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Can Mumbai cope with a changing monsoon?
Mumbai is India’s economic engine, but every rainy season this megacity comes to a virtual standstill as torrential rains flood streets, homes and transport networks. In 2005, Mumbai faced one of its worst floods on record – and experts warn that climate change could make future rainfall even more intense.This week, Graihagh Jackson and Jordan Dunbar explore what’s happening with Mumbai and the mighty monsoon – and how a city of more than 20 million people can adapt to a wetter, more unpredictable future.They hear from BBC Marathi correspondent Janhavee Moole and Zerin Osho, Director of the India Programme at the Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development, about the challenges to India’s financial capital.Guests: Janhavee Moole, BBC Marathi Zerin Osho, Director, India Programme, Institute for Governance and Sustainable DevelopmentProduction Team: Jordan Dunbar, Grace Braddock, Tom Brignell, Joe McCartney, Diane Richardson, Nik Sindle Editor: Simon WattsGot a question? Email us: [email protected]
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Can we build better cities for mental health and the climate?
Today, more than half the world’s population live in cities – and as our numbers swell, so will our cities, especially those around the Pacific Rim, where it’s predicted our largest megacities of 10 million plus will be situated. And herein lies an opportunity: 60% of the buildings needed for 2050 are not yet built.Could we shape our cities into places that are good for the climate and also good for our mental health? Can we design buildings and infrastructure that make green decisions easier and also help us deal with stress or depression?In a programme first broadcast in 2024, Jordan Dunbar hears about examples in the Netherlands and Egypt. Are there win-win options out there that can help the world deal with two of its biggest challenges?Contributors: Houssam Elokda -Urban Planner, with Happy Cities, Vancouver Sally Nabil - BBC Arabic Egypt Correspondent, Cairo Anna Holligan - BBC Correspondent, The Hague, NetherlandsProduction Team: Graihagh Jackson, Octavia Woodward, Brenda Brown Sound Design: Tom Brignell Editor: Simon WattsGot a question? Email us: [email protected]
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What do ice cores tells us about climate change?
What can ice cores tell us about the atmosphere millions of years ago? These cylinders of ice, drilled from glaciers and ice sheets around the world, preserve precious clues about our changing climate and records such as rainfall, temperature and greenhouse gases, even volcanic eruptions. But what can the past tell us about the future? Host Graihagh Jackson hears from two ice core experts about their icy adventures in Antarctica, the Himalayas and beyond.Dr Liz Thomas is Head of Ice Cores Research at the British Antarctic Survey and is currently working on an ice core that may be the oldest ever. Lonnie Thompson is a pioneer in the field whose first ice core finds date back to the 1970s. He is Distinguished University Professor of Earth Sciences. Senior Research Scientist, Byrd Polar Research Center, The Ohio State University. Professor Thompson also appears in a documentary called The Canary.Presenter: Graihagh Jackson Producers: Diane Richardson and Nik Sindle Production coordinator: Maria Ogundele and Sabine Schereck Sound mix: Tom Brignell and Louis Griffin Editor: Simon Watts
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Why don’t we use more geothermal energy?
Geothermal energy is renewable, reliable and powerful. So, why is most of it untapped? That’s what our listener, Anna in the UK, wants to know. Full disclosure, she’s a geologist and is thoroughly perplexed by the lack of uptake. Geothermal is renewable, reliable and abundant and yet, less than 1% of the world’s energy is generated from it. Host Graihagh Jackson hears about a team in Iceland who hope to "super-charge" geothermal power by drilling directly into volcanic magma. And she travels to Germany to visit Vulcan Energy, a company which is combining geothermal with extracting one of the world's most sought-after metals: Lithium. Plus, our reporter in Indonesia tells Graihagh about local opposition to some geothermal power plants. The programme was first broadcast in 2024. Got a question you’d like answered? Email: [email protected] or WhatsApp: +44 8000 321 721 Host: Graihagh Jackson Reporter in Indonesia: Johanes Hutabarat Producer: Osman Iqbal Sound Mix: James Beard and Tom Brignell Editor: Simon Watts
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How does extreme heat affect pregnancy?
Graihagh Jackson and the BBC’s former Global Health Correspondent Tulip Mazumdar investigate how extreme heat, fuelled by climate change, is affecting pregnant women in India. In the southern state of Tamil Nadu, Tulip hears the heart-breaking stories of some of the women affected and explores simple solutions that would make their work in scorching agricultural fields safer. The programme was first broadcast in 2024. Email us at [email protected] Produced by Sophie Eastaugh, Graihagh Jackson and Camilla Horrox Editor: Sophie Eastaugh Sound Engineer: Tom Brignell and James Beard Production Coordinator: Brenda Brown
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