Warmer nights turn vegetation into dry fuel (Image: David McNew/Getty Images)
Read more: "The night: The nocturnal journey of body and mind"
NIGHTS are not just dark; they are also cool. In colder climes, this fall in temperature is seldom welcome. But in hot regions, the night comes as a sweet relief. Many animals – including people – take it easy during the sweltering day and kick into action only when the sun goes down.
Now nights are getting hotter. That's not surprising on a warming planet, but what is surprising is that our nights are warming up much more than our days. The consequences will be far-reaching. There may be some upsides, such as fewer nights when you need to don warm pyjamas, but there are plenty of downsides, too.
Between 1950 and 2010, the number of warm days – defined in relation to the 1961 ...
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