The Arctic Circle—the habitat of polar bears and decreasing sea ice at the top of the world—hit 32 degrees Celsius, last week.

This was the temperature in Banak, Norway on July 30, though some Norwegian areas even reached a couple degrees warmer, according to the European meteorology site severe-weather.eu. Banak sits atop northern Europe, over 350 miles above the bottom edge of the Arctic Circle.

The greater Northern Hemisphere and Europe itself have been repeatedly scorched by both record and near-record temperatures this summer, a consequence of overall rising global temperatures.

In the past 40 years, Earth’s climate has experienced an accelerated warming trend, which adds an extra level of background warming to hot spells—making heatwaves more extreme, climate scientists have said.

A photo of what appears to be Scandinavian folks taking a dip in a river while reindeer—the cold-adapted herbivores(食草动物)—cooled off in the water beside them is perhaps the best example of just how hot it is in parts of the Arctic Circle right now.

The “warm season” in Banak is short, lasting around three months, but the very warmest day of the year, around July 23, is usually around 62 degrees Fahrenheit(华氏度)—about 30 degrees cooler than temperatures there now. Overall, temperatures in northern Europe are between 14 to 21 degrees Fahrenheit, 8 to 13 degrees Celsius, above average.

All-time temperature records were set in both Norway and Finland on July 30, including 86 degrees Fahrenheit, 30 degrees Celsius, in Verde, near Banak, though extreme or near-record temperatures blanketed the region.

Persistent heat and dryness this summer have transformed normally green European countries into brown and yellow lands, and the continent’s extreme heat is expected to persist.

Andrew Derocher, a professor at the University of Alberta who studies polar bears, said climate change is shrinking the ice bears usually hunt on, making them faced with the danger of extinction.

When I was asked to take part in a forest bathing, I packed a swimsuit, assuming it must involve a refreshing swim in the water. 【小题1】

I met Forest Therapy (治疗) guide Melanic Choukas- Bradley and several other women who’d come along for the adventure at an urban forest. Here, I began to get it. Forest bathing isn’t a bath. We sat on the banks of the river, but we did not get in the water. 【小题2】 We did walk the forest tracks, but we wandered with no destination in mind.

The aim of forest bathing, Choukas-Bradley explained, is to slow down and become fully bathed in the natural environment. She helped us tune in to the forest’s smells, tastes and sights. 【小题3】 As we passed through the trees, we touched their trunks, feeling the roughness beneath our fingers. We smelled the flowers, each breath being a celebration of nature’s beauty.

There’s a growing body of evidence that shows forest bathing can help boost mood and reduce stress. 【小题4】 A 2011 study comparing city walks to forest walks found the forest environment led to greater reductions in blood pressure, despite both activities requiring equal physical effort.

【小题5】 Most of human history was spent in environments that lack buildings and walls, and our bodies have adapted to living in the natural world. But today most of us spend much of our life indoors. Perhaps the new forest bathing trend is a recognition that many of us need a little nudge to get back out there.

Moscow-based photographer Anastasiya Dobrovolskaya is not a typical “pet photographer.” Her trademark photos look like something out of a fairy tale, but everything is real - from beautiful and unique people to breathtaking landscapes, and various animals you wouldn’t expect to pose alongside people. Tigers, owls, horses… anything you can think of is featured in Dobrovolskaya’s incredible portfolio, including the most wanted bear model, Stepan, who was rescued as a cub and raised by loving humans.

In July of 2018, Anastasiya started taking photos by accident. After three failed attempts at photography, giving up trying, and finding her way to photography again, she received a message from a woman who wanted a photo shoot with a rooster. Although she had never photographed people with animals and didn’t have much experience altogether, she took on a challenge and fell in love. In a week, she photographed an owl, then a horse, and it kicked off from there with some of her photos going viral online. It was enough to quit her job and pursue a career in commercial photography.

The 30-year-old photographer takes dreamlike photos that capture the magical bond between animals and humans and show how beautifully diverse, yet similar they are. “In my work, I want to show common features between people and animals so that animals become more respected by people and people will do their best to minimize the harm they do to nature.” She says.

However, some people accuse her of using animals - animals suffer during photoshoots, and so on. But they don’t even know how far they are from the truth. In most cases, the animals were rescued from poor conditions, from fur factories, or were abandoned by the owners. Almost all large animals live in the countryside, in spacious areas, in specially equipped enclosures (场所) with regular walking. Each animal feeds on the basis of its species. “Only those animals with a certain character are selected for the photoshoots, and the process is almost always very comfortable.” explained the photographer.

The photographer now has an astonishing 179,000 followers on Instagram—an audience that has become a source of endless support, energy, and inspiration.