is better than it has ever been. In planning and preparedness for natural hazards such as bushfires and floods, we have seen <a href="https://nema.gov.au/about-us/media-centre/Preparedness-Summit-250923">better integration</a> between government, emergency services, civil and private sector organisations.</p> <p>Planned burning is still a challenge. It’s tough to find the right weather conditions to burn off fuel loads at low intensity, without risking the blaze spreading or threatening property.</p> <p>But these burns are done much more <a href="https://knowledge.aidr.org.au/resources/ajem-october-2020-searching-for-objectivity-in-burning/">strategically these days</a>. Rather than simply aim to hit a target of hectares burned, authorities are now focused on burning fuel in areas where it could endanger lives and damage critical infrastructure during bushfire season.</p> <p>These advances give us good reason for confidence. But not for complacency.</p> <p>Every bushfire is unique. And our fires are, by and large, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-27225-4">getting worse</a>. It would be an error to think our investment in <a href="https://reporter.anu.edu.au/all-stories/fighting-fires-from-space-how-satellites-and-other-tech-could-prevent-catastrophic-bushfires">smoke-detecting algorithms and satellite monitoring</a> and the development of the new <a href="https://afdrs.com.au/">Australian Fire Danger Rating System</a> will spare Australia from the loss of life, property and environmental destruction observed during the Black Summer fires.</p> <p>Why? Decades of bushfires have shown even the best preparation can be found wanting on days of severe bushfire danger when firestorms can develop quickly and behave unpredictably.</p> <h2>For Australia to be ready, you need to be ready</h2> <p>While megafires happen – and draw the most headlines – most bushfires are local rather than national events.</p> <p>That means we must prepare at a local level.</p> <p>If you’re faced with a bushfire threat, you have only <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1467-8500.12592">two options</a>.</p> <p>You can stay and defend your property – as long as you are physically and mentally prepared, have adequate firefighting resources, and your property is prepared and defensible.</p> <p>Or you can leave early, which means making a judgement call about the best time to go in a calm manner. That doesn’t mean panic – if there is time, it can be possible to do things like clear fuels from around the home and dampen the surrounds to give your house a better chance of surviving undefended.</p> <p>Which should you choose? It depends, in part, on where you live and your personal circumstances. Remember too that most Australians will never experience a bushfire firsthand.</p> <p>Every community has a different risk profile and people and communities vary considerably in their levels of preparedness and planning.</p> <p>If a fire does start and head towards your house, you could be taken entirely by surprise if you have no bushfire plan.</p> <p>To be clear, this is arguably the <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-prepare-your-home-for-a-bushfire-and-when-to-leave-50962#:%7E:text=Under%20Catastrophic%20fire%20conditions%20all,of%20bushfires%20and%20their%20unpredictability.">largest gap</a> in Australia’s fire preparedness.</p> <h2>Planning is easy – if done ahead</h2> <p>The question of whether Australia is ready for the fire season should be reframed. The better question is: are Australians ready?</p> <p>The good news is, it’s easier than you think to make a fire plan. As a household, it might take just 10 minutes. Your state or territory government has a website showing you how:</p> <ul> <li><a href="https://www.cfa.vic.gov.au/plan-prepare/before-and-during-a-fire/your-bushfire-plan">Victoria</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.rfs.nsw.gov.au/resources/bush-fire-survival-plan">New South Wales</a></li> <li><a href="https://bushfire-survival-plan.qfes.qld.gov.au/">Queensland</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.cfs.sa.gov.au/plan-prepare/before-a-fire-be-prepared/make-a-plan/5-minute-bushfire-plan/">South Australia</a></li> <li><a href="https://mybushfireplan.wa.gov.au/">Western Australia</a></li> <li><a href="https://esa.act.gov.au/cbr-be-emergency-ready/bushfires/bushfire-ready">Australian Capital Territory</a></li> <li><a href="https://securent.nt.gov.au/prepare-for-an-emergency/fires/bushfires/survival-plans">Northern Territory</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.fire.tas.gov.au/Show?pageId=colbushfirePrepareActSurvive&amp;fbclid=IwAR1mRkwm89K_SlAnUXUm0LYwAQ7Hc8moJ7c9AoNgkmdPVDxxIPx7WMLJzvk">Tasmania</a></li> </ul> <p>Why plan ahead? Because it is vastly better to have a clear plan at your fingertips rather than frantically trying to figure out where your loved ones are, whether it’s too late to leave and whether you could realistically fight the fire – when the fire is on your doorstep. Faced by the reality of fire, many of us can freeze.</p> <p>What firefighters <a href="https://theconversation.com/i-can-still-picture-the-faces-black-saturday-firefighters-want-you-to-listen-to-them-not-call-them-heroes-128632">want us to learn</a> is that the critical decisions and actions which save lives and property in a bushfire are taken by us and our communities, not by politicians or agencies.</p> <p><em>John Schauble contributed significantly to this article. He has worked extensively in bushfire policy and research at state level and has volunteered for over 40 years as a firefighter.</em><!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214577/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/graham-dwyer-908955"><em>Graham Dwyer</em></a><em>, Course Director, Centre for Social Impact, Swinburne University of Technology, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/swinburne-university-of-technology-767">Swinburne University of Technology</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images </em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/fire-authorities-are-better-prepared-for-this-summer-the-question-now-is-are-you-214577">original article</a>.</em></p>

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"I want to make Dad proud": Summer Warne's heart-wrenching revelation

<p>Summer Warne has shared a heart-wrenching revelation after making her TV debut on <em>The Masked Singer</em>. </p> <p>The 21-year-old, who is Shane Warne's youngest child with Simone Callahan, left the panel of judges in tears following an emotional performance of Coldplay’s <em>Yellow</em>. </p> <p>“That was his favourite Coldplay song. It’s such a significant song to me and my family,” she said. </p> <p>“I want to make Dad proud. Singing Yellow was absolutely amazing – that song was his funeral song. Chris Martin sang it at the state memorial.”</p> <p>Summer also took to Instagram to reflect on her TV debut, where she thanked the judging panel, host and fans for their love and support. </p> <p>"I will be forever grateful of this whole experience ❤️" she captioned the photos. </p> <p>She also paid tribute to her dad, and shared what an honour it was to perform for him.</p> <p>"My dad would love nothing more than hearing me sing and perform on stage, if it wasn’t for him I would have never been given an opportunity like this.</p> <p>"So thank you Dad, and I really wish you could have seen this, but I know you were by my side every step of the way ❤️"</p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CxpPcGvRRoJ/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CxpPcGvRRoJ/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Summer Warne (@summerwarne)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p>In an interview with <em>Yahoo Lifestyle </em>after her performance, Summer shared a few candid insights into how tough it was to grow up with a famous father. </p> <p>“If I was out at a party, I thought I had to act a certain way, because if I did the wrong thing, or said the wrong thing, people would look at my family and go, ‘Oh, she’s a horrible person’.</p> <p>“I never wanted … I never asked to be in this life. And I think it was just very hard growing up in an environment where your whole life is kind of on screen.</p> <p>“And if Dad made a mistake, it would reflect on me. And, you know, I thought people were looking at me differently.”</p> <p><a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/news/news/like-a-bad-dream-shane-warne-s-family-in-shock" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Shane passed away </a>of a suspected heart attack in Thailand on March 2022, and the news shocked the world. </p> <p>Ever since his passing, Summer said that life hasn't gotten any easier for her family. </p> <p>"I think it has gotten a bit more hectic, because they (paparazzi) can’t follow him around now, and they want to follow us,” she said.</p> <p>"They write stories and the public is like 'we don't want to hear about them or they're not celebrities'. But we're just living our lives, whether that's going out for breakfast, or going out on a Saturday night, you know, it's just gonna get written about.</p> <p>“We’re just trying to live our lives and move on. Unfortunately, it is what it is.”</p> <p>The 21-year-old has been very open about her grief and has recently shared a <a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/lifestyle/family-pets/shane-warne-s-daughter-s-candid-admission" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tribute to her dad</a> for what would've been his 54th birthday. </p> <p><em>Images: Instagram</em></p>

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It’s warming up and mozzies are coming. Here’s how to mosquito-proof your backyard

<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/cameron-webb-6736">Cameron Webb</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-sydney-841">University of Sydney</a></em></p> <p>The weather is warming up and that means more time in the backyard. It also means more mosquitoes.</p> <p>Here are five ways you can mosquito-proof your backyard that <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-battle-against-bugs-its-time-to-end-chemical-warfare-111629">don’t rely on spraying insecticides</a>.</p> <h2>1. Get rid of water</h2> <p>Mosquitoes need water to complete their life cycles. They <a href="https://theconversation.com/feel-like-youre-a-mozzie-magnet-its-true-mosquitoes-prefer-to-bite-some-people-over-others-128788">need blood</a> – but water and warmth are just as important.</p> <p>Getting rid of water around your backyard will go a long way to keeping mosquitoes away. Water trapped in blocked roof gutters, drains and tarpaulin covering boats and trailers can be a great home for mosquitoes.</p> <p>Mosquitoes can exploit the tiniest of water sources too. It may just be the upturned lid of a discarded plastic drink bottle. If it traps water, mosquitoes will find it and lay eggs in it.</p> <p>Flush out your bird bath once a week to disrupt the mosquito’s life cycle.</p> <p>If you have a pond, installing a fountain will discourage mosquitoes. If you can’t keep water clean and circulating, consider filling it with sand and gravel to create an interesting garden bed for succulents or other plants.</p> <p>Mosquitoes will avoid clean and chlorinated swimming pools but will quickly move into “green pools”. If you’re not using your pool, consider <a href="https://www.krg.nsw.gov.au/Environment/Your-local-environment/Wildlife/Living-with-wildlife/Pool-to-pond/How-to-convert-your-pool">converting it to a “pond”</a> so that fish can help keep mosquito numbers down.</p> <h2>2. Screen up – windows, doors and rainwater tanks</h2> <p>If you can’t get rid of permanent water, at least stop mosquitoes getting to it (or you).</p> <p>Ensure <a href="https://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/clean-and-green/natural-environment-and-water/water/water-smart-homes/rainwater-tanks/using-your-rainwater-tank">rainwater and septic tanks</a> have screens to stop mosquitoes entering.</p> <p>Screen windows and doors to stop mosquitoes entering the home. There are plenty of flexible screening options for windows, doors and balconies.</p> <p>If you live in a mosquito-prone area, creating a screened outdoor area (such as a pergola, courtyard, or balcony) will give you the opportunity to spend time outdoors without being hassled by mozzies.</p> <h2>3. Choose your garden plants carefully</h2> <p>Some plants <a href="https://bioone.org/journals/Journal-of-the-American-Mosquito-Control-Association/volume-25/issue-3/09-0016.1/Are-Commercially-Available-Essential-Oils-from-Australian-Native-Plants-Repellent/10.2987/09-0016.1.short">contain essential oils and other chemicals</a> that, when extracted and concentrated, provide protection against biting mosquitoes. But there isn’t a lot of evidence that the whole plant will keep mosquitoes away from your garden.</p> <p>Some types of plants are even marketed as “mozzie blockers” or “mosquito repelling”. But there isn’t <a href="https://www.veranda.com/outdoor-garden/a40592197/do-mosquito-repelling-plants-work/">any evidence of effectiveness</a>. In fact, some of these plants, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1440-6055.2009.00736.x">such as melaleucas</a>, also happen to be associated with <a href="https://academic.oup.com/jme/article/36/4/515/903838">hot spots of mosquito breeding</a> in coastal Australia.</p> <p>The plants to <em>avoid</em> around the home are those that help mosquitoes breed, such as <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1440-6055.2008.00641.x">bromeliads</a>, which trap water.</p> <h2>4. Encourage the animals that eat mosquitoes</h2> <p>Mosquitoes are food for a range of animals including birds, bats, fish, frogs, lizards, insects, spiders and <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1365-2656.13965">dragonflies</a>. But don’t expect them to eat enough to keep all mosquitoes away.</p> <p>Bats are often promoted as a good “biological control” options but studies have shown mosquitoes are <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0077183">more likely to be a snack food</a> for small bats, not an irresistible staple of their diet.</p> <p>For garden ponds, frogs will eat a few adult mosquitoes but tadpoles of Australian frogs generally <a href="https://bioone.org/journals/journal-of-the-american-mosquito-control-association/volume-21/issue-4/8756-971X(2006)21%5b492%3aTOFCAF%5d2.0.CO%3b2/TADPOLES-OF-FOUR-COMMON-AUSTRALIAN-FROGS-ARE-NOT-EFFECTIVE-PREDATORS/10.2987/8756-971X(2006)21%5B492:TOFCAF%5D2.0.CO;2.short">don’t eat many mosquito “wrigglers”</a>.</p> <p>Australian native fish <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15532929/">will readily eat mosquitoes</a> and may be useful for backyard ponds.</p> <p>But not all fish are good. While “mosquitofish” (aka “plague minnow”) is distributed overseas to assist in mosquito control, <a href="https://meridian.allenpress.com/australian-zoologist/article/30/3/316/134508/Does-predation-by-the-fish-Gambusia-holbrooki">it’s a disaster for local wildlife</a> and, <a href="https://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fishing/aquatic-biosecurity/pests-diseases/freshwater-pests/finfish-species/gambusia">along with other exotic fish species</a>, should not be released into local waterways.</p> <p><a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13157-019-01133-2">Healthier habitats promote fewer mosquitoes</a> so the best thing you can do is create habitats for the animals that eat mosquitoes.</p> <h2>5. Avoid traps and other gadgets</h2> <p>There are lots of devices purported to catch, kill, or repel mosquitoes from your garden. Some may catch a mosquito or two but they’re not very effective in knocking out big numbers.</p> <p>“Bug zappers” with bright lights will collect lots of flying insects. It’s just that mosquitoes make up a very small proportion of collections.</p> <p>Electrocuting devices, again, don’t seem to attract a lot of mosquitoes.</p> <p>Devices that <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-buzz-from-your-smartphone-wont-stop-mosquito-bites-92611">emit high frequency sounds</a> won’t help either.</p> <p>The best devices are typically those that are baited with carbon dioxide. These are a mainstay of state and territory <a href="https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/Infectious/mosquito-borne/Pages/surveillance.aspx">mosquito and arbovirus surveillance programs</a>. For a mosquito, the C0₂ tricks them into thinking the trap is a warm-blooded animal. The only problem is these can be expensive to run and don’t seem quite as effective for mosquito control <a href="https://bioone.org/journals/journal-of-the-american-mosquito-control-association/volume-22/issue-3/8756-971X(2006)22%5b490%3aTATTFA%5d2.0.CO%3b2/Traps-and-Trapping-Techniques-for-Adult-Mosquito-Control/10.2987/8756-971X(2006)22%5B490:TATTFA%5D2.0.CO;2.short">unless used in large numbers</a>.</p> <h2>Yes, you’ll still need repellent</h2> <p>Perhaps the best way to avoid mosquito bites is to pick an insect repellent <a href="https://www.phrp.com.au/issues/december-2016-volume-26-issue-5/a-review-of-recommendations-on-the-safe-and-effective-use-of-topical-mosquito-repellents/">recommended by health authorities</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/mozzies-biting-heres-how-to-choose-a-repellent-and-how-to-use-it-for-the-best-protection-150183">apply it</a> to ensure all exposed areas of skin are covered. These products and safe, affordable and effective.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/212711/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/cameron-webb-6736"><em>Cameron Webb</em></a><em>, Clinical Associate Professor and Principal Hospital Scientist, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-sydney-841">University of Sydney</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/its-warming-up-and-mozzies-are-coming-heres-how-to-mosquito-proof-your-backyard-212711">original article</a>.</em></p>

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Arctic Ocean could be ice-free in summer by 2030s, say scientists – this would have global, damaging and dangerous consequences

<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/jonathan-bamber-102567">Jonathan Bamber</a>, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-bristol-1211">University of Bristol</a></em></p> <p>The Arctic Ocean could be ice-free in summer by the 2030s, even if we do a good job of reducing emissions between now and then. That’s the worrying conclusion of a new study in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-38511-8">Nature Communications</a>.</p> <p>Predictions of an ice-free Arctic Ocean have a long and complicated history, and the 2030s is sooner than most scientists had thought possible (though it is later than some had wrongly forecast). What we know for sure is the disappearance of sea ice at the top of the world would not only be an emblematic sign of climate breakdown, but it would have global, damaging and dangerous consequences.</p> <p>The Arctic has been experiencing climate heating <a href="https://theconversation.com/arctic-is-warming-nearly-four-times-faster-than-the-rest-of-the-world-new-research-188474">faster than any other part of the planet</a>. As it is at the frontline of climate change, the eyes of many scientists and local indigenous people have been on the sea ice that covers much of the Arctic Ocean in winter. This thin film of frozen seawater expands and contracts with the seasons, reaching a minimum area in September each year.</p> <figure class="align-center zoomable"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/530136/original/file-20230605-19-mdh85y.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/530136/original/file-20230605-19-mdh85y.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/530136/original/file-20230605-19-mdh85y.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=184&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530136/original/file-20230605-19-mdh85y.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=184&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530136/original/file-20230605-19-mdh85y.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=184&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530136/original/file-20230605-19-mdh85y.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=232&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530136/original/file-20230605-19-mdh85y.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=232&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530136/original/file-20230605-19-mdh85y.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=232&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" alt="Animation of Arctic sea ice from space" /></a><figcaption><span class="caption">Arctic sea ice grows until March and then shrinks until September.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.nasa.gov/feature/esnt/2022/nasa-finds-2022-arctic-winter-sea-ice-10th-lowest-on-record">NASA</a></span></figcaption></figure> <p>The ice which remains at the end of summer is called multiyear sea ice and is considerably thicker than its seasonal counterpart. It acts as barrier to the transfer of both moisture and heat between the ocean and atmosphere. Over the past 40 years this multiyear sea ice has shrunk from around <a href="http://polarportal.dk/en/sea-ice-and-icebergs/sea-ice-extent0/">7 million sq km to 4 million</a>. That is a loss equivalent to roughly the size of India or 12 UKs. In other words, it’s a big signal, one of the most stark and dramatic signs of fundamental change to the climate system anywhere in the world.</p> <p>As a consequence, there has been considerable effort invested in determining when the Arctic Ocean might first become ice-free in summer, sometimes called a “blue ocean event” and defined as when the sea ice area drops below 1 million sq kms. This threshold is used mainly because older, thicker ice along parts of Canada and northern Greenland is expected to remain long after the rest of the Arctic Ocean is ice-free. We can’t put an exact date on the last blue ocean event, but one in the near future would likely mean open water at the North Pole for the first time in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nature10581">thousands of years</a>.</p> <figure class="align-center zoomable"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/530138/original/file-20230605-29-9uuhxu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/530138/original/file-20230605-29-9uuhxu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/530138/original/file-20230605-29-9uuhxu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=712&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530138/original/file-20230605-29-9uuhxu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=712&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530138/original/file-20230605-29-9uuhxu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=712&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530138/original/file-20230605-29-9uuhxu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=895&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530138/original/file-20230605-29-9uuhxu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=895&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530138/original/file-20230605-29-9uuhxu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=895&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" alt="Annotated map of Arctic" /></a><figcaption><span class="caption">The thickest ice (highlighted in pink) is likely to remain even if the North Pole is ice-free.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://nsidc.org/arcticseaicenews/2015/05/new-tools-for-sea-ice-thickness/">NERC Center for Polar Observation and Modelling</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure> <p>One problem with predicting when this might occur is that sea ice is notoriously difficult to model because it is influenced by both atmospheric and oceanic circulation as well as the flow of heat between these two parts of the climate system. That means that the climate models – powerful computer programs used to simulate the environment – need to get all of these components right to be able to accurately predict changes in sea ice extent.</p> <h2>Melting faster than models predicted</h2> <p>Back in the 2000s, an assessment of early generations of climate models found they generally <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2007GL029703">underpredicted the loss of sea ice</a> when compared to satellite data showing what actually happened. The models predicted a loss of about 2.5% per decade, while the observations were closer to 8%.</p> <p>The next generation of models did better but were <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2012GL052676">still not matching observations</a> which, at that time were suggesting a blue ocean event would happen by mid-century. Indeed, the latest <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/report/sixth-assessment-report-working-group-i/">IPCC climate science report</a>, published in 2021, reaches a similar conclusion about the timing of an ice-free Arctic Ocean.</p> <p>As a consequence of the problems with the climate models, some scientists have attempted to extrapolate the observational record resulting in the controversial and, ultimately, incorrect assertion that this would happen <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/aug/21/arctic-will-be-ice-free-in-summer-next-year">during the mid 2010s</a>. This did not help the credibility of the scientific community and its ability to make reliable projections.</p> <h2>Ice-free by 2030?</h2> <p>The scientists behind the latest study have taken a different approach by, in effect, calibrating the models with the observations and then using this calibrated solution to project sea ice decline. This makes a lot of sense, because it reduces the effect of small biases in the climate models that can in turn bias the sea ice projections. They call these “observationally constrained” projections and find that the Arctic could become ice-free in summer as early as 2030, even if we do a good job of reducing emissions between now and then.</p> <figure class="align-center zoomable"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/530365/original/file-20230606-21-usmovg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/530365/original/file-20230606-21-usmovg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/530365/original/file-20230606-21-usmovg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=394&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530365/original/file-20230606-21-usmovg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=394&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530365/original/file-20230606-21-usmovg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=394&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530365/original/file-20230606-21-usmovg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=495&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530365/original/file-20230606-21-usmovg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=495&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530365/original/file-20230606-21-usmovg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=495&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" alt="Walruses on ice floe" /></a><figcaption><span class="caption">Walruses depend on sea ice. As it melts, they’re being forced onto land.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">outdoorsman / shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure> <p>There is still plenty of uncertainty around the exact date – about <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/2016GL070067">20 years or so</a> – because of natural chaotic fluctuations in the climate system. But compared to previous research, the new study still brings forward the most likely timing of a blue ocean event by about a decade.</p> <h2>Why this matters</h2> <p>You might be asking the question: so what? Other than some polar bears not being able to hunt in the same way, why does it matter? Perhaps there are even benefits as the previous US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2019/05/06/politics/pompeo-sea-ice-arctic-council/index.html">once declared</a> – it means ships from Asia can potentially save around 3,000 miles of journey to European ports in summer at least.</p> <p>But Arctic sea ice is an important component of the climate system. As it dramatically reduces the amount of sunlight absorbed by the ocean, removing this ice is predicted to further accelerate warming, through a process known as a positive feedback. This, in turn, will make the Greenland ice sheet <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/2014GL059770">melt faster</a>, which is already a major contributor to <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2021RG000757">sea level rise</a>.</p> <p>The loss of sea ice in summer would also mean changes in <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg2/chapter/ccp6/">atmospheric circulation and storm tracks</a>, and fundamental shifts in ocean biological activity. These are just some of the <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2021RG000757">highly undesirable consequences</a> and it is fair to say that the disadvantages will far outweigh the slender benefits.</p> <p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/jonathan-bamber-102567">Jonathan Bamber</a>, Professor of Physical Geography, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-bristol-1211">University of Bristol</a></em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/arctic-ocean-could-be-ice-free-in-summer-by-2030s-say-scientists-this-would-have-global-damaging-and-dangerous-consequences-206974">original article</a>.</em></p> <p><em>Images: Getty</em></p>

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Film stars’ surprising jobs before they were famous

<p>Today, they’re Oscar-winners and household names, but before they were famous, these actors were just like us. From restaurant servers to professional jugglers, we take a look at the surprising jobs Hollywood’s most well-known names had before they hit the big time.</p> <ol> <li><strong>Whoopi Goldberg</strong> – Goldberg has had a couple of unexpected professions (including as a bricklayer), but perhaps her most bizarre was her stint as a morgue beautician – yep, she used to doll-up corpses for funerals!</li> <li><strong>Hugh Jackman</strong> – Before he was Wolverine, the beloved Aussie actor was known as “Mr. Jackman” – he was a P.E. teacher at Uppingham School while living in the UK during his post-high school gap year. Jackman also worked as a clown for hire at birthday parties!</li> <li><strong>Johnny Depp</strong> – Prior to becoming a screen star, Depp was a salesman of sorts! The actor sold personalised pens over the phone to “people who don't want you to call them.”</li> <li><strong>Rachel McAdams</strong> – <em>The Notebook</em> star, like many young people, got her start at Maccas. In fact, she worked at the fast food joint for three years, but told <a href="http://www.glamour.com/story/rachel-mcadams-glamour-magazine-cover-interview-ok-we-love-this-girl" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em><strong>Glamour</strong></em></a> she “was not a great employee” but that it was “a great place to work”.</li> <li><strong>Helen Mirren</strong> – She may have played the Queen, but Mirren’s first job wasn’t exactly the most royal role in the world. As a child, she worked as a promoter for the Kursaal amusement park in the UK.</li> <li><strong>Harrison Ford</strong> – Before saving the world as Indiana Jones, Ford was just a regular tradie. Before hitting the big time, the actor was a carpenter. In fact, he was renowned as one of Los Angeles’ best cabinetmakers.</li> <li><strong>Jim Carrey</strong> – The Hollywood funnyman worked as a cleaner in a factory before finding fame as a comedic actor. He took up the janitorial job after quitting school at 15 to help provide for his financially struggling family.</li> <li><strong>George Clooney</strong> – Heartthrob Clooney had many jobs before becoming a successful actor, including as a door-to-door insurance salesman, tobacco cutter and ladies shoe store sales assistant.</li> <li><strong>Nicole Kidman</strong> – She’s one of Australia’s most well-known exports, but prior to breaking into the film industry, Kidman worked as a masseuse! She took up the job at 17 to support her mother, who had been diagnoses with breast cancer.</li> <li><strong>Christopher Walken</strong> – The acclaimed actor’s career almost went in a very different direction, after he took up the position of lion tamer in a travelling circus. “I used to go in and have this lion do tricks,” he told <em><a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2012/09/christopher-walken-seven-psychopaths-interview" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Vanity Fair</strong></a></em>. “It was a female named Sheba, and she was very sweet.”</li> </ol> <p><em>Images: Getty</em></p>

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"I did it”: 59-year-old grandma finally scores dream Qantas job

<p>A 59-year-old grandmother has gotten her big gig with Qantas after dreaming of being a flight attendant for about 40 years.</p> <p>Jackie Cookson is one of the airline’s latest recruits, having graduated on May 29, with her first flight scheduled for June 3.</p> <p>Cookson can now add flight attendant to her versatile resume, with her previously working as a travel agent, a receptionist on an oncology ward and a newspaper sales rep.</p> <p>The 59-year-old, who calls herself “crazy nana” has shared her journey on TikTok since her first interview with Qantas, through all the assessments and training and to her upcoming graduation.</p> <p>In January 2023, she posted her first video ahead of her first in-person interview with Qantas, which attracted more than half a million views, saying people might think she was crazy to apply given her age, but she was finally following her dreams.</p> <p>The grandmother-of-two revealed she had an interview at another airline when she was 20 years old but never went as she ended up getting married.</p> <p>“In my eyes then if you were married you couldn’t be cabin crew. How bloody stupid was that,” she said.</p> <p>She got the job and relocated from Perth to Sydney for her training.</p> <p>“Crazy nana is going to be a cabin crew, watch out!” she told her followers.</p> <p>Four months on saw Cookson standing proudly in her Qantas uniform, with her certificate in hand.</p> <p>“Can you believe it? Crazy nana’s gone and bloody done it, hasn’t she? I’ve passed, today I’ve graduated. I did it,” an elated Cookson said.</p> <p>“If I can do it, anyone else can do it. Follow your dreams. Don’t give up. Don’t be thinking ‘I’m too old’ or this or that. Look at me, I’ve got my wings.”</p> <p>Cookson, who is originally from England but has been living in Australia for about 30 years, told <em>news.com.au </em>that the older she got, the more she thought she may have missed her chance.</p> <p>“After Covid I took a year off and travelled the world, went back to see my 91-year-old dad in Yorkshire, and I applied while I was on holiday,” she said.</p> <p>“I haven’t studied for a long time, so it’s definitely been a challenge, but I put everything I’ve got into it and I’m thrilled to have gotten my wings.</p> <p>“I fly on my first flight to LA on Saturday. I’m nervous, like any first day on the job, but I know I’ll settle into it, but I’m mostly just really excited. I love people and I’m looking forward to working with our customers.”</p> <p><em>Image credit: TikTok</em></p>

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