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Indian Desert School's Unique Design Offers Respite from Heat

Temperatures inside the school can be as much as 20 percent lower than those outside. Idrees MOHAMMED / AFP
Temperatures inside the school can be as much as 20 percent lower than those outside. Idrees MOHAMMED / AFP
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Indian Desert School's Unique Design Offers Respite from Heat

Temperatures inside the school can be as much as 20 percent lower than those outside. Idrees MOHAMMED / AFP
Temperatures inside the school can be as much as 20 percent lower than those outside. Idrees MOHAMMED / AFP

In the sweltering heat of India's Thar desert, where summer highs soar above 50 degrees Celsius, an architecturally striking school is an oasis of cool thanks to a combination of age-old techniques and modern design.
The Rajkumari Ratnavati girls' school uses the same yellow sandstone as the 12th-century fort in nearby Jaisalmer, in India's western state of Rajasthan, dubbed the "golden city" due to the color of the rock, AFP said.
Like the fort, the school has thick rubble walls that help bounce back the heat, while the interior is plastered with lime, a porous material that regulates humidity and aids natural cooling.
Unlike the ancient fort, its roof is lined with solar panels, which provide all the school's power in an area with frequent electricity cuts.
Temperatures inside the school, designed by US-based architect Diana Kellogg and built by local artisans -- many of them parents of pupils -- can be as much as 20 percent lower than those outside.
"I love going to the school," said eight-year-old Khushboo Kumari, one of the 170 students.
"The air feels as if it is coming from an AC."
The school's classrooms are arranged around an open elliptical courtyard resembling a Roman coliseum, and walls with grids of vents create shade while allowing for cooling airflow.
Elevated windows allow hot air to escape as it rises. Rainwater is harvested from the flat roof.
In some places, the walls are dotted with perforations -- a technique known as "jali" that was traditionally used for modesty, shielding women from view in the conservative society.
At the school, it is used to promote ventilation, creating a breeze channeled by the building's oval shape.
"There is cross-ventilation," said school supervisor Rajinder Singh Bhati, aged 29. "The white tiles on the terrace reflect the sunlight."
"It is totally eco-friendly."
'Airy and cool'
India this year baked in its longest-ever heatwave, according to government weather experts.
Temperatures surged above 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit), with warnings people will face increasingly oppressive heat in the future.
Manohar Lal, 32, the father of pupil Khushboo, said students looked forward to class thanks to the relative cool.
"There are frequent power cuts in Rajasthan, and children have to suffer as temperatures touch almost 50 degrees Celsius in summer," Lal said outside his modest home of mud and brick, which does not have a ceiling fan.
"But there are no such worries in the school because it is powered by solar energy," he added.
"It is airy and cool, and that is why the children enjoy going to school".
'Feels like heaven'
The school is supported by the US-based CITTA Education Foundation, meaning pupils attend for free in a state where the literacy rate for women is about 52 percent.
Uniforms, school materials and lunch for pupils are also provided.
"It's a big thing that they are getting quality education free of cost, considering they can't even afford proper meals or clothing," said Hindi teacher Priyanka Chhangani, 40.
Kellogg, the architect, said combining tradition with modern design and sustainable techniques was key.
"Because the craftsmen were so familiar with the stone, we were able to integrate traditional architectural details along with indigenous heritage details, so that the structure felt authentic to the region", she said.
Her oval design was inspired by "feminine symbols of strength", she added.
But while her design focused on tackling baking heat, it also faces an unexpected, climate change-driven problem -- floods.
Intense rainfall during the annual monsoon is common from June to September, but experts say climate change is increasing its frequency and severity.
That increased rainfall has begun to impact the school, which was designed for a drier climate.
This year, a long-dormant river was overflowing, washing away soil at one side of the school.
Rajan Rawal, a professor at India's Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology University, said the increasing intensity of rain was impacting buildings designed for other weather.
"Disasters like heat waves and floods impact the structural stability," Rawal said.
They also affect the thermal performance of the building, he added.
But teacher Chhangani said the school was still changing the lives of the pupils.
"These children don't even have fans at home," she said. "When they come to school, it feels like heaven to them."

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Varieties

Beirut's 'Mother of Cats' Who Rescues Felines

Diana Abadi, known as "the mother of cats," sits with felines waiting for adoption at her small pet food and plant shop in Hadath, in Beirut's southern suburbs known as Dahiyeh, in Lebanon, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
Diana Abadi, known as "the mother of cats," sits with felines waiting for adoption at her small pet food and plant shop in Hadath, in Beirut's southern suburbs known as Dahiyeh, in Lebanon, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
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Beirut's 'Mother of Cats' Who Rescues Felines

Diana Abadi, known as "the mother of cats," sits with felines waiting for adoption at her small pet food and plant shop in Hadath, in Beirut's southern suburbs known as Dahiyeh, in Lebanon, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
Diana Abadi, known as "the mother of cats," sits with felines waiting for adoption at her small pet food and plant shop in Hadath, in Beirut's southern suburbs known as Dahiyeh, in Lebanon, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Diana Abadi is known in the southern suburbs of Beirut as the “Mother of Cats.”

For the past 12 years, she has turned her home and shop into a refuge for abandoned felines who now number between 50 and 70, and she often sleeps beside the cats as she cares for them full time.

Abadi began by taking in a single kitten.

Word spread, and residents started bringing her injured and unwanted animals, especially during periods of crisis. At its peak, the shelter housed more than 150 cats, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent Israel-Hezbollah war, when fear and displacement led many people to abandon their pets.

Her plant and pet food shop in the southern suburbs known as Dahiyeh serves as both her livelihood and the cats’ shelter. Among those currently in her care are Joujou, 13, the oldest, as well as cats named Loulou, Fluffy, Emma and Panda.

One of the most challenging cases involves a cat that was completely blind when abandoned. A woman offered to cover the animal’s expenses if Abadi would take him in. After months of treatment, the cat has partially regained vision in one eye.

Social media has recently helped improve adoption rates, reducing the number of cats under Abadi's care. Rising costs, however, threaten the shelter’s future. Monthly rent has climbed to $800, up from $250 before the war, forcing Abadi to cover most expenses herself.

“These are living beings,” she said. “I don’t take holidays or Sundays off.”

Varieties

Face of 400-Year-Old 'Vampire' Recreated

Scientists have given a face to a decapitated skull which was uncovered in Croatia. (Croatia’s excavation team)
Scientists have given a face to a decapitated skull which was uncovered in Croatia. (Croatia’s excavation team)
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Face of 400-Year-Old 'Vampire' Recreated

Scientists have given a face to a decapitated skull which was uncovered in Croatia. (Croatia’s excavation team)
Scientists have given a face to a decapitated skull which was uncovered in Croatia. (Croatia’s excavation team)

The face of a "vampire", whose remains were posthumously mutilated to prevent them from rising from the dead, can be seen for the first time in more than 400 years, reported Sky News.

Discovered in a grave at Racesa, a fortress in eastern Croatia, the body had been exhumed, beheaded and reburied face down beneath heavy stones.

And since the desecration cannot be explained by environmental factors, experts believe it was done to stop the dead man returning as a vampire.

Now the face of the deceased can be seen for the first time in centuries, after scientists rebuilt his likeness from his skull.

Archaeologist Natasa Sarkic, part of the excavation team, said the fear inspired by the man in death may stem from the fear he inspired in life.

She said: “Bioarchaeological analysis showed that this man often participated in violent conflicts, and died a violent death. He experienced at least three episodes of serious interpersonal violence during his lifetime.”

“One of those attacks left his face disfigured, which could cause fear and repulsion, leading to social exclusion. Before even recovering from the penultimate trauma, he sustained a final fatal attack,” she revealed.

“Individuals who died violently, behaved violently in life, or were considered sinful or socially deviant, were believed to be at risk of becoming vampires,” she continued.

“He may have been regarded as a 'vampire', or a supernatural threat due to his facial disfigurement and his marginal lifestyle, characterized by repeated interpersonal violence,” Sarkic explained.

She said such beings were thought to be restless, vengeful, and capable of harming the living, spreading disease and killing people or livestock.

Sarkic said that, in the Slavic tradition, the soul remains attached to the body for about 40 days after death.

Varieties

Caffeinated Beverages May Help Protect the Brain, Study Says

A cup of coffee and a cappuccino are seen at a Juan Valdez store in Bogota, Colombia June 5, 2019. (Reuters)
A cup of coffee and a cappuccino are seen at a Juan Valdez store in Bogota, Colombia June 5, 2019. (Reuters)
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Caffeinated Beverages May Help Protect the Brain, Study Says

A cup of coffee and a cappuccino are seen at a Juan Valdez store in Bogota, Colombia June 5, 2019. (Reuters)
A cup of coffee and a cappuccino are seen at a Juan Valdez store in Bogota, Colombia June 5, 2019. (Reuters)

Drinking a few cups of caffeinated coffee or tea every day may help in a small way to preserve brain power and prevent dementia, researchers reported on Monday.

People with the highest daily intake of caffeinated coffee had an 18% lower risk of developing dementia compared to those with the lowest such intake, according to a study based on responses to questionnaires by 132,000 U.S. adults spanning four decades.

The study, published in JAMA, also found that the people with the highest intake had a lower rate - by nearly 2 percentage points - of ‌self-perceived memory ‌or thinking problems compared to those with ‌the ⁠lowest intake.

Results were ‌similar with caffeinated tea, but not with decaffeinated beverages, the researchers said.

While the findings are encouraging, the study does not prove caffeine helps protect the brain, they said.

The magnitude of caffeine's effect, if any, was small, and there are other better-documented ways to protect cognitive function as people age, study leader Dr. Daniel Wang ⁠of Harvard Medical School said in a statement.

Lifestyle factors linked with lower risks of ‌dementia include physical exercise, a healthy diet ‍and adequate sleep, according to previous ‍research.

"Our study suggests that caffeinated coffee or tea consumption can ‍be one piece of that puzzle," Wang said.

The findings were most pronounced in participants who consumed two to three cups of caffeinated coffee or one to two cups of caffeinated tea daily, the researchers reported.

Those who drank caffeinated coffee also showed better performance on some objective tests of cognitive function, according to the ⁠study funded by the National Institutes of Health.

Further research is needed to validate the factors and mechanisms responsible for the findings, the researchers said.

They noted that bioactive ingredients in coffee and tea such as caffeine and polyphenols have emerged as possible factors that reduce nerve cell inflammation and damage while protecting against cognitive decline.

"We also compared people with different genetic predispositions to developing dementia and saw the same results - meaning coffee or caffeine is likely equally beneficial for people with high and low genetic risk of developing ‌dementia," study coauthor Dr. Yu Zhang of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health said in a statement.