Shadowing Practice: When Heat Becomes "Unsurvivable": How Do We Adapt? | CNA Correspondent - Learn English Speaking with Video

It has been scorching in Hong Kong over the last few days.

This is one of the worst heat wave on record.

Temperatures on a tear.

From Europe to Asia, 2026 made its mark, burned into our memory.

This year is predicted by the scientists to be the hottest of all.

CNA correspondent looks at heat and how we can better live with it, with scientists saying hot days are here to stay.

It is hot.

Everyone and their dog is looking for some relief from the heat.

If you thought the past few months was unbearably hot, you're not alone.

This is one of the worst heatwaves on record and the South Korean government has now declared this an emergency.

Japan Meteorological Agency introduced the term kokushou, meaning a cruelly hot day for over 40 degrees.

We're expecting high temperatures over the next 10 days, especially in northwest China like Xinjiang.

It could exceed temperatures of 40 degrees Celsius.

It has been scorching in Hong Kong over the last few days.

Even my phone is heating up in the extreme heat.

While temperatures are hovering around the high 30s in most parts of the country, this underground cave stays steady at around 12 degrees Celsius,

no matter how hot it gets outside.

And also other similar places too, as South Koreans are just really trying to find different ways to escape this heat.

We saw record -breaking temperatures, not just here in Asia, but also other parts of the world as well.

Western Europe went through five heat waves since May.

Tens of thousands died from heat -related causes there.

And parts of the continent were quite literally burning up.

Wine.

This is what the Gironde region in southwestern France is known for.

It's home to the city of Bordeaux, a world -famous name in the wine market.

Vineyards here spread over an area one and a half times the size of Singapore.

But this summer Gironde made international headlines for a different reason.

Fires tore through the area, record blazes burning thousands of hectares,

houses destroyed, people fled and firefighters battled extreme high temperatures,

fast moving flames and the tinderbox of very dry vegetation.

My colleague William Denslow reported 4CNA from the front line of those fires.

Temperatures have jumped exceedingly this year here in Europe, and as it's the fastest warming continent on the planet,

many officials say yet more work needs to be done to prepare areas not just here in France, not just parts of Spain,

but across Europe for this potential increase in severe wildfires.

When thousands of people were moved to safety from towns and villages and campsites in France's southwest region,

they were brought here to a makeshift evacuation center with medical teams on hand for support.

I went to one of them in Bordeaux city.

In case the situation deteriorates, authorities are ready.

Hundreds of beds have been laid out with blankets and pillows, bottles of water, beds for kids as well

and huge stacks of drinking water at the back just in case the situation worsens

and they need to bring thousands of people to these evacuation

zones in the north of the city." Most of the people moved to safety had never experienced such a devastating wildfire.

This summer's blaze in the southwest of France was the country's biggest in almost 80 years.

The government says 90 % of the wildfires are caused by human activity.

But France was not the only European country that was hit by massive blazes.

Spain declared a national emergency earlier in the summer as more than a dozen people died

and an area five times the size of the capital Madrid went up in flames.

In Greece, three firefighters were killed and the two -man crew of a firefighting helicopter died in a mid -air collision.

Germany, Serbia, Croatia and Belgium were among the other European countries that suffered from this summer's fires.

Blazers that were once exceptional are now becoming a recurring threat.

European authorities are considering how to address the impact of the fires.

this year is set to become the worst year ever in terms of wildfire in europe already

Over 600 ,000 hectares have burned since the start of the year, which is more than double the 20 -year average.

Along with the fires, large parts of Europe sweated in record temperatures well over 40 degrees Celsius, and Europe, along with the Arctic,

is warming up more quickly than the rest of the world.

We need to acknowledge the fact that there are some impacts

that are going to happen in the next years and decades to come, and that means that we need to scale our capacities to adapt to these coming shocks.

So the EU must deploy at the same time both mitigation and adaptation efforts.

Wildfires and heatwaves ravaged Europe this summer,

but politicians, the public and the emergency services fear the possibility of even bigger blazes and another sweltering summer next year.

For the past few months, there have been report after report on CNA's bulletins about the weather around the world

that has become unbearable for millions of people in Europe, Asia and beyond.

All this got me curious about this incredible heat that we are experiencing.

But just how hot is too hot for the human body?

I find out when we return.

It's about 36 degrees Celsius right now

and I have to say it feels a lot hotter than when it's about this temperature in Singapore.

The sun's rays are way more intense on my skin and the heat is very dry.

36 degrees Celsius, well it's a temperature

that we are all familiar with here in Singapore but Rani said she felt much hotter in Milan.

So if the number on a thermometer is the same, why does it feel different in different places?

Well, to find out, let's have a look at how our bodies respond when it gets too hot.

Professor Jason Lee is an expert on heat's impact on the human body.

And I am going to find out from him just how hot is too hot.

What actually determines how hot we actually How hot you feel is a function of four environmental factors.

The ambient temperature you mentioned was 36.

We need to account for the humidity, the radiant heat, and finally the wind flow.

People in Singapore often say that we're very used to the heat.

How much does acclimatisation really protect us?

You can always adapt, but remember, there's only how much you can adapt is there a point where you can say

that someone is simply unable to get themselves accustomed to the

heat at all it depends who you are often people like to ask what is

that magical ambient temperature above

which we cannot cope anymore I like to use an analogy you know we are like a pot of water

so the strategy is to increase your capacity your physiological capacity you mentioned about heat acclimatisation right before

that you should at least get yourself aerobically conditioned means exercise then supplement it with heat acclimatisation

which is essentially a repeated progressive exposure to the heat

and then there are other tools in your arsenal like optimizing

your work rest cycle cooling hydration what we fear most is we decide it's uncomfortable

and And our strategy is to avoid heat at all costs.

It can induce a vicious cycle.

We can help our bodies to better cope with the heat.

But there are also ways in which we can improve our surroundings so the heat isn't so unbearable.

Professor Chow Yian studies exactly that.

Professor, when we talk about temperatures, we say 25 to 35, say for example.

Why is there a range of temperature? and why do I feel certain temperature very differently in different parts of Singapore?

For example, it's much hotter during daytimes at Paya Leba compared with the CBD areas.

It could be cooler because we have more high -rise buildings at the CBD areas

which provide much more shadings so that the air temperatures at these two areas are quite different.

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Another example is, for example, at the park.

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And greenery provides a cooling effect so the air temperature could be also different.

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Right, and we are here at Pinnacle and Duxton.

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It's also part of a high -rise building, part of HDB as well.

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So how do you then take care of all the factors that's affecting these wind flow or the heat that's here?

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We install the weather stations like this to measure air temperature,

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wind speed, humidity, radiation, to evaluate thermal comfort, to evaluate microclimate.

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So this is the digital platform that we developed.

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So as you can see, we put the weather stations at two different neighborhoods, but with very different density and building topology.

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The air temperature at these two neighborhoods just across the street actually are very different, and the wind speed is also very different.

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Both are very important to our thermal comfort.

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Actually, this gives us a very, very useful insight, meaning that design actually matters.

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If we can do the building design better, even with the higher density, we can achieve the better microclimate.

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If we cannot do the design appropriately, even though we separated the density, the microclimate will still not be nice.

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So, for example, in the pinnacle at Duxton, the building is very tall, density is very high.

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But if we can handle the design very, very appropriately and climate responsibly, then the microclimate is very nice, very windy.

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The air temperature is not that high.

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We are always under the shade.

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With all the heat issues that we're looking at today in Singapore, how do you think we can cope with this?

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I always believe that we cannot change climate.

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Tropical climate will be forever tropical climate in Singapore.

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But what we can do is to decrease the negative impact of the buildings on microclimate.

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For example, in HDB areas, we can see the void deck, which is actually very beneficial to the natural ventilation performance.

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The airflow can go through, then the pedestrian, the resident can enjoy the natural ventilation.

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If the building totally don't have this kind of void deck and the gap between towers, then actually the long building,

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very tall building will block the wing and we will have a very big standing area behind the buildings.

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Shade, sun, surfaces, buildings, airflow.

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All this affects the amount of heat our bodies are exposed to, even though the thermometer gives the same number.

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But the heat affects not just how we feel, it can have a tremendous impact on what keeps us alive.

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Well, the impact of heat does not just affect our bodies.

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It can also impact what our farmers can grow and eventually what you and I can eat.

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Rice, a staple across South Indian households, is getting more expensive.

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In Karnataka, where we are, the average retail price has jumped about 14 % between May and July.

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That is around four times the national increase.

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In Tamil Nadu, rice is selling at the highest average retail price in the region.

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Experts are pointing to the El Nino weather pattern.

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Rainfall across the southern peninsula has been 26 percent below its long period average between June 1st and July 29th.

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Experts say below normal rains have affected sowing of paddy and could impact production if these conditions persist.

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Shop owners fear prices could remain elevated if harvest is weaker than expected.

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For consumers, though, the impact is already visible.

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For Belgium's farmers, it's been a gruelling summer.

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With temperatures reaching around 40 degrees Celsius at times, cattle here in the south of the country have suffered increased mortality rates,

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fertility issues and weight loss, taking a toll on producers.

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La faune n 'est pas préparée à ça, nos animaux ne sont pas préparés à ça, nos bâtiments ne sont pas conçus pour ça.

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Notre structure d 'exploitation n 'est pas prête à ces conditions de température extrême.

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A contrario, nous avons développé notre exploitation agricole And with this comes economic pain.

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Farmers in the region say incomes have dried up by as much as 40 % over the summer months.

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Despite efforts to keep their cattle cool, farmers here say milk production is down 5 % because of the heat.

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And this is part of a much wider problem.

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Agricultural yields are dropping across much of the industry and large parts of Europe.

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France is bracing for its maize harvest to fall 35 percent compared to last year.

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Drought has left cornfields struggling in Germany and rice paddies parched in Italy.

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In Belgium, it's not just livestock feeling the heat.

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Pommes de terre sont de petite taille, les carottes sont de petite taille, d 'autres fruits sont absents.

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Et donc ça va engendrer aussi des conséquences.

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Lorsque ces pommes de terre sont destinées à produire des frites, évidemment la longueur des frites va être différente.

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Small fries could mean big problems for Belgian exports.

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Nearly half of Belgium's processed potatoes are destined for markets outside Europe with 8 % of exports going to East

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and Southeast Asia.

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He warned the world about global warming in the 2006 documentary, An Inconvenient Truth.

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It's been 20 years since your documentary, An Inconvenient Truth.

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I wonder what's the inconvenient truth now?

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Former U .S.

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Vice President Al Gore has long advocated for action against climate change.

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He warned the world about global warming in the 2006 documentary An Inconvenient Truth.

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And his work was recognised with the Nobel Peace Prize the year after.

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It's been 20 years since your documentary An Inconvenient Truth.

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I wonder what's the inconvenient truth now well unfortunately the scientists whose predictions I channeled in

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that movie have turned out to be exactly accurate the last

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10 years have been the hottest years ever measured the last the hottest three have been the last three

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and this year is predicted by the scientists to be the hottest of all next year may eclipse

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that we're seeing this This so -called super El Nino in the Pacific bumped the temperatures up even higher.

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And the climate crisis is itself making these El Ninos much stronger.

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The World Health Organization's climate experts have warned us that within the next 25 years,

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we could see more than 1 billion climate refugees crossing international

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borders to escape unlivable conditions in the places they've always called home

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but the other thing that's happened in the last 20 years is

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that we have seen a nearly miraculous decline in the cost of solar energy

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and wind energy and batteries

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and the emergence of electric vehicles now one in every four cars sold around the world is an ev

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and these are the most prominent examples of the larger sustainability transition, which is beginning to take hold.

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This transition is unstoppable.

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But the remaining question is whether we will solve the climate crisis in time to avoid truly catastrophic consequences.

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It gets harder when it collides with energy security.

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And we are at the moment of war in the Middle East, which has exposed the vulnerability of fossil fuel dependence.

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But at the same time, there are calls for climate realism, that fossil fuels are here to stay for decades to come,

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and the transition needs to accommodate that reality.

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How do you respond to that argument?

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Well, it's nonsense.

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Actually, what we're seeing is an unstoppable transition away from fossil fuels.

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And meanwhile, we have seen solar electricity become by far the cheapest energy in the history of the world.

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But the fuel for solar and wind is free.

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Internationally, Mr. Trump pulled the U .S out of all the climate initiatives as well as funds.

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Who should fill that gap?

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Should it be China?

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You know, Xi Jinping has recently sent a signal

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that China is now reversing its long reluctance to exercise its diplomatic leadership in the world.

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There are now indications that China wants to be the host of COP 33.

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That's the conference of the parties

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that will come after the one this year in Turkey and the one next year in Ethiopia.

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And if Beijing hosts that next conference, it can become as influential as the Paris conference was 10 years ago.

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So China has still continued to.

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build new coal plants, but their emissions from fossil fuels are now beginning for the first time to decline.

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Last summer in the month of July, they installed as much solar energy as would have been produced

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from the electrical output of 93 new one gigawatt nuclear reactors in one month.

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It's fantastic.

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They have chosen wisely to invest heavily in solar and wind and electric vehicles and batteries and fast trains and efficient buildings.

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Bringing it closer to where we are now Southeast Asia is fast becoming the energy market

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and as well as a highly climate vulnerable.

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Disruption of the supply coming from the Persian Gulf

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and the renewed demonstration of price volatility has caused a recalculation of policies here,

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not only in Southeast Asia, but in all of Asia.

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And we have seen in Southeast Asia a dramatic surge in the investments in solar

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and wind and electric vehicles just since the Iran war started.

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And remember, this disruption of fossil fuel supplies by the Iran war is the second disruption in four years.

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And people are saying, how many times are we going to put up with this?

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As the United Nations climate expert Simon Steele says, solar doesn't have to go through the Hormuz straits.

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The sunlight is free everywhere in the world.

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Wind doesn't need Navy ships to escort it to its destination.

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And people are coming to grips with that.

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When people start seeing the enormous amount of emissions by the government and the companies and feel, what difference can I make?

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For many years, there was a global struggle for the abolition of slavery.

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There was a global struggle to give women the right to vote and the right to take their equal place in society.

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When the underbrush of argument was cleared away

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and the central issue was revealed as a choice between what is right and what is wrong,

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then at a very deep level, the outcome became foreordained.

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We are very close now to a tipping point beyond which this movement will not only be unstoppable, it will accelerate.

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And if enough people hear this message and act upon it, we will solve the climate crisis in time.

Wat is de Shadowing-techniek?

Shadowing is een wetenschappelijk onderbouwde taalleermethode die oorspronkelijk is ontwikkeld voor professionele tolkentraining en gepopulariseerd door polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. De methode is eenvoudig maar krachtig: je luistert naar native Engelse audio en herhaalt het onmiddellijk hardop — als een schaduw die de spreker volgt met slechts 1–2 seconden vertraging. In tegenstelling tot passief luisteren of grammaticadrills, dwingt shadowing je hersenen en mondspieren om echte spraakpatronen tegelijkertijd te verwerken en te reproduceren. Onderzoek toont aan dat het de uitspraaknauwkeurigheid, intonatie, ritme, verbonden spraak, luisterbegrip en spreekvaardigheid aanzienlijk verbetert — waardoor het een van de meest effectieve methoden is voor IELTS Speaking-voorbereiding en echte Engelse communicatie.

Shadowing Practice: When Heat Becomes "Unsurvivable": How Do We Adapt? | CNA Correspondent - Learn English Speaking with Video

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Wat is de Shadowing-techniek?