French engineer designs minimalist shelters that retain heat during winter for the homeless

Warmth in the cold should never be underappreciated.

It’s sad how the things we take for granted are the same things others would give everything to have. When winter approaches every year, most people are often concerned with buying decorations, gift shopping, and sending out dinner invitations to friends and family. 

In the same energy, some people would only be bothered about finding a safe, warm place to lay their heads on the cold, dangerous nights. Since they cannot afford the luxury of gifts and parties, all they want is a place of warmth from the biting cold. While feeling sorry for them and occasionally handing out blankets might help, this forward-thinking French engineer was tired of seeing his fellow humans freezing out on the streets. 

Geoffrey De Reynal, an M.Eng holder in Energy Engineering spent several months creating a heat-retaining dome called the iglou. [1] These small, portable shelters are big enough to house one or two persons and offer real protection from the dangerously cold weather sweeping into France from the Siberian Alps. When his project was completed, he tested them and began handing out the first set of domes to homeless persons in the streets of Bordeaux and Paris, where the temperatures would occasionally drop to life-threatening levels.

A better option

When Reynal was drawing up the plans for his project, the major factor was warmth and heat retention. While the iglous are incredibly small and would only accommodate a maximum of two people at once, usually an adult and a child, they offered a small measure of protection from the violent nights out in the streets.

The iglous are made of layered polyethylene on the outside and aluminum foil on the inside. These materials are synthetic insulators that keep the temperature within the iglou about 15% higher (or 60oF more) than the outside temperature. This means the domes are only ideal during the winter or on very cold nights throughout the year. 

The domes were smartly designed with a small window to provide solar lighting so the occupants can control their own light and privacy. The aluminum foil interior absorbs heat from the solar panels and the occupants’ bodies to increase the temperature within the dome. 

After he’d created the first ten iglous, Reynal took them out into the streets of Bordeaux, France to be tested. He singlehandedly sponsored the design of the first batch and when they turned out to be a success, people from all over the world were eager to contribute to his cause. The domes were provided at no cost to the occupants and people were instantly in love with them. Everyone who tested one refused to leave and those who couldn’t get a dome pleaded with Reynal to come back with more.

Reynal set up a crowdfunding account for his charity and in short a while, he amassed over $20,000 to continue his work.

Speaking on his motivation for the project, Reynal said to ABC News, “I was living abroad in Montenegro for a year, and there are not many people living outside there. When I came back to France, I was surprised by the number of homeless in the streets, so I decided to come up with an idea to help them.”

A 2012 survey conducted by the French National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies revealed that over 141,000 people were homeless across the country. [2] Compared to the survey from 2001, this is a 50% increase in the number of people without homes in France.

Reynal explains that while his iglou may offer a measure of warmth and protection, they are not permanent solutions, especially as they can only be used properly in the winter.

“I am not trying to replace emergency accommodations,” he argued. “I am just trying to make life a bit less difficult for homeless people. Having one of these igloos does not mean that you are not homeless anymore.”

Reynal hopes the French authorities will support his vision with funds as he plans to build thousands of iglous and make some modifications to the design. He also hopes they’d eventually be available in other countries as cold as France, such as Poland, Canada, Norway, and even Chicago in the U.S.

 According to one of the beneficiaries, Océane, who lives with her boyfriend on the streets, her iglou has provided the best shelter they’ve had in months. “It’s much easier to fall asleep at night, to wake up in the morning,” Océane said. “We have much better nights inside the igloo shelter. It’s very precious.”

References

• “FRENCH ENGINEER INVENTS SHELTERS FOR THE HOMELESS THAT RETAIN HEAT DURING WINTER.” Truth Theory. Mayukh Saha. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
• “GLOBAL HOMELESSNESS STATISTICS.” Homeless World Cup. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
• “Igloos provide shelter for homeless population in France.” ABC News. Paul Pradier. Retrieved September 15, 2020.

(Source: Family Life Goals)

Humans’ body temperatures are mysteriously getting colder, study finds

Bodies now typically cooler than textbook 37C first established 150 years ago, experts say

The average human body temperature has dropped over the past 150 years, according to a new study, though it remains unclear what is behind this decrease.

Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have established that people’s bodies are now typically cooler than the textbook figure of 37C, first established by German physician Carl Reinhold August Wunderlich in 1868.

The study shows that modern-day men have a body temperature 0.58C lower than their 19th century counterparts, while women’s are 0.32C lower.

This decrease has been attributed to “changes in our environment over the past 200 years, which have in turn driven physiological changes”. However, the study acknowledges that establishing cause and effect remains “inherently unprovable”.

Senior author Julie Parsonnet, a professor of medicine and of health research and policy at Stanford University, says: “Our temperature is not what people think it is.

“What everybody grew up learning, that our normal temperature is 98.6°F [37°C], is wrong.”

The study offers a number of explanations for the drop in temperature, including a reduction in the human metabolic rate.

Advances in medical treatments, better hygiene, greater availability of food and improved standards of living, which provide humans with a constant ambient temperature, could all have contributed to this drop-off, the authors say.

They also suggest the cooling may be due to a population-wide decline in inflammation, with our bodies subjected to fewer infections and diseases as a result of improvements in modern medicine.

“Inflammation produces all sorts of proteins and cytokines that rev up your metabolism and raise your temperature,” says Dr Parsonnet.

“We’ve changed in height, weight – and we’re colder. I don’t really know what [the new measurements] mean in terms of health, but they’re telling us something. They’re telling us that we are changing and that what we’ve done in the last 150 years has made us change in ways we haven’t before.

“Physiologically, we’re just different from what we were in the past.

“The environment that we’re living in has changed, including the temperature in our homes, our contact with microorganisms and the food we have access to. 

“All these things mean that although we think of human beings as if we’re monomorphic and have been the same for all of human evolution, we’re not the same. We’re actually changing physiologically.”

Researchers analysed temperatures from three datasets covering distinct historical periods. 

The earliest set, compiled from military service records, medical records and pension records from Union Army veterans of the American Civil War, captures data between 1862 and 1930 and includes people born in the early 1800s.

The second set contained data from 1971 to 1975, while the third covered 2007 to 2017.

As part of the study, the authors investigated the possibility that the decrease could reflect improvements in thermometer technology. 

Researchers checked for body temperature trends within the three datasets and, based on the assumption that measurements would have been taken with similar thermometers for each historical group, found their observations were consistent with the broader picture. Each group saw a similar decrease every decade.

The full findings were published in the journal eLife.  

(Source: Independent)

Grief and disbelief in Kerala home after five in family found dead in Nepal hotel

The family was expected to visit again at the end of January for a festival. But that visit will never happen.

The last time Praveen, his wife Saranya and their three children visited his parents' home in Sreekaryam in Thiruvananthapuram was during Onam in 2019. The family was expected to visit again at the end of January for a festival in the nearby Ayyankoyikkal Lord Ayyappa temple. But that visit will never happen, as Praveen, Saranya and their three children- Sreebhadra, Aarcha and Abhi Nair died in suspected carbon monoxide poisoning while on holiday in Nepal. Praveen along with the three other families had travelled to Nepal last Friday on their annual holiday. The families had first travelled to Delhi, but had later decided to extend their journey to Nepal.  

On Monday, Praveen and the others were traveling from Pokhara to take a flight back to India and had made a pit-stop at a hotel in Daman in Nepal’s Makwanpur district. Though they had taken four rooms, it was very cold and they asked the hotel for a better heater. According to sources in the Indian Embassy, the hotel provided them a patio heater, which is used outdoors. Two of the families stayed in the same room, locked the doors and windows and turned on the heater, according to local police. A gas leak may have lead to carbon monoxide poisoning, suspect doctors at Nepal.

A pall of gloom descended over Praveen’s home, as the news broke in the media. Even as relatives, friends and neighbours thronged the house, Praveen’s mother Prasanna was initially not informed about the tragedy. Even his father, Krishnan Nair, was first only told that the family had been in an accident. It was only a few hours later that relatives gathered the strength to inform Praveen’s father about the deaths.

Krishnan Nair used to work in Dubai in the past and is a popular man in the neighborhood. He is  also the President of Ayyankoyikkal Residents' Association.  

"Praveen studied at Pappancode Engineering college in Thiruvananthapuram. He was  active in all events organised locally including our Onam celebrations," says Rajappan, who lives in the neighborhood and a friend of Krishnan Nair.

Praveen and his family used to live in Dubai. Two years ago, his wife Saranya and the three children moved to Kochi after she decided to do her Masters in Pharmacy from the Amritha Institute in Kochi. Saranya and the children lived in a flat in Elamakkara in Kochi. Saranya hails from Kalluvathukkal in Kollam.

Praveen's sister Praseetha and her two daughters stay in the house with the parents. 

"Praseetha came to know about the accident by afternoon. Her husband is a journalist who works in Hyderabad. No one knew how to inform the parents," Rejitha, Praseetha’s friend said.  

The bodies have been kept at a morgue in Thribhuvan University Teaching Hospital in Kathmandu. According to a doctor at the hospital, the postmortem will be done on Wednesday and the bodies will be sent back to India on Thursday.

Among those who visited Krishnan Nair and his family were many local politicians.

"Since Krishnan Nair does not work now, it was Praveen who was taking care of his parents. Praveen started working at a young age," Annie Asokan, a local political leader told TNM.

It was not just his family but Praveen used to take care of his locality too and provided financial aid for local  festivals too. 

"Though he lived abroad, he would always promptly accept all our invitations " said ward councillor Pradeep Kumar.  

(Source: TNM)

Chilly weather to return from Sunday in Qatar

A cold spell is expected to affect the country starting from Sunday lasting for several days, said Qatar Meteorology Department on its social media. 

The department in a report published on its social media said that this will be due to the extension of a high-pressure system over the region accompanied with northwesterly fresh to strong wind especially on Sunday and Monday.

File picture used for representation.

The wind speed is expected to range between 15 to 25 kt with gusts exceeding 30 it inshore and reaching 40 kt offshore causing blowing dust and poor visibility below 3 km in some areas. 

During the cold spell, the temperature is expected to range between 14 to 17°C with the minimum touching between 5 to 12°C across the country. The department warned that due to the windy conditions, the temperatures will feel like much lower than what it actually is.

Qatar Meteorology Department warned residents to take extra care during these conditions, to avoid all marine activities, and to follow latest updates through its social media accounts.

(Source: The Peninsula)

Rain, single digit temp likely by weekend in Qatar

Temperature to drop below 10C in some southern areas for the first time this season

There are chances of scattered rain in the country during the coming weekend, followed a spell of cold weather and strong winds, the Qatar Met department has said.

The minimum temperature may drop below 10C in the southern parts of Qatar during the cold spell, according to a report issued by the department Tuesday.

The weather office has said a state of atmospheric instability is expected to affect the country from Thursday until Saturday due to the extension of a low-pressure system over the region.

The cloud cover is expected to increase gradually and there is a chance of scattered rain of variable intensity, which may become thundery at times in some areas, the report states.

Fresh to strong northwesterly winds are likely to begin blowing from Friday, with the wind speed exceeding 35kt offshore that will cause the wave height to exceed 10ft.

"Therefore, kindly avoid going to sea due to the unsettled weather conditions from Thursday, with the marine warnings continuing until Tuesday (January 14)," the Met department advised.

In addition, cold weather conditions are expected to accompany northerly winds, especially at night and early in the morning, with a noticeable drop in temperature, the report points out, adding that the minimum temperature is likely to drop below 10C in some southern areas for the first time this season.

The Met department has urged people to follow latest updates through its official social media accounts.

Meanwhile, Wednesday's forecast says it will be misty in some place in the early hours, followed by moderate temperature during the day and some clouds. It will be cold by night.

Offshore areas will see partly cloudy conditions at times.

The minimum temperature Wednesday is expected to be 13C in Wakrah and Mesaieed, 14C in Al Khor and Abu Samra, 16C in Doha, 17C in Dukhan and 18C in Ruwais.

On Tuesday, a minimum temperature of 11C was recorded in Turayna, followed by 12C in Mesaieed, 13C in Batna and Karana, 14C in Al Khor, Ghuwairiyah and Jumailiyah, 15C in Wakrah, Sheehaniya and Abu Samra, and 16C in Doha (airport area), Hamad International Airport area, Qatar University area and Mesaimeer.

(Source: Gulf Times)

Cold waves killed more Indians than heat waves since 1980: IMD

There has also been a 506% increase in the number of cold waves in India in this decade

While North India is under the grip of severe 'cold days' and 'cold waves' in 2019, a look at the data provided by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) shows a worrying trend. In 23 of the last 38 years (1980-2018), the human death toll in India due to cold waves was higher than that due to heat waves. 

Photo: @sunder_barange / Twitter

In 1992, 41 times more lives were lost due to cold waves. Between 2010 and 2018. the trend was somewhat different. In this period, around 4,506 people died due to cold waves while 5,572 died due to heat waves. The notable exception was 2011. That year, human deaths due to cold waves were nearly 60 times more than those due to heat waves.

However, in 2018, the trend reversed again. About 136 people died due to cold waves in comparison to 16 deaths due to heat waves.

The other shocking statistic that emerged between 2010 and 2018 was a whopping 506 per cent increase in the number of cold waves in India, despite increasing temperatures worldwide due to global warming. 

Year	Human deaths due to  heat waves	Human deaths due to  cold waves
1	1980	156	185
2	1981	33	192
3	1982	16	63
4	1983	187	488
5	1984	58	155
6	1985	142	494
7	1986	156	276
8	1987	87	105
9	1989	43	215
10	1990	2	82
11	1992	114	303
12	1993	30	63
13	1996	20	68
14	1997	21	140
15	1999	119	222
16	2000	55	368
17	2001	56	490
18	2004	117	462
19	2008	111	114
20	2009	216	79
21	2010	242	450
22	2011	12	722
23	2018	16	136

Severe cold days in the next days: IMD

According to the IMD bulletin released on December 27, 2019, cold to severe cold day conditions are likely to remain over many areas of Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, northern Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh during the next two days. 

The maximum temperatures was markedly below normal (-5.1°C or less) at most places over Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and gangetic West Bengal. 

According to IMD, the maximum temperatures was appreciably below normal (-3.1°C to -5.0°C) at most places over Vidarbha and Chhattisgarh, at many places over Madhya Pradesh and at a few places over Gujarat too.

Along with severe cold days, some pockets in Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, north Rajasthan and Bihar may also experience cold to severe cold waves.

A cold day is defined on the basis of maximum day temperature while a cold wave is defined by looking at minimum temperatures recorded on two consecutive nights.

Wither planning?

The guidelines for Action Plan on Prevention and Management of Heat Wave prepared by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) in 2016, were further revised in 2017. In fact, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare too had issued guidelines to deal with heat-related illness. 

In 2019, the government had started working with 23 states and over 100 cities and districts to implement and develop heat action plans in India.

But do the states have plans to deal with cold waves so that human lives can be saved?

(Source: Down to Earth)

New rail link to world's coldest city opens

‘The air is cold enough to numb exposed skin quickly, making frostbite a constant hazard’

The world’s coldest city is now easier to reach, thanks to a new rail link.

Yakutsk in north-east Siberia has been connected to the Russian rail network – almost.

The European Rail Timetable (ERT) reports that passenger trains have started running on the Amur-Yakutsk main line, known as AYAM.

This is effectively a 700-mile spur from the small city of Tynda on the Baikal-Amur Railway (BAM), which itself branches off from the Trans-Siberian Railway.

Yakutsk is the capital of the diamond-rich Sakha Republic. Until now passenger services have ended about halfway along, at Tommot. This was previously the limit of passenger services.

But the ERT compilers report that a passenger train is now running on alternate days to cover the 272 miles over the permafrost to the closest station to Yakutsk: Nizhny Bestyakh.

At this point, though, the passenger’s problems could only be beginning – because Yakutsk is on the other side of the Lena river, which stretches several miles across at this point.

In summer, ferries cross the Lena, and in winter when the river is frozen, vehicle drive across. But the ERT says: “There is no way to cross the river in spring or autumn due to moving ice.”

Travellers do not have to wait long for winter. The river normally freezes at Yakutsk in late October, and remains frozen for 30 weeks.

Yakutsk has an average high of -35C in December. At this temperature, reported Shaun Walker for The Independent, “The air is cold enough to numb exposed skin quickly, making frostbite a constant hazard.”

When he ventured outside in a temperature of minus 43C, he reported: “The first place to suffer is the exposed skin on my face, which begins to sting, and then experience shooting pains, before going numb, which is apparently dangerous, because it means blood flow to the skin has stopped.”

He abandoned the experiment after 13 minutes.

But Henry Lansdell, a British traveller who visited late 19th century, wrote: “Yakutsk has the credit of being the coldest place upon the face of the earth.

“So accustomed, however, do the natives become to the cold, that with the thermometer at unheard-of degrees below freezing point, the Yakut women, with bare arms, stand in the open-air markets, chattering and joking as pleasantly as if in genial spring.”

The rail journey from Moscow takes about a week, with a third-class fare equivalent to £130. In summer, however, the new rail link may prove more tempting than the existing terrestrial transport: a five-day, 1,250-mile journey by the Krasnoyarsk paddle-steamer departing every 17 days from the Siberian river port of Ust Kut.

Another visitor, Margaret Campbell, wrote in The Independent: “The Krasnoyarsk is not a cruise ship and amenities are basic. One hot meal a day is served in the ship’s canteen. Showers cost about 25p each. Toilets are seat-less and paper-less.”

But passengers are treated to a slow-motion journey through the world’s largest country: ”The fir, larch and cedar trees were occasionally separated by meadows clustered around hamlets that may or may not have been ghost villages.

“Chekhov’s description of the taiga was apt: ‘Where it ends, only the migrating birds know’.”

Most travellers between Moscow and Yakutsk prefer to fly. There are several daily flights from the Russian capital to the city, a distance of around 3,100 miles.

(Source: Independent)

Most parents still rely on myths to avoid colds

As with many other aspects of parenting, when it comes to preventing colds, most parents trust the advice passed down by their own parents and grandparents.

To prevent colds, seven out of every 10 parents interviewed in a new poll reported using strategies with little to no scientific evidence, such as telling their kids not to go outside with wet hair. This was the finding by researchers at C.S. Mott Children's Hospital in Michigan, who asked more than 1,000 parents with kids between the ages of 5 and 12.

Parents are also using methods backed by science to prevent colds, such as teaching handwashing and personal hygiene, avoiding others who are sick, and household cleaning. But 70% also reported believing in "folklore strategies" to prevent colds, and another 51% reported relying on multivitamins and supplements, which have not been shown to prevent colds in children.

"These were likely started before people knew that germs were actually the cause of diseases like the common cold. As a result, families tried a lot of things to keep each other as healthy as possible," wrote the authors in the report.

Dr. Katherine Williamson, a pediatrician in Orange County, California, and spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics, said she is not surprised to hear many parents still turn to these strategies, especially in this era of information overload.

"I wonder if it's a return to the times before the internet and before all these drug companies were out there," Williamson said.

Here are some of the strategies used by parents in the report, and what is known about them:

Myth: Going outside with wet hair can make you sick
The reality is that going outside with wet hair does not make you sick. Williamson explained that in order to catch a cold, you need to be exposed to an infectious agent, and although wet hair may make you chilly, it does not attract or make you more susceptible to infectious agents responsible for the common cold.

Myth: Being exposed to cold air can cause a cold.
Although the cold weather coincides with the time of the year when colds peaks, Williamson explained the correlation does not mean one causes the other, emphasizing again the need to be exposed to a virus in order to catch a cold.

It's what we do when it gets cold out, rather than it being cold, that causes colds, explained Dr. Sorana Segal-Maurer in a previous CNN interview: "When the weather turns cold, we all run indoors where air is recycled," she said. "And we're often in close quarters with other people and viruses. We all sneeze on top of each other." Segal-Maurer is chief of the Dr. James J. Rahal Jr. Division of Infectious Disease at NewYork-Presbyterian Queens Hospital.

Myth: Using multivitamins and supplements can prevent a cold.
Children who are otherwise healthy and eating a balanced diet don't need additional vitamin supplementation, explained Dr. Michael Russo, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. "It has never been shown to have any effect on prevention," he said, "so parents can save the money."

When asked about the parents and grandparents who remember multivitamins being helpful in prevention, Russo explained, "We all remember the times when they did work, but don't remember all the times when they didn't work."

(Source: CNN)

Girls, aged five, slip out of nursery unnoticed into bitter Siberian winter

Two five-year-old girls who left their nursery in Siberia in bitterly cold temperatures unnoticed by their teachers have been found.

The two, who wanted to surprise their parents, suffered frostbite and hypothermia.

They walked home on one of the coldest days of the year in temperatures of -45C (-49F).

They were caught on camera as they slipped out - one clutching a cuddly toy and with no mittens on.

One girl is now in hospital in the regional capital, Yakutsk, with three fingers frostbitten, the Siberian Times reports.

Her mother, Evdokia Kutukova, said: "Three of her fingers froze hard. She is crying.

"The children are still in shock."

She noticed her daughter Lena had gone missing in the village of Namtsy when she went to the nursery to collect her and saw her coat was missing.

She raised the alarm with staff, and then it was noticed her daughter's best friend, who has not been named, was also missing. Her parents did not know where she was either.

But Ms Kutukova said the family's grandfather then called to say Lena had just arrived home, alone, in tears and frozen.

Her husband said a passing stranger had given their daughter a scarf, which had helped her.

"How cold it was without gloves, it's hard to imagine, and with a toy in her hand!"

The other girl got lost on the way home in the village in darkness and was found an hour later. She had taken shelter in a nearby house.

"Thank God, she [thought of entering] someone else's house," Ms Kutukova told the Siberian Times.

"It is good that she was not frostbitten, just extremely cold."

The girl suffered from hypothermia, but went home after being checked over by doctors.

The girls had never left the nursery by themselves before.

An investigation has been opened to find out how the incident happened.

(Source: BBC)

Sun finally rises after 40 days of darkness in northern Russia

Russians north of the Arctic Circle have come out of their slumber with the year’s first glimmer of sunlight on Friday.

After just over 30 minutes of daylight, locals were eager to share their excitement with the rest of the world, leading to this collection of images from the past hours.

A natural phenomenon called polar night occurs when regions within the Arctic Circle descend into darkness for more than 24 hours. Russia’s Arctic port of Murmansk sees no sunlight for 40 days between Dec. 2 and Jan. 11.

Local residents traditionally gather at the city’s highest point on the last day of the polar night to witness the first rays of the sun rising above the horizon.

This year was no exception, with social media users and local television stations huddling at “Solnechnaya Gorka” (“Sunny Hill” in Russian) to observe the year’s first sunrise. 

It's all uphill from here!

(Source: MT)

The cold is causing frozen iguanas to fall from trees in Florida

There's an iguanocalypse in Florida, or at least that's what it looks like judging from the photos worried Floridians are posting all over social media.

Because of the cold temperatures sweeping the nation, iguanas are dropping out of trees like overripe mangoes, littering the ground in an apparent state of rigor mortis.

One tiny detail, though: They're probably not dead. They are, however, literally frozen.

Emily Maple, the reptile keeper at the Palm Beach County Zoo, told CNN affiliate WPEC the cold-blooded animals get "cold stunned" -- that is, they basically freeze -- if the temperature gets below 45 degrees Fahrenheit.

"If it's just for a day or two they'll just get to where they're completely frozen in time. They're still able to breathe. They're still able to do bodily functions just very slow," said Maple.

The iguanas have a good chance of thawing out if you move them in the sun. Just be careful @CBS12 pic.twitter.com/Qn2w6NFedD

— Maxine Bentzel (@MaxineBentzel) January 4, 2018

See, at first you probably felt sorry for them, didn't you? But what they're doing is kind of aspirational: When things start to go sideways, literally shut down your body, freak some stranger out by keeling over near their pool, and wait it out in a state of suspended animation. Just, you know. don't actually die.

The iguanas aren't the only ones noping out of the cold weather.

Sea turtles near the Padre Island National Seashore near Corpus Christi, Texas, had to be brought inside to avoid what the National Park Service is calling a "sea turtle cold stunning event due to extremely low temperatures."

According to the park's Facebook page, the turtles are being cared for in warm kiddie pools while the cold snap passes.

(Source: CNN)