| Benji Jones is an environmental correspondent at Vox, where he covers biodiversity loss and climate change. |
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| Benji Jones is an environmental correspondent at Vox, where he covers biodiversity loss and climate change. |
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The most Midwestern reason for a Midwest heat wave |
Ah, yes, late August in the Midwest: a time for popsicles by the lake, a trip to the county fair, and, of course, extreme humidity made more miserable by … corn sweat. Corn sweat. It's a thing! And people are talking about it. |
The term refers to the moisture released by fields of corn during hot and sunny weather. Like all other plants, corn transpires — meaning, it sucks up water from the ground and expels it into the air as a way to stay cool and distribute nutrients. Moisture also enters the air when water in the soil evaporates. Together with transpiration, this process is called evapotranspiration. So, where you find loads of plants packed tightly into one place, whether the Amazon rainforest or Iowa, humidity can skyrocket during hot and especially sunny periods, making the air feel oppressive. That's what happened this week: A late-summer heat wave brought record and near-record temperatures to parts of the Midwest where there also happen to be vast fields of corn. With plenty of sunlight and temperatures in the high 90s, it was enough to make corn sweat, producing extremely uncomfortable weather. It's not that corn sweats more than other plants — an acre releases less moisture on average than, say, a large oak tree — but the Midwest has a lot of corn in late August. In Iowa, for example, more than two-thirds of the area is farmland, and corn is the top crop (followed by soybeans, which, by the way, also sweat).
"The combination of higher temperatures and increased humidity from corn sweat can lead to more intense heat waves, making it more challenging for people to stay cool and increasing the risk of heat-related illnesses," said Bruno Basso, a crop and agriculture scientist at Michigan State University.
Sweating corn is a totally natural process; it's not like it harms the crop. But when it causes humidity to spike, loads of evapotranspiration can be dangerous for those who work outside, vulnerable groups like the elderly or pregnant, and those who can't afford air conditioning.
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Curt Maas /Design Pics Editorial/Universal Images Group via Getty Images |
Is corn sweat a growing concern? |
One confusing thing to keep in mind is that evapotranspiration tends to cool the surrounding air, Basso said, because the process absorbs heat. This is one reason why a forest or prairie typically feels cooler than a parking lot on a hot day. Yet during extreme heat waves, which are becoming more common as companies spew carbon dioxide into the air, "the dynamics change," Basso said. "Despite the cooling effect of evapotranspiration, the heightened humidity can offset it, making heat waves feel even more intense," Basso told me. It also prevents temperatures from cooling off at night, he added, when you might normally feel relief. In one 2020 study, researchers from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics analyzed a past summer heat wave in the Midwest and found that cropland — most of which comprised corn in this part of the country — can increase moisture in the air above it by up to 40 percent. |
Again, it's not just crops across the Midwest that release moisture, increase humidity, and make summers feel disgusting (I know firsthand; I grew up in Iowa). The millions of acres of prairie that industrial farmland replaced — mostly to feed livestock and make ethanol — would have also produced loads of moisture, Basso said.
But there are some key differences between native ecosystems and industrial farmland, he added. "Native prairies are diverse ecosystems with a variety of plant species, each with different root depths and water needs, helping to create a balanced moisture cycle," he told me. "In contrast, corn and soy monocultures are uniform and can draw water from the soil more quickly." Densely planted rows of corn drain water from the soil, which can deepen droughts, he said. Droughts are becoming more extreme in some parts of the US, though this is less of a concern in the Midwest, which is projected to get wetter in the coming decades. When you put all of this together, you have giant fields of corn grown to feed cows that make the Midwest more humid during heat waves and worsen other climate extremes. Basically, corn sweat is just as disgusting as it sounds. |
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| A meme of a Minion being crucified went viral on TikTok in a very unusual way. Today, Explained's Laura Bullard investigated and connected the dots all the way to the 2024 election. |
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- Antibiotics under the sea: Did you know that coral can get sick like other animals do? Stony coral tissue loss disease is currently ravaging reefs across the Caribbean. It's the worst coral disease outbreak ever recorded, but through trial and error scientists have found that amoxicillin could be an effective treatment option.
- Speaking of disease difficulties: In 2016, prompted in part by the creation of a breakthrough cure for hepatitis C, the World Health Organization set out to reduce new hepatitis B and C infections by 90 percent and deaths by 65 percent by 2030. Instead, worldwide deaths are rising, and the goal of eradication might be slipping away because of under-resourced health systems and stigma.
- The truth behind Democrats' immigration truce: Last week at the Democratic National Convention, Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris and other members made it clear that the party is interested in limiting asylum seekers and migrants, and funding more Border Patrol operations. These are markedly more right-leaning policies than Democrats have had in the past, but their appeal to moderate, swing, and independent voters will be key come November.
- Reality setting in for Real Housewives husband: Tom Girardi, the estranged husband of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Erika Jayne Girardi, has been found guilty of four counts of wire fraud after prosecutors accused the disbarred former victims' attorney of stealing $15 million in settlement money from his clients, including families of victims of an airline crash. Need a refresher on how this reality TV-adjacent attorney's life turned into a true crime documentary? Read our previous coverage on Erika Jayne and Tom Girardi here.
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Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images |
Opening doors: Players like Coco Gauff and Naomi Osaka had a strong start at the US Open this week. This history on Black American tennis players is a great contextual read tracing the path in tennis forged by stars of the past like Arthur Ashe, Althea Gibson, Serena and Venus Williams, and more. [The Athletic] A real-life "accident": The new Netflix series "The Accident" focuses on a freak accident in which a birthday party bounce house is picked up by the wind and carried away while filled with children. While the premise might sound larger than life, bounce houses can be potentially dangerous. Many bounce house injuries and deaths have been documented, most recently the tragic death of a 2-year-old in Arizona this past spring. [New York Times] |
Portland Press Herald via Getty Images |
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500,000 spouses and 50,000 stepchildren |
That's how many undocumented spouses and family members of Americans might be unable to apply for a green card after a Texas federal court ruling temporarily blocked a program announced in June by President Joe Biden. The program had intended to give spouses of US citizens a clearer pathway to a green card that did not require them to leave the country to apply. Now, the government won't be able to process applications as several red states make their case against the program. Vox's Nicole Narea looked into the decision; you can read her piece here. |
Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images |
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Today's edition was produced and edited by senior editor Lavanya Ramanathan, with contributions from staff editor Melinda Fakuade. We'll see you tomorrow! |
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