While monsoon brings a welcome respite from the heat, it also presents unique challenges for our skin. Increased humidity and fluctuating temperatures can lead to fungal infections, breakouts, dullness, and irritation. However, with proper care, you can maintain a healthy, radiant skin throughout the rainy season. Changes in Skin Condition during Rainy Season Increased Oiliness Increased humidity stimulates sebum production and causes a greasy appearance. This excess oil can clog pores which results in blackheads and acne. Managing oil production and pore congestion is crucial for preventing skin issues during humid conditions.  Acne Breakouts The damp environment fosters bacterial growth and increases the risk of acne. And pores clogged with oil and bacteria can become inflamed, causing pimples. Proper cleansing and pore maintenance are essential to prevent inflammation and acne breakouts in such conditions. Read more: 10 Post- Pregnancy Skincare Tips: Get Your Glow Back Fungal Infections In humid climates, feet and armpits are more susceptible to fungal infections due to excessive sweating and moisture. Common fungal infections include ringworm and athlete’s foot, emphasising the importance of maintaining dryness and hygiene in these regions. Dry and Sensitive Skin Despite high humidity, you may experience dehydration. It can make skin dry and sensitive. Additionally, weather fluctuations can exacerbate skin irritation and sensitivity.  Proper hydration and skincare routines are vital to mitigate these effects and maintain skin health during such conditions.  Dull Skin Reduced sunlight exposure during the rainy season can make the skin look dull and lifeless. Furthermore, air pollution during the rainy season can also contribute to skin dullness.  Read more: Summer Skin Care Guide For Men

The rainy season brings the challenge of keeping clothes fresh and dry. Due to the high humidity levels in monsoon, damp clothes bear an unpleasant, and musty smell. Furthermore, wearing these can lead to infection and cold. Let’s take a look into some effective ways to protect clothes from moisture and germs on the wettest of days.  Tips to Keep Laundry Clean and Hygienic in Rainy Season Washing Clothes Immediately It’s recommended to wash clothes immediately after exposure to rain. Prompt washing prevents dirt, bacteria, and musty odors from setting in, ensuring clothes stay fresh and clean throughout the damp weather. Prioritizing Clothes for Laundry During the rainy season, it’s better to prioritize important clothes for laundry. Washing essential items promptly ensures fresh and clean clothes when one needs them the most. This keeps important clothes ready to wear, regardless of the weather outside.  Read more: 10-Step Korean Skin Care Routine Pre-soaking Before Washing Pre-soaking clothes before washing is like a game changer during the rainy season. One needs to fill a bucket with water and a little detergent, then soak clothes for 30 minutes. This helps remove dirt, sweat, and odors, keeping them fresh and clean. Using Scented Detergent One may opt for scented detergent while washing clothes during the rainy season. The pleasant fragrance will help combat any musty odor caused by dampness, leaving clothes smelling fresh and clean even in the rainy weather. Using Fabric Conditioner Using fabric conditioner during the rainy season is one of the best tips to keep clothes fresh and soft. It not only adds a delightful fragrance but also helps to reduce static and make clothes more comfortable to wear. Additionally, it ensures that clothes stay in great condition throughout the damp weather. Read more: Monsoon Hair Fall Prevention: How to Care for Hair during Rainy Season Using Vinegar in the Wash Adding a cup of white vinegar to laundry can work wonders for eliminating odors from clothes. Apart from acting as a natural fabric softener, vinegar is also an effective antibacterial agent. The result is fresh-smelling and sanitized garments, ensuring optimal hygiene during the monsoon.  Washing in Small Batches It’s clever to avoid washing clothes in big batches during the rainy season. Washing smaller loads allows for better cleaning and drying, preventing dampness and musty smells. Moreover, it helps clothes to stay fresh.  Removing Clothes Fast from Washing Machine To keep clothes fresh, it would be wise to promptly remove them from the washing machine when the cycle ends. Leaving wet clothes sitting can lead to mildew and musty odors. By taking them out immediately, one can prevent dampness and ensure clothes stay clean and smell fresh. Read more: How to find right perfume, body spray for you

This year, the sweltering summer heat is lingering, and the monsoon's arrival remains elusive. With soaring heat, the anticipation for the much-awaited monsoon grows. However, with refreshing rain and lush greenery, monsoon comes with some challenges, particularly for our hair. The rainy season can lead to several hair problems, with hair fall being a common concern. So, let’s explore why it occurs and essential tips to care for hair during this damp and humid season.  Why do we lose hair during monsoon? According to a research study published by the World Trichology Society, people tend to experience approximately 30% more hair loss during the monsoon season than other times of the year. During this time, the atmosphere becomes more humid, causing the hair to absorb excess moisture. This makes the hair shaft swell, weakening its structure. Additionally, the scalp becomes more susceptible to fungal infections due to the accumulation of sweat and dirt.  These factors collectively contribute to increased hair fall during the rainy season. Furthermore, the change in weather conditions affects our hair growth cycle. The hair follicles may enter a resting phase, leading to excessive shedding. Moreover, the lack of proper care during this period exacerbates the issue, resulting in dull, lifeless, and fragile hair.  Read more: Which is the Best Country for Hair Transplant? How to care for hair during rainy season Keeping hair dry  As much as possible, one should try to keep hair dry during the rainy season. Try to use an umbrella or a raincoat with a hood to protect your hair from getting drenched. If your hair gets wet, make sure to dry it gently and completely as soon as you can. Cleaning hair regularly Frequent shampooing is essential during the monsoon to cleanse the scalp and hair from sweat, dirt, and excess oil. It would be better to opt for a mild, pH-balanced shampoo that suits an individual's hair type. Avoiding hot water is highly suggested, as it can strip hair of its natural oils, leading to dryness and frizz. Conditioning hair properly  Conditioning is a vital step in monsoon hair care. Experts suggest applying a good-quality conditioner from mid-length to the ends of the hair after shampooing. This helps to restore moisture and smooth down the cuticles, reducing frizz and breakage. Read more: What's Hair Transplant and What are the Most Popular Methods? Combing wisely  For a proper monsoon hair care routine, it would be great to use a wide-toothed comb to detangle gently. It ensures enough space between the teeth to prevent hair breakage.  One should avoid combing wet hair immediately to minimise breakage.  Also, refraining from sharing combs, especially during the monsoon, reduces the risk of fungal infections and helps to maintain healthier hair. Avoiding hairstyling when wet  Trying hairstyles with wet hair is highly discouraged, as it weakens the hair follicles and leads to increased breakage. Wet hair is more susceptible to damage, and the tension from combing can cause stress on the already fragile strands. It would be the best option to allow hair to dry naturally before styling it to maintain strong and healthy hair.

Zimbabwe's rainy season brings a bonanza of wild mushrooms, which many rural families feast upon and sell to boost their incomes. But the bounty also comes with danger as each year there are reports of people dying after eating poisonous fungi. Discerning between safe and toxic mushrooms has evolved into an inter-generational transfer of indigenous knowledge from mothers to daughters. Rich in protein, antioxidants and fiber, wild mushrooms are a revered delicacy and income earner in Zimbabwe, where food and formal jobs are scarce for many. Beauty Waisoni, 46, who lives on the outskirts of the capital, Harare, typically wakes up at dawn, packs plastic buckets, a basket, plates and a knife before trekking to a forest 15 kilometers (9 miles) away. Also Read: Zimbabwe, Uganda launch first satellites Her 13-year-old daughter Beverly is in tow, as an apprentice. In the forest, the two join other pickers, mainly women working side by side with their children, combing through the morning dew for shoot-ups under trees and dried leaves. Police routinely warn people of the hazards of consuming wild mushrooms. In January, three girls in one family died after eating poisonous wild mushrooms. Such reports filter through each season. A few years ago 10 family members died after consuming poisonous mushrooms. To avoid such a deadly outcome, Waisoni teaches her daughter how to identify safe mushrooms. “She will kill people, and the business, if she gets it wrong,” said Waisoni, who says she started picking wild mushrooms as a young girl. Within hours, her baskets and buckets become filled up with small red and brown buttons covered in dirt. Women such as Waisoni are dominant players in Zimbabwe's mushroom trade, said Wonder Ngezimana, an associate professor of horticulture at the Marondera University of Agricultural Science and Technology. “Predominantly women have been gatherers and they normally go with their daughters. They transfer the indigenous knowledge from one generation to the other,” Ngezimana told The Associated Press. They distinguish edible mushrooms from poisonous ones by breaking and detecting “milk-like liquid oozing out,” and by scrutinizing the color beneath and the top of the mushrooms, he said. They also look for good collection points such as anthills, the areas near certain types of indigenous trees and decomposing baobab trees, he said. About one in four women who forage for wild mushrooms are often accompanied by their daughters, according to research carried out by Ngezimana and colleagues at the university in 2021. In “just few cases” — 1.4% — mothers were accompanied by a boy child. “Mothers were better knowledgeable of wild edible mushrooms compared to their counterparts — fathers,” noted the researchers. The researchers interviewed close to 100 people and observed mushroom collection in Binga, a district in western Zimbabwe where growing Zimbabwe's staple food, maize, is largely unviable due to droughts and poor land quality. Many families in the Binga are too poor to afford basic food and other items. So mushroom season is important for the families. On average, each family made just over $100 a month from selling wild mushrooms, in addition to relying on the fungi for their own household food consumption, according to the research. In large part due to harsh weather conditions, about a quarter of Zimbabwe's 15 million people are food insecure, meaning that they’re not sure where their next meal will come from, according to aid agencies. Zimbabwe has one of the world's highest rates of food inflation at 264%, according to the International Monetary Fund. To promote safe mushroom consumption and year-round income generation, the government is promoting small-scale commercial production of certain types such as oyster mushrooms. But it appears the wild ones remain the most popular. “They come in as a better delicacy. Even the aroma is totally different to that of the mushroom we do on a commercial aspect, so people love them and in the process communities make some money,” said Ngezimana. Waisoni, the Harare trader, says the wild mushrooms have helped her put children through school and also weather the harsh economic conditions that have battered Zimbabwe for the past two decades. Her pre-dawn trip to the forest marks just the beginning of a day-long process. From the bush, Waisoni heads to a busy highway. Using a knife and water, she cleans the mushrooms before joining the stiff competition of other mushroom sellers hoping to attract passing motorists. A speeding motorist hooted frantically to warn traders on the sides of the road to move away. Instead, the sellers charged forward, tripping over each other in hopes of scoring a sale. One motorist, Simbisai Rusenya, stopped and said he can’t pass the seasonal wild mushrooms. But, aware of the reported deaths from poisonous ones, he needed some convincing before buying. “Looks appetizing, but won’t it kill my family?” he asked. Waisoni randomly picked a button from her basket and calmly chewed it to reassure him. “See?" she said, "It’s safe!”

Californians rejoiced this week when big drops of water started falling from the sky for the first time in any measurable way since the spring, an annual soaking that heralds the start of the rainy season following some of the hottest and driest months on record. But as the rain was beginning to fall on Tuesday night, Gov. Gavin Newsom did a curious thing: He issued a statewide drought emergency and gave regulators permission to enact mandatory statewide water restrictions if they choose. Newsom's order might seem jarring, especially as forecasters predict up to 7 inches (18 centimeters) of rain could fall on parts of the Northern California mountains and Central Valley this week. But experts say it makes sense if you think of drought as something caused not by the weather, but by climate change. Read: Wildfires rage as US West grapples with heat wave, drought For decades, California has relied on rain and snow in the winter to fill the state's major rivers and streams in the spring, which then feed a massive system of lakes that store water for drinking, farming and energy production. But that annual runoff from the mountains is getting smaller, mostly because it's getting hotter and drier, not just because it's raining less. In the spring, California's snowpack in the Sierra Nevada mountains was 60% of its historical average. But the amount of water that made it to the reservoirs was similar to 2015, when the snowpack was just 5% of its historical average. Nearly all of the water state officials had expected to get this year either evaporated into the hotter air or was absorbed into the drier soil. “You don’t get into the type of drought that we're seeing in the American West right now just from ... missing a few storms,” said Justin Mankin, a geography professor at Dartmouth College and co-lead of the Drought Task Force at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “A warm atmosphere evaporates more water from the land surface (and) reduces (the) amount of water available for other uses, like people and hydropower and growing crops.” California's “water year” runs from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30. The 2021 water year, which just ended, was the second driest on record. The one before that was the fifth driest on record. Some of the state's most important reservoirs are at record low levels. Things are so bad in Lake Mendocino that state officials say it could be dry by next summer. Even if California were to have above-average rain and snow this winter, warming temperatures mean it still likely won't be enough to make up for all the water California lost. This past year, California had its warmest ever statewide monthly average temperatures in June, July and October 2020. Jeanine Jones, interstate resources manager for the California Department of Water Resources, said people should not think about drought “as being just this occasional thing that happens sometimes, and then we go back to a wetter system.” “We are really transitioning to a drier system so, you know, dry becomes the new normal," she said. “Drought is not a short-term feature. Droughts take time to develop, and they usually linger for quite some time." Water regulators have already ordered some farmers and other big users to stop taking water out of the state's major rivers and streams. Mandatory water restrictions for regular people could be next. Read: Why the world should pay attention to Taiwan's drought In July, Newsom asked people to voluntarily reduce their water use by 15%. In July and August, people cut back 3.5%. On Tuesday, Newsom issued an executive order giving state regulators permission to impose mandatory restrictions, including banning people from washing their cars, using water to clean sidewalks and driveways and filling decorative fountains. State officials have warned water agencies that they might not get any water from the state's reservoirs this year, at least initially. That will be very challenging, said Dave Eggerton, executive director of the Association of California Water Agencies. But he said he believes Californians will start to conserve more water soon with the help of a statewide conservation campaign, which will include messages on electronic signboards along busy highways. “It's going to happen,” he said. “People are starting to get the message, and they want to do their part.”

Originally a resident of the Isaeel Shibrampur area in Goalundo upazila's Daulatdia union, Jalil Sikder now lives with his family in a hutment on a Good Samaritan's land in Nasir Sardar Para. "We were rendered homeless after our house was washed away by the mighty Padma river in front of our eyes last year. Thanks to a benevolent person in Isaeel Shibrampur, we have a roof over our heads,"  he says. Riverbank erosion is a common problem along the Padma during the rainy season. And Jalil is also not the lone sufferer. Over the years, several families in the riverine areas of the upazila's Daulatdia and Debgram unions have been rendered homeless by such engulfing calamity. READ: Padma boat capsize: Bodies of missing AIUB student, cousin found after 8 days Some 2,000 families still living in the riverine areas of the two unions are now spending sleepless nights. Their fears are tangible, with monsoon rains barely a week away. "Every day, the river is washing away some three to four bighas of land. The erosion aggravates during the monsoon when the Padma overflows its banks. It's high time that the authorities took safety measures without any delay," says Hazrat Sheikh, a resident of Devgram's Munshibazar area. "In the past three years, some 300 families have been forced to abandon their houses in Devgram. What we get from the local authorities after every monsoon is only assurances of better preparedness for next year," says Ruby Khatun, a resident of Aziz Sardar Para. Read Riverbank erosion destroys homes and hopes Upazila Chairman Mostafa Munshi admits the problem the riverine areas face during the monsoon. "I have sought Rajbari-1 MP Kazi Keramat Ali's help in this regard," he says. According to the Rajbari-1 MP, all preparations are underway for starting the construction of an embankment from Ferry Ghat to Debgram Antarmor to prevent erosion.  "The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council will soon begin work on Daulatdia and Paturia Ghat modernisation projects worth around Tk 650 crore," he says. Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Azizul Haque Khan recently visited the affected areas. "For the time being, the Water Development Board is placing sand bags along the ferry ghat," he says. READ: Padma devours SESDP Model High School in Madaripur

With the arrival of the rainy season, the familiar hazard of waterlogging across the capital is showing signs of returning but Dhaka South City Corporation Mayor Fazle Noor Taposh is determined to not allow that.

International Organization for Migration (IOM) has completed a series of events marking their comprehensive disaster-risk reduction efforts to upgrade shelters and distribute tools and emergency equipment to the Bangladeshi host community near Cox’s Bazar.