Extreme weather in Europe

The heat wave in France has claimed 1,000 lives

The heat wave in France has resulted in at least 1,000 more deaths than would otherwise have been expected, the French national health authority said according to AFP.

The increase was most pronounced in the Ille-de-France region, where Paris is located. Most of the cases occurred at home and 85 percent of the dead are people over 65.

"This is a reminder of how important it is to have solidarity efforts aimed at people who are isolated or live in pronounced loneliness," the authority wrote in a statement.

The proposal: Use "weather jujutsu" against extreme weather

Japanese martial arts can be used to prevent natural disasters. At least that's what researcher Qin Huang and his team at the University of Arizona think, according to 404 Media.

They claim to be able to show that "weather jujutsu" could, among other things, have caused Hurricane Sandy to miss New York in 2021 and raised the temperature by half a degree during the cold snap in Texas that claimed at least 246 lives. In practice, it's about gently "pushing" or guiding the weather, rather than trying to control it.

"It's a vision where we collaborate with the forces of the earth to create resilience, rather than reacting to disasters," writes Qin Huang.