Speaking of cities in a warming world, I’ve learned a new term: «minimum mortality temperature». It’s the temperature at which health risks are lowest – on either side of this optimal temperature, more people die. What’s particularly interesting is that this optimal temperature varies a lot between cities: it’s 17° Celsius in Vancouver, 20° in Paris, 27° in Austin – depending on how well cities are adapted to excessive heat and cold. Remember «flatten the curve» during Covid? That’s what we need to do here, too.

From Weekly Filet #578, in July 2026.