A disaster has been unfolding on Australia's coast
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News.com.au
14 hours ago
- News.com.au
'Silent killer': the science of tracing climate deaths in heatwaves
A heatwave scorching Europe had barely subsided in early July when scientists published estimates that 2,300 people may have died across a dozen major cities during the extreme, climate-fuelled episode. The figure was supposed to "grab some attention" and sound a timely warning in the hope of avoiding more needless deaths, said Friederike Otto, one of the scientists involved in the research. "We are still relatively early in the summer, so this will not have been the last heatwave. There is a lot that people and communities can do to save lives," Otto, a climate scientist at Imperial College London, told AFP. Heat can claim tens of thousands of lives during European summers but it usually takes months, even years, to count the cost of this "silent killer". Otto and colleagues published their partial estimate just a week after temperatures peaked in western Europe. While the underlying methods were not new, the scientists said it was the first study to link heatwave deaths to climate change so soon after the event in question. Early mortality estimates could be misunderstood as official statistics but "from a public health perspective the benefits of providing timely evidence outweigh these risks," Raquel Nunes from the University of Warwick told AFP. "This approach could have transformative potential for both public understanding and policy prioritisation" of heatwaves, said Nunes, an expert on global warming and health who was not involved in the study. - Big deal - Science can show, with increasing speed and confidence, that human-caused climate change is making heatwaves hotter and more frequent. Unlike floods and fires, heat kills quietly, with prolonged exposure causing heat stroke, organ failure, and death. The sick and elderly are particularly vulnerable, but so are younger people exercising or toiling outdoors. But every summer, heat kills and Otto -- a pioneer in the field of attribution science -- started wondering if the message was getting through. "We have done attribution studies of extreme weather events and attribution studies of heatwaves for a decade... but as a society we are not prepared for these heatwaves," she said. "People think it's 30 (degrees Celsius) instead of 27, what's the big deal? And we know it's a big deal." When the mercury started climbing in Europe earlier this summer, scientists tweaked their approach. Joining forces, Imperial College London and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine chose to spotlight the lethality -- not just the intensity -- of the heat between June 23 and July 2. Combining historic weather and published mortality data, they assessed that climate change made the heatwave between 1C and 4C hotter across 12 cities, depending on location, and that 2,300 people had likely perished. But in a notable first, they estimated that 65 percent of these deaths -- around 1,500 people across cities including London, Paris, and Athens -- would not have occurred in a world without global warming. "That's a much stronger message," said Otto. "It brings it much closer to home what climate change actually means and makes it much more real and human than when you say this heatwave would have been two degrees colder." - Underestimated threat - The study was just a snapshot of the wider heatwave that hit during western Europe's hottest June on record and sent temperatures soaring to 46C in Spain and Portugal. The true toll was likely much higher, the authors said, noting that heat deaths are widely undercounted. Since then Turkey, Greece and Bulgaria have suffered fresh heatwaves and deadly wildfires. Though breaking new ground, the study has not been subject to peer review, a rigorous assessment process that can take more than a year. Otto said waiting until after summer to publish -- when "no one's talking about heatwaves, no one is thinking about keeping people safe" -- would defeat the purpose. "I think it's especially important, in this context, to get the message out there very quickly." The study had limitations but relied on robust and well-established scientific methodology, several independent experts told AFP. Tailoring this approach to local conditions could help cities better prepare when heatwaves loom, Abhiyant Tiwari, a health and climate expert who worked on India's first-ever heat action plan, told AFP. "I definitely see more such studies coming out in the future," said Tiwari from NRDC India. Otto said India, which experiences tremendously hot summers, was a "prime candidate" and with a template in place it was likely more studies would soon follow.
News.com.au
a day ago
- News.com.au
‘Dark spots': COVID jab tied to rare health symptom
New research is calling for further study on a possible link between COVID-19 jabs and long-term vision issues. While vaccines have been vital in fighting the pandemic, emerging data could mean we're not out of the woods yet. Between January 2021 and January 2023, 20 peer-reviewed studies looked into eye problems reported by 243 people aged 18 to 84 who had received COVID-19 vaccines. Almost half of these patients - 42 per cent - had the Pfizer-BioNTech jab, which was the main vaccine rolled out in Australia, the USA, the UK, and much of Europe. What jumps out is inflammation. Nearly half of the patients reported experiencing ocular inflammatory conditions like uveitis, an irritation deep inside the eye. Another 24 per cent were said to have suffered optic neuritis, a swelling of the optic nerve that can cause pain and threaten vision. Herpetic eye disease, caused by the herpes virus attacking the eye, showed up in 14 per cent of cases, triggering redness, pain, and discomfort. About 10 per cent documented retinal circulation issues - blockages in the eye's arteries or veins that can trigger sudden vision loss. And there were also a few rare cases where patients were noted to exhibit retina-related problems causing 'dark spots' or 'blind patches'. But the most notable observations come from a recent Turkish study that tracked 64 patients before and after their two mRNA vaccine doses. Using detailed eye scans, researchers found an 8 per cent drop in the cornea's endothelial cell count - the cells responsible for keeping the cornea clear. These cells don't regenerate, and losing too many can permanently impair vision. To put that into perspective, healthy adults usually have between 2000 and 3000 of these cells per square millimetre. After vaccination, the average dropped from 2597 to 2378. While these numbers are still considered safe for most, the decline could be a warning sign for people with pre-existing eye conditions or those who have had eye surgeries like LASIK, cataract removal, or corneal transplants. Researchers also noted that corneas thickened by around 2 per cent after vaccination - a sign of possible swelling. The honeycomb shape of the endothelial cells became distorted, and the size differences between individual cells increased, which are both signs of cellular stress. Though none of the study participants reported immediate vision problems, experts warn that long-term structural changes to the cornea could lead to lasting damage, especially in vulnerable patients. Dr Fatma Sümer and Sevgi SubaÅŸi, authors of the study published in Ophthalmic Epidemiology, stressed the need for careful observation: 'The endothelium should be closely monitored in those with a low endothelial count or who have had a corneal graft.' According to Healthline, eye complications after vaccination are rare and appear to be driven by an overactive immune response. Symptoms can include blurred vision, light sensitivity, redness, eye pain, shingles around the eye, or reactivated herpes infections. In even rarer cases, the immune system may reject a previously transplanted cornea, risking vision loss and graft failure. This means the transplanted cornea loses its clarity and function, leading to impaired vision and the potential need for further treatment or surgery. These findings are not conclusive, and experts do not advise people to skip their COVID vaccine shots — far from it. But they are urging doctors and patients to not ignore these subtle warning signs. Those who have had prior eye surgery, suffer from chronic eye disease, or notice persistent blurry vision after vaccination are advised to be checked, because even small changes inside your eyes can have big consequences down the road According to safety reports from the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), 'vaccination is the most effective way to reduce deaths and severe illness from infection.' Like all medicines, the TGA notes, 'COVID-19 vaccines may cause some side effects. 'The most frequently reported include injection-site reactions (such as a sore arm) and more general symptoms, like headache, muscle pain, fever and chills.' The TGA closely monitors reports of adverse events to the COVID-19 vaccines and emphasises that 'the protective benefits of vaccination far outweigh the potential risks.'
ABC News
6 days ago
- ABC News
Scientists look to Indigenous history to manage flood risk in Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley
Accounts of floods recorded in Aboriginal oral history centuries ago could provide vital clues to how climate change will affect flood risk in the future. Scientists working on a disaster adaptation plan for the Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley in Sydney's north-west are looking into the past to help predict the future. Stephen Yeo, senior flood risk specialist at the NSW Reconstruction Authority, said records at Windsor go back to the early days of European settlement. "On this river system, we have the longest record of floods in Australia from the early 1790s right up to the present," he said. "That's actually pretty short in geological time." The biggest flood recorded since European settlement was in June 1867. But there are early colonial accounts of Aboriginal elders describing an even bigger flood that happened eight years before the arrival of the First Fleet. "During that flood it apparently poured in torrents for seven nights and seven days," Dr Yeo said. He said this event changed what scientists know about the magnitude and frequency of flooding in the river system. "It suggests that the flood in 1780 was perhaps 2 or 3 metres higher than what we currently think is the record flood in 1867. "So that's actually really valuable information from that Aboriginal storytelling." Waterway scientist Daryl Lam is part of a team searching for traces of pre-settlement floods. "History is telling us what has happened before really can happen again, so if we can find evidence of big floods from the past, it gives us some understanding of what we can potentially see in climate change," he said. Samples of sediment have been collected from three locations high above the river bank. These samples will be taken back to a laboratory and analysed to pinpoint exactly when the sediment was deposited. Measurements taken at the site will allow researchers to calculate how high the floodwaters rose. "Here in the Hawkesbury-Nepean, we have gauge records that go beyond a hundred years," Dr Lam said. "If we take into account oral history, we might be able to push it out to 200 years or 500 if we are lucky. "With paleoflood reconstruction, we will be able to work out a longer timescale." Archaeologist Bec Chalker said evidence of Aboriginal occupation can be found in caves all along the river. "We find tools that are hidden up on crevices in the shelters, just like we would put our tools and kitchen utensils on a shelf at home." She said Indigenous knowledge built up over generations was proving to be a valuable resource. "We have a lot to learn, and I think people are more open to learning now." Climate change is adding to the flood risk with every degree of atmospheric warming increasing rainfall in the catchment by 8 per cent. Between 2020 and 2022, the area flooded six times. With 114,000 people now living on the flood plain, the NSW Reconstruction Authority is considering whether building levees and improving evacuation roads will help mitigate the risk. "Climate change is here, we have to factor it into today's decision-making," Dr Yeo said.
