Jun 25, 2026 · 30 min
Heatwaves test the case for solar geoengineering
Can we engineer ourselves out of a heatwave?
As extreme heat intensifies, the episode weighs whether deliberately altering sunlight could reduce danger without creating new risks.
- 1Solar radiation modification could cool the planet, but its consequences and governance remain unresolved.
- 2A new heat-stress index shows warming is increasing the physiological burden of extreme temperatures worldwide.
- 3Research links Mohamed Salah’s visibility at Liverpool with reduced Islamophobia, while new clocks probe fundamental physics.
Don't miss
Mark Maslin’s discussion of solar radiation modification confronts the possibility that cooling the planet could introduce risks of its own.
The brief
Europe’s heatwave renews debate over solar radiation modification, a proposed way to reflect sunlight and cool the planet. Mark Maslin helps frame the promise against the risks and uncertainties.
Rebecca Emmerton discusses the Universal Thermal Climate Index, which measures how heat affects people and shows why rising temperatures are more than a weather inconvenience.
The episode then turns to the Salah effect: research examining how Mohamed Salah’s presence at Liverpool was associated with reduced Islamophobia.
Elizabeth Gibney explains how a thorium-based nuclear clock could sharpen measurement and help scientists search for dark matter, extending the episode’s focus beyond climate.
A final study on laughter in great apes offers a brief evolutionary perspective on how human language may have emerged.
Mark MaslinMentioned
Solar radiation modification
Heat stress
Heat wave
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