logo
Steve Miller Band Cancels Tour, Saying Extreme Weather Is A Safety Concern

Steve Miller Band Cancels Tour, Saying Extreme Weather Is A Safety Concern

Al Arabiya7 days ago
Classic rocker Steve Miller has canceled his US tour because he said severe weather, including extreme heat and unpredictable flooding, poses a danger to his band, its fans, and crew. The tour was set to kick off in August and run through early November, with nearly three dozen stops across the US, including cities in New York, Tennessee, Florida, and California.
'The combination of extreme heat, unpredictable flooding, tornadoes, hurricanes, and massive forest fires make these risks for you, our audience, the band, and the crew unacceptable,' Miller, 81, said in a statement posted on the band's social media accounts Wednesday. 'You can blame it on the weather. … The tour is canceled.' The Steve Miller Band, formed in California in the 1960s, has hits including 'The Joker' (1973) and 'Abracadabra' (1982). A band spokesperson declined to provide additional details about the cancellation.
Miller's decision comes as a stretch of extreme weather in the US has made headlines. A sweltering heat dome that baked much of the eastern half of the nation in June and deadly flash flooding in Texas are some of the recent rounds of extreme weather. Scientists say climate change is fueling extreme weather, causing storms to unleash more rain and sending temperatures soaring to dangerous heights, making it harder to plan outdoor summer events. The atmosphere can hold higher amounts of moisture as it warms, resulting in storms dumping heavier amounts of rain compared to storms of the past.
Music festivals have recently encountered extreme weather, resulting in cancellations or causing concertgoers to become ill. In June, the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Tennessee was canceled partway through due to heavy rainfall. Last week, hundreds of people were treated for heat-related illnesses at the Rock the Country music festival in Kentucky, according to local officials. A study published in 2020 reported climate change will increase the likelihood of extreme heat stress during the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in California.
Tropical storms and hurricanes will soon contribute to the turbulent weather as activity peaks between August and October, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Outdoor workers demand protection as cruel heat bakes southern Europe
Outdoor workers demand protection as cruel heat bakes southern Europe

Al Arabiya

time42 minutes ago

  • Al Arabiya

Outdoor workers demand protection as cruel heat bakes southern Europe

Cruel heat is baking southern Europe as the continent slips deeper into summer. In homes and offices air conditioning is sweet relief. But under the scorching sun outdoor labor can be grueling, brutal, occasionally even deadly. A street sweeper died in Barcelona during a heat wave last month, and according to a labor union, 12 other city cleaners have suffered heatstroke since. Some of Europe's powerful unions are pushing for tougher regulations to protect the aging workforce from climate change on the world's fastest-warming continent. Cleaning the hot streets Hundreds of street cleaners and concerned citizens marched through downtown Barcelona last week to protest the death of Montse Aguilar, a 51-year-old street cleaner who worked even as the city's temperatures hit a June record. Fellow street sweeper Antonia Rodríguez said at the protest that blistering summers have made her work unbearable. 'I have been doing this job for 23 years and each year the heat is worse,' said Rodríguez, 56. 'Something has to be done.' Extreme heat has fueled more than 1000 excess deaths in Spain so far in June and July, according to the Carlos III Health Institute. 'Climate change is above all playing a role in extreme weather events like the heat waves we are experiencing and is having a big impact in our country,' said Diana Gómez, who heads the institute's daily mortality observatory. Even before the march, Barcelona's City Hall issued new rules requiring the four companies contracted to clean its streets to give workers uniforms made of breathable material, a hat, and sun cream. When temperatures reach 34 C (93 F), street cleaners now must have hourly water breaks and routes that allow time in the shade. Cleaning work will be suspended when temperatures hit 40 C (104 F). Protesters said none of the clothing changes have been put into effect, and workers are punished for allegedly slacking in the heat. They said supervisors would sanction workers when they took breaks or slowed down. Workers marched behind a banner reading 'Extreme Heat Is Also Workplace Violence!' and demanded better summer clothing and more breaks during the sweltering summers. They complained that they have to buy their own water. FCC Medio Ambiente, the company that employed the deceased worker, declined to comment on the protesters' complaints. In a previous statement, it offered its condolences to Aguilar's family and said that it trains its staff to work in hot weather. Emergency measures and a Greek cook In Greece, regulations for outdoor labor such as construction work and food delivery includes mandatory breaks. Employers are also advised – but not mandated – to adjust shifts to keep workers out of the midday sun. Greece requires heat-safety inspections during hotter months, but the country's largest labor union, the GSEE, is calling for year-round monitoring. European labor unions and the United Nations International Labor Organization are also pushing for a more coordinated international approach to handling the impact of rising temperatures on workers. 'Heat stress is an invisible killer,' the ILO said in a report last year on how heat hurts workers. It called for countries to increase worker heat protections, saying Europe and Central Asia have experienced the largest spike in excessive worker heat exposure this century. In Athens, grill cook Thomas Siamandas shaves meat from a spit in the threshold of the famed Bairaktaris Restaurant. He is out of the sun, but the 38 C (100.4 F) temperature recorded on July 16 was even tougher to endure while standing in front of souvlaki burners. Grill cooks step into air-conditioned rooms when possible and always keep water within reach. Working with a fan pointed at his feet, the 32-year-old said staying cool means knowing when to take a break before the heat overwhelms you. 'It's tough, but we take precautions: We sit down when we can, take frequent breaks, and stay hydrated. We drink plenty of water – really a lot,' said Siamandas, who has worked at the restaurant for eight years. 'You have to find a way to adjust to the conditions.' The blazing sun in Rome Massimo De Filippis spends hours in the blazing sun each day sharing the history of vestal virgins, dueling gladiators, and powerful emperors as tourists shuffle through Rome's Colosseum and Forum. 'Honestly, it is tough. I am not going to lie,' the 45-year-old De Filippis said as he wiped sweat from his face. 'Many times it is actually dangerous to go into the Roman Forum between noon and 3:30 p.m.' At midday on July 22, he led his group down the Forum's Via Sacra, the central road in ancient Rome. They paused at a fountain to rinse their faces and fill their bottles. 'Dehydrated tourists often pass out here in the summer heat,' said Francesca Duimich, who represents 300 Roman tour guides in Italy's national federation Federagit. 'The Forum is a pit There is no shade, there is no wind,' Duimich said. 'Being there at 1 p.m. or 2 p.m. in the summer heat means you will feel unwell.' This year guides have bombarded her with complaints about the heat. In recent weeks, Federagit requested that the state's Colosseum Archaeological Park, which oversees the Forum, open an hour earlier so tours can get a jump-start before the heat becomes punishing. The request has been to no avail so far. The park's press office said that administrators are working to move the opening up by 30 minutes and will soon schedule visits after sunset.

Tourists and laborers seek respite as Greece and Balkans gripped by heatwave
Tourists and laborers seek respite as Greece and Balkans gripped by heatwave

Arab News

time2 days ago

  • Arab News

Tourists and laborers seek respite as Greece and Balkans gripped by heatwave

ATHENS: Laborers were pausing outdoor work and tourists seeking out shade on Tuesday as Greece sweltered under its third heatwave of the summer and soaring temperatures gripped the wider Balkan region, fueling wildfires in Albania. Situated at Europe's southernmost tip, Greece, which attracts dozens of millions of tourists every year, has always had hot and dry summers. But in recent years climate change has led to longer and more severe heatwaves, as well as destructive floods and wildfires. Couriers, food delivery riders and builders in the wider area of the Greek capital Athens and other regions were among those ordered to pause work from midday until 5 p.m., as the mercury was expected to climb as high as 43 degrees Celsius, the labor ministry said. Workers with underlying health issues were advised to work remotely to avoid heat stress. Outside the parliament building in central Athens, a soldier used a towel to wipe the sweat from the face of a presidential guard. Tourists in Athens, one of the most densely populated capitals in Europe sitting on a plain flanked by mountains, sought out air-conditioned restaurants and stores, and some said they were staying inside in the middle of the SHUT Authorities announced that the Acropolis, which sits on a rocky hill offering barely any shade and is Greece's most visited ancient site, would be closed for five hours from midday on Tuesday and Wednesday, a common step when temperatures soar. The heatwave will continue until Sunday, the Greek meteorological service said. Scorching heat also gripped neighboring Bulgaria on Tuesday, with authorities urging businesses to give away water and cut physical labor during high-risk Montenegro, major roads were congested as many rushed to the beaches to find relief from the heat. In Albania, firefighters assisted by four aircraft from Italy and Greece battled two wildfires at a national park in the north and near the southwestern village of Dukat. Last month, large parts of Western Europe sweltered in another severe heatwave that left many dead and triggered forest fires and health alerts across the region. Across the globe, 2024 was the warmest year on record, with temperatures exceeding 1.5 Celsius above the pre-industrial era for the first time. Research published last week showed that the soil surface temperature around Athens rose in some places by as much as 10 degrees Celsius since July 2024 after fires destroyed vegetation.

Flash Floods Kill 3 Tourists and Leave 15 Missing in Northern Pakistan
Flash Floods Kill 3 Tourists and Leave 15 Missing in Northern Pakistan

Asharq Al-Awsat

time2 days ago

  • Asharq Al-Awsat

Flash Floods Kill 3 Tourists and Leave 15 Missing in Northern Pakistan

Flash floods triggered by heavy monsoon rains swept away several vehicles carrying tourists in northern Pakistan, killing at least three people and leaving 15 others missing, officials said on Tuesday. Pakistani rescue officials say the above-normal monsoon rains since June 26 have killed at least 225 people and injured more than 500 across the country. Experts say climate change is driving an increase in extreme weather events in the region. A cloudburst caused floods and landslides on Monday, stranding more than 200 local tourists after a key highway near the northern Chilas district was blocked, said Faizullah Faraq, a government spokesperson in the Gilgit-Baltistan region. Army helicopters were used in the evacuation, which included women and children, he said. Several vehicles had been buried under the rubble of landslides and rescuers are using heavy machinery to find the missing tourists and residents, Faraq said. Three bodies have been recovered. The National Disaster Management Authority issued an updated flood days before, warning against travel to northern areas due to potential landslides and blocked roads. Earlier this month, authorities warned they cannot rule out a repeat of extreme weather like the 2022 floods that submerged a third of the country and killed 1,737 people.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store