Cabin crew asks passengers to ‘meditate' after AC stops working mid-air, video sparks outrage: ‘Incredibly dangerous'
A video of passengers drenched in sweat and struggling to keep calm on a US flight due to the air conditioning system has sparked outrage on social media. According to a viral Reddit post, the flight temperature reached 54 degrees Celsius mid-air, and upon backlash, the cabin crew asked the passengers to 'meditate'.
The footage shows passengers in distress, fanning themselves with in-flight manuals and magazines to cope with the unbearable cabin temperature.
'Folks, we are trying to do our best right now. The sooner we get the air, the better,' a crew member can be heard saying. 'Please be seated, seatbelts fastened, and armrests down. Please meditate and stay calm.' The advice to 'meditate and stay calm' did not land well. One passenger was heard saying, 'Are you serious right now?'
'POV: Air Is Broken On Your On Your Fight Today, It's 130°,' the Reddit post read.
Watch the video here:
POV: Air Is Broken On Your On Your Fight Today, It's 130°
byu/InGeekiTrust inTikTokCringe
The incident sparked a conversation about airline accountability and the safety of passengers during mid-air mechanical failures. 'This is incredibly dangerous for many people, could easily kill someone,' a user wrote. 'People with medical problems can die from the heat at that temperature. This is a lawsuit waiting to happen,' another user commented.
'You don't even need to have medical problems. This temperature is dangerous for anyone, especially if you're in it for several hours. This plane should not have left the ground,' a third user said.
'People never truly understand the pervasive nature of Southern heat until they experience it themselves. It's that uncomfortable type of hot that you just can't sit with ever,' a fourth user wrote.
A similar incident took place in June 2024, where passengers on a SpiceJet flight from Delhi to Darbhanga were forced to sit in the aircraft without air-conditioning for over an hour.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
2 hours ago
- Indian Express
‘Used to have hair denser than my mother and sister': Why Gen Z men in India are facing a hair loss crisis in their 20s
In India, how a person 'looks' is given a lot of weight. This focus can be beneficial to a certain degree, but it often crosses into unhealthy territory. Women, long subjected to evolving beauty standards – now amplified by social media – voice their struggles with body image, but lately, men are facing the heat too. There is a rising yet under-discussed concern among men now – hair loss – specifically, male-pattern baldness. According to a 2023 study published in the National Library of Medicine, 'Male-pattern hair loss (MPHL) is a highly heritable and prevalent condition characterised by progressive hair loss from the frontotemporal and vertex scalp.' In India, thick, lustrous hair has always been associated with youth and vitality, but an increasing number of Gen Z men are facing premature baldness. Traya's study, conducted in 2023, found that '50.31 per cent of Indian men experiencing hair loss are under the age of 25.' This paper factored in data collected from around 500,000 men. Once considered a concern for middle-aged men, male pattern baldness is now appearing far earlier, bringing not only physical changes but also profound psychological impacts and emotional consequences. spoke to men coping with early hair loss, and to psychologists and dermatologists, to examine the causes and psychological effects of losing hair at a young age. Yash Bhatia, 27, first noticed his receding hairline when someone pointed it out. While he insisted this didn't hit his confidence much, Bhatia acknowledged the stigma: 'There was some teasing from friends, but it didn't affect me much.' For Aaditya Sharma, 23, a PR professional, the experience was far more challenging. 'My hair loss started in late 2019 and worsened in 2020, during my first year of college,' he recalled. 'What didn't help was the fact that, until 2019, I had denser hair than my mother and sister. By late 2020, there was a visible bald spot on the crown of my head.' This sudden change took a psychological toll. 'It took a toll on my self-perception, leading to self-doubt and regret. Spending time alone during lockdown led me to overthink. There was even a time when I stopped looking over my forehead in the mirror as it would remind me of my negligence,' Sharma said. Bhatia, however, maintained a more detached view. 'It's quite common these days,' he said, noting that forums like Reddit are filled with hair loss discussions. 'It didn't hurt my self-esteem, but the frequency with which people commented on it did stand out. People still associate hair loss with poor lifestyle choices, though it's become a widespread issue. Many are now considering transplants if they feel the need.' Dr Gunasekar Vuppalapati, senior reconstructive and aesthetic plastic surgeon at GVG Invivo and Apollo Hospitals, said that while genetics remain the primary driver, environmental factors are accelerating hair loss in younger men. 'The rising number of bald young men is part of human evolution, and Gen Z is experiencing this progression. The main culprit is gene-mediated dihydrotestosterone (DHT), a hormone that gradually shrinks hair follicles, leading to thinning,' he said. Dr Mandeep Singh, head of the department of plastic, dermatology and cosmetic surgery at Paras Health, Gurugram, said, 'Stress, poor lifestyle habits, and hormonal imbalances all contribute to early onset. When stress levels rise, hair follicles enter a resting phase, resulting in excessive shedding.' Both doctors agreed that modern lifestyles contribute to the problem. Dr Vuppalapati said, 'Rising levels of chronic and sustained stress are playing a significant role. The urban environment, pollution, and exposure to hard water in many Indian cities can damage hair health.' Jai Arora, counselling psychologist and co-founder of Kirana Counselling, explained the profound psychological effects of premature hair loss. 'Hair is closely tied to self-image. When men lose it early, it can seriously damage their confidence. We associate a full head of hair with youth and attractiveness. Losing it prematurely can lead to feelings of inadequacy, social withdrawal, or anxiety.' This psychological toll is evident in Sharma's experience with societal judgment. He recalled a particularly painful incident: 'I was getting a haircut when a man asked if I was married. I said no, and he replied, 'Better get married soon. Or it'll never happen'.' Bhakti Joshi, counselling psychologist at Samarpan Health and founder of Asha Mental Health Services, said these experiences reflect larger societal attitudes. 'Hair is symbolically tied to virility and fertility. Losing it can diminish body image satisfaction. For some, the anxiety becomes intense and leads to maladaptive coping, even symptoms of body dysmorphia, mood disorders, or social phobia.' Joshi said the consequences can be severe: 'The person experiencing drastic hair loss or balding might develop intense preoccupation and coping efforts in response, might also develop social anxiety, and less life satisfaction. From the clinical perspective along with maladaptive coping patterns can range from body dysmorphic to mood disorder tendencies, social phobias.' For those facing hair loss, both medical and psychological interventions can help. Dr Vuppalapati outlined several treatment options: Dr Singh said that 'early use of minoxidil or finasteride under a dermatologist's guidance can slow the thinning of hair.' However, cost can be a barrier. Sharma considered hair transplant but found it prohibitively expensive. 'The treatment would cost me over Rs 70,000, plus ongoing medication expenses. As the sole earner in my family, I decided against it.' Instead, he uses a hair patch occasionally. Psychological approaches are equally critical. Arora suggested shifting focus from external appearance to internal values. 'Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) helps reframe thoughts, separating identity from physical traits. That change in perspective can be powerful.' Both dermatologists stressed that while genetics cannot be changed, several preventive steps can slow the progression of male pattern baldness. Dr Vuppalapati recommends: According to Dr Singh, 'A Mediterranean-style diet with lean proteins, healthy fats, and antioxidants may help minimise hair loss.' He also said, 'Staying hydrated is essential for scalp health.' Male pattern baldness in young men represents more than just a cosmetic issue – it's a complex interplay of genetics, environment, lifestyle, and psychological factors. While medical treatments can address the physical symptoms, the emotional and social aspects require greater awareness and acceptance. Sharma agreed. 'The reactions from my friends and family have been nothing but encouraging. They often tell me that people don't care as much for looks, which, although not true, does give me hope. To them, the hair loss doesn't matter, but to me, it does,' he said. This captures the essence of the challenge many young men face – trying to reconcile personal insecurities with societal norms, all while navigating a condition that's no longer just about ageing, but about identity, confidence, and self-worth. Swarupa is a Senior Sub Editor for the lifestyle desk at The Indian Express. With a passion for storytelling, she delves into the realms of art & culture, fitness, health, nutrition, psychology, and relationships, empowering her readers with valuable insights. ... Read More
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
5 hours ago
- Business Standard
Powering change: How Pakistan is crowdfunding its energy revolution
Sometimes, the most tragic events can bring forth goodness. That's the hope of Najam Fasihi, 47, a Miami-raised surgeon at Virginia Hospital Center in the suburbs of Washington, DC. On a 2023 trip to visit relatives in northern Pakistan, disaster struck. Driving along the Karakoram Highway through the foothills of the Himalayas, a landslide hit one of their vehicles, killing his sister-in-law instantly. Her six-year-old daughter, who had been sitting in her lap, was left with a serious head injury. Later, with his niece safely back home in Atlanta, Fasihi decided to do something to preserve his sister-in-law's memory: Pay for solar systems to provide electricity for two blacked-out clinics they'd visited on the three-hour hospital dash to the provincial capital of Gilgit that night. 'We wanted to give them something that can't be be taken away,' he told me. 'Something hard and fixed.' An appeal on the fundraising platform GoFundMe raised $45,710 in a matter of months. He's not alone. Across Pakistan, a grassroots energy revolution is reshaping the grid, and offering a possible model that could transform similar fast-growing, energy-poor countries in Asia and Africa. Some 16.6 gigawatts of solar panels were imported last year alone, sufficient to provide about 13 per cent of grid power. To say this came out of the blue is an understatement. In its latest system plan released last year, Pakistan's electricity regulator expected less than a third of that amount to be installed, in total, by 2034. Panels have gone on the roofs of schools, orphanages, mosques, medical clinics, and homes. In the smallest of towns, you can find a vendor who'll sell you a system capable of powering three fans, six lights and a mobile-phone charger for as little as $600. That's almost a basic necessity in a country where rolling blackouts can last 15 hours while summer temperatures soar above 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit). This isn't being done out of environmental concern, but cost. A small solar system will provide its owner with electricity for as little as ₹8 (3 cents) per kilowatt hour, compared to ₹70 per kilowatt hour for grid power, according to Khurram Lalani, founder of Resources Future, an energy advisory firm based in Islamabad. It has taken decades of mismanagement and bad luck to get to this point. Energy has been a brake on Pakistan's development since its independence in 1947, thanks to meager domestic sources of power. Each time growth has started to rise, a more energy-hungry economy has started sucking up more imported coal, oil and gas, depleting Pakistan's foreign exchange reserves and sending the rupee tumbling. It has received 24 bailouts from the International Monetary Fund, more than any other country. Attempts to fix this have only caused further problems. In the 1960s and 1970s, the great hope was hydroelectricity from the Indus river and its tributaries. The Tarbela and Mangla dams provided more than a third of the country's electricity in the 1980s, but they've been silting up for decades. Both now hit 'dead level' — the point at which water is too low to provide irrigation flows or significant power generation — on an almost annual basis. In the 2010s, former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif tried a different tack — building a series of Chinese-financed coal power plants. Even setting aside the climate and health impacts, that was a disaster. Pakistan was left with more than $15 billion in debt to the Chinese developers, which the government has struggled to service as the rupee fell to about a third of its value at the time the deals were arranged. With bills going unpaid, the Chinese plant owners have repeatedly threatened to shut down electricity supplies unless they get their money. Pakistan has asked China to restructure the loans, but has only succeeded in prolonging the agony. Just addressing legacy debts will add at least another ₹3.23 per kilowatt hour to bills, local media reported this month. The only way to resolve these problems without default is to charge locals yet more for their electricity. Bills rose 155 per cent between 2021 and 2024, leaving many households spending more on electricity than on rent. Local industries pay about twice as much as competitors in the US and India. Protests against the rising cost of power have attracted thousands to the streets. In Karachi, mobs have attacked the offices of privately owned utility K-Electric Ltd. and assaulted employees amid disputes about unpaid bills and illegal power lines. The solar boom of recent years is bypassing this broken system altogether, with takeup from both households and commercial users, including the textile sector, Pakistan's biggest export earner. Nishat Mills Ltd., which supplies Gap Inc. and Hennes & Mauritz AB, has more than 35 megawatts of solar connected, several times more than Tesla Inc. has at its Nevada Gigafactory. Interloop Ltd., which sells activewear to Adidas AG and Nike Inc., has another 25 megawatts up and running. Service Industries Ltd., the country's biggest footwear exporter, gets 40 per cent of the power at its shoe factory from solar. Lucky Cement Ltd., the biggest cement producer, gets 55 per cent of its power from solar, wind and waste heat recovery. That's helping improve margins across the economy. The benchmark KSE-100 Karachi stock index was the world's best performer last year, as slowing inflation driven by falling energy costs allowed the economy to recover. There's a model in this for other developing countries. Energy is an essential component of economic growth, but many nations with fast-growing, young populations are desperately short of it. Solar offers a shortcut solution. South Africa has managed to halt a similar energy crisis over the past few years, in part thanks to a flood of imported panels. Batteries may be the next shoe to drop, allowing consumers to shift the electricity produced by their panels into the evening, too. Combined solar-battery systems in Pakistan will pay for themselves in between three and six years at present, according to Haneea Isaad, an analyst at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, a pro-energy transition group. There's one looming downside to all this. Those who can afford the upfront costs are increasingly quitting the grid to generate their own power — but not everyone is so lucky. Paying off the colossal liabilities taken on for Pakistan's failed experiment in coal power will fall increasingly on those with no alternative, making a fix even less likely. Pakistan, moreover, still needs a functioning electricity network, not least because its continued development will eventually put far more demands on the system. If the country wants to find indigenous sources of power for the millions of vehicles currently run off largely imported gas and oil, it will need to electrify them. That will require a grid robust enough to charge them all up. Currently, the entire country of 248 million people has just eight public charging stations. Getting there will require vision. Pakistan's ministry of energy and its powerful electricity regulator need to come up with far more ambitious renewables deployment plans. They should also drop counterproductive ideas like an 18 per cent tax on imported solar panels proposed in the latest budget. International institutions must also step up. The IMF has blocked planned sales tax exemptions for electric vehicles, the local Express Tribune newspaper reported in February. It needs instead to be laser-focused on the way clean energy can cure an import dependency that has hooked the country on bailout cash. China, one of Islamabad's key allies, has a vital role to play, too. It has far more to gain from turning Pakistan into an import market for its solar industry than continuing to squeeze it to bail out failed Belt and Road coal generators. The extraordinary growth of Pakistan's solar sector shows how the technological and economic barriers to renewables have already been solved. What's needed now is a comparable revolution in thinking.
Time of India
7 hours ago
- Time of India
How Pakistan is crowdfunding an energy revolution
Sometimes, the most tragic events can bring forth goodness. That's the hope of Najam Fasihi, 47, a Miami-raised surgeon at Virginia Hospital Center in the suburbs of Washington, DC. On a 2023 trip to visit relatives in northern Pakistan, disaster struck. Driving along the Karakoram Highway through the foothills of the Himalayas, a landslide hit one of their vehicles, killing his sister-in-law instantly. Her six-year-old daughter, who had been sitting in her lap, was left with a serious head injury. Later, with his niece safely back home in Atlanta, Fasihi decided to do something to preserve his sister-in-law's memory: Pay for solar systems to provide electricity for two blacked-out clinics they'd visited on the three-hour hospital dash to the provincial capital of Gilgit that night. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Play War Thunder now for free War Thunder Play Now Undo 'We wanted to give them something that can't be be taken away,' he told me. 'Something hard and fixed.' An appeal on the fundraising platform GoFundMe raised $45,710 in a matter of months. He's not alone. Across Pakistan, a grassroots energy revolution is reshaping the grid, and offering a possible model that could transform similar fast-growing, energy-poor countries in Asia and Africa. Some 16.6 gigawatts of solar panels were imported last year alone, sufficient to provide about 13% of grid power. To say this came out of the blue is an understatement. In its latest system plan released last year, Pakistan's electricity regulator expected less than a third of that amount to be installed, in total, by 2034. Live Events Panels have gone on the roofs of schools, orphanages, mosques, medical clinics, and homes. In the smallest of towns, you can find a vendor who'll sell you a system capable of powering three fans, six lights and a mobile-phone charger for as little as $600. That's almost a basic necessity in a country where rolling blackouts can last 15 hours while summer temperatures soar above 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit). This isn't being done out of environmental concern, but cost. A small solar system will provide its owner with electricity for as little as 8 rupees (3 cents) per kilowatt hour, compared to 70 rupees/kwh for grid power, according to Khurram Lalani, founder of Resources Future, an energy advisory firm based in Islamabad. 'The grid at this point in time is beyond affordable to anyone,' he said. 'Consumers are connected out of compulsion, but if you offered them a free market they would not connect to the grid at all.' It has taken decades of mismanagement and bad luck to get to this point. Energy has been a brake on Pakistan's development since its independence in 1947, thanks to meager domestic sources of power. Each time growth has started to rise, a more energy-hungry economy has started sucking up more imported coal, oil and gas, depleting Pakistan's foreign exchange reserves and sending the rupee tumbling. It has received 24 bailouts from the International Monetary Fund, more than any other country. Attempts to fix this have only caused further problems. In the 1960s and 1970s, the great hope was hydroelectricity from the Indus river and its tributaries. The Tarbela and Mangla dams provided more than a third of the country's electricity in the 1980s, but they've been silting up for decades. Both now hit 'dead level' — the point at which water is too low to provide irrigation flows or significant power generation — on an almost annual basis. In the 2010s, former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif tried a different tack — building a series of Chinese-financed coal power plants. Even setting aside the climate and health impacts, that was a disaster. Pakistan was left with more than $15 billion in debt to the Chinese developers, which the government has struggled to service as the rupee fell to about a third of its value at the time the deals were arranged. With bills going unpaid, the Chinese plant owners have repeatedly threatened to shut down electricity supplies unless they get their money. Pakistan has asked China to restructure the loans, but has only succeeded in prolonging the agony. Just addressing legacy debts will add at least another 3.23 rupees/kwh to bills, local media reported this month. The only way to resolve these problems without default is to charge locals yet more for their electricity. Bills rose 155% between 2021 and 2024, leaving many households spending more on electricity than on rent. Local industries pay about twice as much as competitors in the US and India. Protests against the rising cost of power have attracted thousands to the streets. In Karachi, mobs have attacked the offices of privately owned utility K-Electric Ltd. and assaulted employees amid disputes about unpaid bills and illegal power lines. The solar boom of recent years is bypassing this broken system altogether, with takeup from both households and commercial users, including the textile sector, Pakistan's biggest export earner. Nishat Mills Ltd., which supplies Gap Inc. and Hennes & Mauritz AB, has more than 35 megawatts of solar connected, several times more than Tesla Inc. has at its Nevada Gigafactory. Interloop Ltd., which sells activewear to Adidas AG and Nike Inc., has another 25 megawatts up and running. Service Industries Ltd., the country's biggest footwear exporter, gets 40% of the power at its shoe factory from solar. Lucky Cement Ltd., the biggest cement producer, gets 55% of its power from solar, wind and waste heat recovery. That's helping improve margins across the economy. The benchmark KSE-100 Karachi stock index was the world's best performer last year, as slowing inflation driven by falling energy costs allowed the economy to recover. There's a model in this for other developing countries. Energy is an essential component of economic growth, but many nations with fast-growing, young populations are desperately short of it. Solar offers a shortcut solution. South Africa has managed to halt a similar energy crisis over the past few years, in part thanks to a flood of imported panels. Batteries may be the next shoe to drop, allowing consumers to shift the electricity produced by their panels into the evening, too. Combined solar-battery systems in Pakistan will pay for themselves in between three and six years at present, according to Haneea Isaad, an analyst at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, a pro-energy transition group. There's one looming downside to all this. Those who can afford the upfront costs are increasingly quitting the grid to generate their own power — but not everyone is so lucky. Paying off the colossal liabilities taken on for Pakistan's failed experiment in coal power will fall increasingly on those with no alternative, making a fix even less likely. Pakistan, moreover, still needs a functioning electricity network, not least because its continued development will eventually put far more demands on the system. If the country wants to find indigenous sources of power for the millions of vehicles currently run off largely imported gas and oil, it will need to electrify them. That will require a grid robust enough to charge them all up. Currently, the entire country of 248 million people has just eight public charging stations. Getting there will require vision. Pakistan's ministry of energy and its powerful electricity regulator need to come up with far more ambitious renewables deployment plans. They should also drop counterproductive ideas like an 18% tax on imported solar panels proposed in the latest budget. International institutions must also step up. The IMF has blocked planned sales tax exemptions for electric vehicles, the local Express Tribune newspaper reported in February. It needs instead to be laser-focused on the way clean energy can cure an import dependency that has hooked the country on bailout cash. China, one of Islamabad's key allies, has a vital role to play, too. It has far more to gain from turning Pakistan into an import market for its solar industry than continuing to squeeze it to bail out failed Belt and Road coal generators. The extraordinary growth of Pakistan's solar sector shows how the technological and economic barriers to renewables have already been solved. What's needed now is a comparable revolution in thinking.
