In this three-part series, Surviving the Sizzle, Julie Yoo explores the personal stories of people on the frontlines of battling with extreme heat. In the first episode, she speaks to Chris Hardman, chief fire officer at Forest Fire Management Victoria on the real and present danger of an overheated planet.

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They are tiny but mosquitoes threaten the lives of 40 per cent of the global population. With rising temperatures, mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue are spreading and with potentially deadly consequences. Professor Scott O’Neill, founder and CEO of the World Mosquito Program, says this is humanity’s “biggest enemy” but suggests that the solution might lie with mosquitoes themselves.

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It’s a simple idea — reduce a country’s debt burden and put those savings into environmental protection. But how do debt-for-nature swaps actually work in practice? And are they really a win-win solution that benefits both the planet and a developing country’s economic development? Julie Yoo gets some answers from The Nature Conservancy’s Will McGoldrick in this episode of The Climate Conversations. 

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Dr Karenne Tun is not just an avid diver and lover of these beautiful creatures, she is also leading an effort to restore Singapore’s coral reefs by planting 100,000 corals along the coast. The director of the National Parks Board National Biodiversity Centre tells Julie Yoo about working underwater, and why more resilient corals in warmer oceans matter to us. 

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Avester Lau became a meteorologist to uncover the complexities behind the weather. In this limited series My Green Gig, he sits down with host Biogirl MJ to explain why predicting the weather is so difficult for meteorologists and debunks some common myths. 

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From travelling to a remote island in the Philippines to spending hours in a lab analysing bird DNA, Movin Nyanasengeran believes he has landed his dream job as a bird conservationist. How do “birders” like him ensure that bird species continue to thrive? In this limited series My Green Gig, guest host Kong Man Jing shines the spotlight on people working in the conservation and environmental sectors. 

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Diamonds are supposed to be a girl’s best friend. But the love for this stone has also caused detrimental impact on the environment, say its critics. While lab-grown diamonds are hailed as an ethical alternative, are they as sustainable as they claim to be? Julie Yoo puts her questions to Ryan Shearman, CEO of Aether Diamonds. 

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Having a 100kg wild boar charging at you is no small thing, says ACRES co-CEO Anbarasi Boopal. But beyond managing the number of wild boars, she tells Julie Yoo why human behaviours and urban planning solutions can tackle the root cause of wild boar attacks.  

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The glitz and glamour of the K-pop industry is fuelled by overconsumption and a mountain of waste, say Nurul Sarifah and Dayeon Lee. They are behind the environmental organisation Kpop4planet and their goal is to mobilise K-pop fans to take part in climate action. 

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Over coffee one day, Krista Milne and Tiffany Crawford decided to take on the monumental task of keeping Melbourne cool. The co-chief heat officers tell Julie Yoo why heat is a silent killer, and what cities can do to protect their most vulnerable as heat waves get even hotter.

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