My boys are at Singapore’s F1 tonight. One loves the race; they both love the music. Naturally, I was a protective mamma, filling them with electrolytes and a lung “cleaner” before they left (much to their chagrin) but heat and haze scares the life out of me. No way I’d go anywhere near it in these conditions, but they’re young, so who can blame them.
The race has already been declared a heat hazard – as it was last year – when both George Russell and Lewis Hamilton suffered heat exhaustion. Interestingly, I found out this year that the cooling devices for drivers only last an hour and a half, and some choose not to use them, because they make life in the cockpit uncomfortable.
It leaves me wondering, when we will see a heat stroke death of one of the drivers? And even if one doesn’t die, long-term heat exposure does lead to other issues, like kidney damage.
Of course, these super humans train for extreme heat. Next door to the boy’s school in Phuket, Thailand, is Thanyapura, and it wasn’t uncommon to see Formula 1 drivers running around the track, as part of their heat training program. But when does it get too hot for Formula 1?
Of course, it’s not just heat in 2026, as we also have the haze on top. When you’ve lived with haze, you know it keeps heat locked in, making it an even more unpleasant experience. But haze means the drivers are also breathing in toxic smoke – which we’ve all been doing for months – and they will do this throughout the race, which increases the risk of cognitive impairment too.
Maybe this isn’t the year it all comes together and we see terrible outcomes or maybe it is. One thing for sure, even if the commentators on TV are saying the sun isn’t out – duh! – hopefully it will put the world’s attention on what is happening in this part of the world, because let me tell you – living with haze sucks!
More on the cooling: Singapore Grand Prix: Heat hazard declared for fourth time this season – BBC Sport.
And a topic every time there is an extreme haze event, because someone always makes money, while everyone else pays: Who Profits While We Breathe the Smoke? | LinkedIn
Want to understand the times we are living through?
If you’re in Singapore, come and attend my third pilot run of my new workshop: Untangling the polycrisis: understanding interconnected global risks, systemic drivers, and how we respond.
Untangling the polycrisis is an intensive, full-day workshop examining how ecological breakdown, economic overshoot, geopolitical conflict, social fragmentation, and rapid technological disruption interact to shape systemic risk. Grounded in evidence and systems thinking, the session moves beyond overwhelm to build analytical clarity and practical agency.
The workshop uses a structured, participatory process
- Personal and value alignment: grounding our understanding in lived reality, relationships, and individual agency
- Systems mapping: analyzing core drivers, systemic feedback, and institutional blind spots
- Strategic response: identifying high-leverage interventions and defining actionable commitments
Who should attend
Professionals, researchers, community leaders, and individuals seeking a rigorous, non-dogmatic understanding of global systemic risks and practical ways to respond. Feedback from previous attendees.
US shenanigans
Lots going on in the US this week, from a livestreamed execution announced, to sanctions on the International Criminal Court (because he didn’t win the Nobel Peace Prize?), to Kimberly Guilfoyle’s corruption, to the retreat of US forces, but the big one – buying Russian diesel.
Zelensky is quite rightly pissed, but Richard Murphy says: The moment of desperation is approaching very fast. He discusses the significance and consequence of this announcement, including the fact the world did, then, become a considerably more dangerous place last night. Well worth a read.
Planetary health
The Elders sent out a missive this week saying the climate crisis will not wait for the world’s geopolitics to improve (indeed), while science tells us earth’s energy imbalance is rising much faster than expected, and I learnt a new word this week, WarWilding: Can WarWilding defend Poland’s borders and save Europe’s last ancient forest?.
However, one video worth paying attention to is Prof. Johan Rockström’s Planetary Health Check for 2026, and the news is not good! A must watch.
What can we do?
It’s all so glum and everyone is exhausted. I get it, but we’ve got to pull ourselves up, because this is the time to fight like hell. Our kids deserve our fight, right?
One idea this week is don’t buy any Krill products. Not just supplements either. Check your pet food and hold off on farmed salmon too. We can all do that, yes? Scientists Urge Consumers to Stop Buying Products Made From Antarctic Krill – Inside Climate News.
Check out The Overshoot Challenge. Set yourself up (you won’t be added to an email database, promise) and get going, with more than 300 ideas on the actions you can take. Start where you are, because honestly, when you start cleaning your life up, it’s very addictive! The Overshoot Challenge: What Can I Do?
Also, understand the risks based on where you live, so you can get prepared. There is so much we can do, but pretending we aren’t in trouble is not a good strategy: Where You Live — Your Polycrisis Risk Profile.
Friends and my content
We had the wonderful Willy Tham on The Sh*t Show recently, talking about the amazing work he is doing to help Indonesians on the front-line suffering the haze. We need more Wally’s in the world!
Detailed blog from the inspiring Kim Montgomerie of the Climate Crisis Club, let’s follow her advice and Plant Native Plants to Restore Biodiversity. And Redeem Us.
A glimpse into Wally’s message. Those poor babies!
Dig into the news
When you visit the daily news page, remember to save it to your home screen and you can check the news anytime, as it’s updated throughout the day, every day – by a real human, me.
This news curation tool covers news and thought leadership across all issues relevant to the polycrisis, as well as some light stuff, because we can’t be serious all the time. To get to the news, click through on the image below, and a reminder, it goes back weeks, so have a scan and read/watch/listen to whatever jumps out at you. The categories are right on top as well, so you can dig into whatever issue you care about.
Let me know what caught your attention? Or share with me what has your attention now? There’s a lot going on, which means none of us can cover everything. Besides, it’s always great to get feedback so I know I’m delivering something of value.
Cheers
Andrea T Edwards, CSP
Making sense of the forces reshaping our world and what we can do about them
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If you want to support my work, please share this blog, subscribe to my social channels, or at least buy me a coffee here.
About me
I help leaders make sense of the polycrisis, the interconnected ecological, social, technological, economic and geopolitical challenges shaping our future, and respond with clarity, courage and practical action.
Through strategic advisory, executive coaching, keynote speaking and workshops, I help organizations strengthen leadership, unlock the power of their people and navigate meaningful change.
I’m the author of Uncommon Courage, an invitation and 18 Steps to an All-Star LinkedIn Profile, co-host of The Sh*t Show, a livestream exploring the realities of the polycrisis and what we can do about it, as well as the podcast, Uncommon Courage.
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Andrea T Edwards, CSP | Keynote Speaker, Author & Podcaster
Uncommon Courage – An Invitation
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