Environment

Sizzling Shanghai, China

Shanghai registered on July 21 its hottest day since records began in 1872 as a stubborn heat wave baked much of China. The new record of 40.9 degrees Celsius (106 F) broke the previous record of 40.8 set in 2013.

Chinese meteorologists say Shanghai is getting hotter, with eight of the 12 highest temperatures over the past century occurring during the past five years.

Shanghai’s weather bureau blamed the heat on a stubborn subtropical high and southwesterly winds that are predicted to last until early August. That’s when the typhoon season typically arrives in eastern China.

Atomic Paradise

Even though it’s still unsafe for people to live on Bikini Atoll, marine life is thriving 60 years after a series of 23 atomic blasts left it saturated with radiation.

Scientists from Stanford University say coconut crabs, coral and other species that have managed to re-emerge on Bikini show barely any genetic differences from those living in uncontaminated parts of the Pacific.

Lead researcher Stephen Palumbi believes that at least the coral have mechanisms to protect their genetic information from radiation.