In today’s quote, Oprah tells us that challenges are those gifts that force us to search for a new centre of gravity. We should not fight them, instead, find a different way to stand without losing our balance.

The past few months have been extremely hot in Singapore. The daily temperatures are in the range of 34 and 35 degrees Celsius, and some days reach a high of around 36 degrees Celsius. The humidity levels are around 83% which means as soon as we take a bath, it’s as if we have not taken one! Most of India is also under the grip of a heatwave with cities in northern India like New Delhi average temperatures of above 40 degrees Celcius. On the other hand, Bengaluru where my parents are currently is experiencing temperatures as low as 19 degrees Celcius! When they told us this, I was so jealous and wanted to go there pronto. But because they are not used to such low temperatures, they find it cold and not very comfortable. And this extreme weather changes are due to climate change, which will change our worlds if not for us, then definitely for our children and their children.

Now that we are finally learning to live with COVID-19, we learn of a monkeypox infection wave in Europe. The WHO yesterday had an emergency meeting to discuss the recent outbreak of monkeypox, a viral infection more common in West and Central Africa, after over 100 cases were confirmed or suspected in Europe with cases reported in at least nine countries including Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom – as well as the United States, Canada and Australia. First identified in monkeys, the disease typically spreads through close contact and has rarely spread outside Africa, so this series of cases has triggered concern. Monkeypox is usually a mild viral illness, characterised by symptoms of fever as well as a distinctive bumpy rash. However, scientists do not expect the outbreak to evolve into a pandemic like COVID-19, given the virus does not spread as easily as the SARS-COV-2.

In light of all this, let’s be more careful. And with this, stay safe, and be careful people! I’ll catch up with you all next week.