NEWS · B2 Level - Part 4

Extreme Heat Grips South Asia

Testing human limits. Pushing the boundaries of what's (quote) "survivable."

Level: B2 · 24 sentences

Transcript

1. Testing human limits.
2. Pushing the boundaries of what's (quote) "survivable."
3. India and Pakistan are expected to be the countries worst affected by the climate crisis in the coming years, experts say.
4. In many ways, they already are.
5. It is severely hot. Hot winds keep blowing.
6. It has become difficult to step out of the home.
7. The sunlight is too harsh.
8. Summers in these regions aren't just getting hotter but starting earlier and are predicted to last longer.
9. Temperatures climbing to dangerous levels this week in South Asia.
10. Western India crossed the 45-degree threshold Tuesday.
11. Southwestern Pakistan threatens to reach 49 degrees Celsius.
12. Numbers that rival summer temperatures in North America's Death Valley - infamously the hottest place on Earth.
13. The heat is unbearable.
14. We have applied sunscreen and we are taking halts wherever we see shade.
15. The searing heat causes farmers and other outdoor workers to fall ill and babies to be born prematurely.
16. Leaving workers, mothers, children, virtually everyone, vulnerable.
17. Power outages caused by the increased demand for electricity during the heatwave only make matters worse.
18. It's a vicious cycle.
19. In Jaipur, locals are reverting to traditional cooling techniques to combat a compounding problem.
20. As temperatures in India and Pakistan rise, scarves and umbrellas help,
21. but they can only do so much.
22. And the summer season has hardly begun.
23. If it is so hot already in April, what will happen in May, June, and July?
24. A burning question that, for more than 1 billion people, will test their limits even further.