The Know Daily - Wednesday 19 July 2023

_{Read in 5m 30s ∙ Listening to Self Esteem}

Nasa’s James Webb Space Telescope promised to reveal the universe as it had never been seen before - and it seems to have done just that! To celebrate the first successful year of the telescope in operation, the space agency released this truly incredible image of the Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex (the closest star-forming region to Earth).

🌡️ Red alert

Swathes of southern Europe are experiencing scorching heat and record-breaking temperatures, with red alert health warnings in place for most of Italy, Spain, Greece and parts of the Balkans.

What’s the story?
As Brits have set off for their summer holidays in Europe, parts of the continent have been gripped by what The Mirror described as “a ferocious and intense heatwave” which has “drum[med] home the reality of the climate crisis”.

Wildfires have broken out in several countries, including Spain, Switzerland and Greece, with one of the most significant fires leading 1,200 children to be evacuated from a summer camp southwest of Athens. On Friday, Greece’s Acropolis - the country’s “most popular tourist attraction” - was closed “to protect waiting tourists from the heat”, said Politico.

Why is this happening?
The intense heat in Europe has been “caused by an area of high pressure, unofficially named Cerberus after the multi-headed dog in Greek mythology, which has brought hot air from Africa to Europe”, explained The Guardian.

Global warming makes such temperature extremes stronger and more common.

“We should not be at all surprised with the high global temperatures,” Prof Richard Betts, a climate scientist at the Met Office and the University of Exeter, told the BBC. “This is all a stark reminder of what we’ve known for a long time, and we will see ever more extremes until we stop building up more greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.”

When will it end?
Forecasters think that this period of extremely hot weather is likely to last until around the end of July, although temperatures look likely to ease in parts of western Europe - like Spain and Portugal - this week.

Is there anything else I should know?
It’s not just Europe which is being impacted by extreme weather. Across the pond, around 80 million people in western and southern US states - nearly a quarter of the population - are expected to experience a “widespread and oppressive” heatwave this week.

And on Sunday, China recorded its highest-ever temperature, with a township in Xinjiang reporting temperatures of 52.2C. The country has been “hit by a series of climate disasters this year”, said The Independent, including heatwaves, landslides, flooding and tropical storms.

🦟 A vaccination victory

Nine more countries in Africa will receive doses of the long-awaited malaria vaccine, in a move which experts say could save thousands of lives.

What’s the story?
Since 2019, the world’s first malaria vaccine (named RTS,S) has been given to more than 1.7 million children in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi as part of an ongoing pilot programme. In October 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) officially recommended the vaccine for use in Africa, declaring it to be “safe and effective”.

And, earlier this month, the WHO, Unicef and global vaccine alliance Gavi announced that 18 million doses will be given to nine more countries over the next two years.

Why is this such a big deal?
In a joint statement, the organisations described the rollout as a “critical step forward” in the fight against one of the leading causes of death on the continent. There were an estimated 247 million cases of malaria worldwide in 2021, with 95% of cases and 96% of deaths occuring in Africa.

How effective is the vaccine?
“Because malaria comes from a parasite, not a virus, creating a highly efficacious vaccine against the infection is extremely difficult,” explained Vox. The RTS,S vaccine only prevents around 40% of malaria cases - but it is nevertheless expected to save thousands of lives each year.

Is there anything else I should know?
In April this year, Ghana became the first country to approve a new, much more effective malaria vaccine, named R21. The vaccine, which was developed by researchers at the University of Oxford, was found to prevent around 77% of cases in phase-two trials.

The WHO is considering approving the new vaccine for use, once final-stage trials have concluded.

⚽ Women’s World Cup: Almost 1.4m tickets have been purchased for the Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, setting a new record one day before the tournament kicks off. According to Fifa, more than 1.5m people are expected to attend in total.

⚖️ Court of Appeal ruling: Women’s rights campaigners celebrated the release from prison of a woman who was jailed for illegally obtaining abortion tablets to end her pregnancy during lockdown. On Tuesday, her sentence was reduced from 28 months to a 14-month suspended sentence.

📉 Inflation update: UK inflation fell by more than expected in June to 7.9% amid a sharp fall in petrol prices, according to official data released today. The news is expected to ease some of the pressure on the Bank of England to keep on sharply raising interest rates.

🇰🇵 US soldier detained: A US soldier is believed to be detained in North Korea after crossing the demarcation line “willfully and without authorisation” during a regular tour of a section of the buffer zone with South Korea. His motive for crossing the border is unclear.

🥕 Plant-powered dining: Ditching vegetarian labels in restaurants could help the planet, a new study has found. The researchers discovered that “meat eaters were significantly less likely to opt for vegetarian and vegan menu options when they were labelled as such, compared with when they were not”, said The Times.

Trivia answer: B) People in Hong Kong have been encouraged to stare at smokers in a disapproving manner - with health minister Professor Lo Chung-mau claiming that those lighting up are unlikely to “hit back” if everyone does it.

We’ve partnered with HURR, Grubby and CRU Kafe to reward readers who spread the word about us. You’ve signed up 0 friends so far!

Or copy and paste your referral link to others: https://theknowmedia.beehiiv.com/subscribe?ref=PLACEHOLDER

The Know is an independent media company on a mission to help everyone start their day feeling informed and hopeful. Our daily newsletter always features the day’s top stories broken down without jargon, uplifting news to put a smile on your face and hand-picked recs we think you’ll love.

How did you find today’s email?
😍 Loved it 😕 Could be better

Daily emails too much for you? Switch to our weekly Friday edition. Support The Know here.