I'm going to do a master's program in London for a year in tropical medicine and international health.

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That combination keeps the local area at a consistent tropical green year-round.

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His brother, Roger, visits the beach once a year, like a tropical storm that changes everything.

NEWYORKER: Brother on Sunday

Overall, this year will be a unique tropical season, with few long tracked storms originating off the African coast.

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It takes, on average, 6 months or more for food to be purchased, shipped and delivered: meaning that food aid normally arrives at around the time of the next harvest (many tropical areas have two harvests a year).

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According to the World Health Organisation, dengue is now endemic in more than 100 tropical and sub-tropical countries around the world, affecting some 50m people a year, mostly in urban or semi-urban areas.

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This year marks the first time in recorded history that a tropical storm has formed in both the east Pacific basin and Atlantic basin before the official start of hurricane season, the Hurricane Center said.

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With more than 20 feet of rain a year, these forests are as wet - and correspondingly lush - as a tropical rainforest.

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The Tropical Hotel, once used as a military intelligence center before becoming Aitarak's headquarters earlier this year, turned up a trove of papers requesting funding, fuel and logistical support from the Indonesian military.

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