Environment news

• Water winners: who will gain from the industry’s spending spree in England and Wales?

  20-01-2026 16:34 via theguardian.com
  As Labour shakes up regulation, suppliers are finally investing – but face problems such as contractor shortages and inflationWater firms could be let off pollution fines as part of government overhaulWhen a sluice gate failed 24 metres below the water’s surface at Thames Water’s Queen Mother reservoir near London’s Heathrow airport, there were no easy fixes available. Emptying 37m cubic metres (1,307m cu ft) of water was not an option, meaning that helmeted divers were l
  
  Read more

• Huge amounts of extra land needed for RFK Jr’s meat-heavy diet guidelines

  20-01-2026 13:30 via theguardian.com
  Even 25% increase in meat and dairy consumption would require 100m more acres of agricultural land, analysis saysThe Trump administration’s new dietary guidelines urging Americans to eat far more meat and dairy products will, if followed, come at a major cost to the planet via huge swathes of habitat razed for farmland and millions of tons of extra planet-heating emissions.A new inverted food pyramid recently released by Donald Trump’s health department emphasizes pictures of steak,
  
  Read more

• Looking for Miracle: why have so many dugongs gone missing from Thailand’s shores?

  20-01-2026 12:03 via theguardian.com
  The Andaman coast was one of very few places in the world with a viable population but then dead dugongs began washing up. Now half have goneA solitary figure stands on the shore of Thailand’s Tang Khen Bay. The tide is slowly rising over the expanse of sandy beach, but the man does not seem to notice. His eyes are not fixed on the sea, but on the small screen clutched between his hands.About 600 metres offshore, past the shadowy fringe of coral reef, his drone hovers over the murky sea, f
  
  Read more

• The influencer racing to save Thailand’s most endangered sea mammal

  20-01-2026 11:58 via theguardian.com
  Amateur conservationist and social media influencer Theerasak ‘Pop’ Saksritawee has a rare bond with Thailand’s critically endangered dugongs. With dugong fatalities increasing, Pop works alongside scientists at Phuket Marine Biological Centre to track the mammals with his drone and restore their disappearing seagrass habitat. Translating complex science for thousands online, Pop raises an urgent alarm about climate change, pollution and habitat loss — before Thailand&rsq
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Why have there been so many shark bites in Sydney? Experts say the conditions are a ‘perfect storm’

  20-01-2026 09:23 via theguardian.com
  Intense rainfall has caused the water to go murky in some areas, making them attractive spots for fish and sharks to feedGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastFour people have been attacked by sharks in New South Wales in 48 hours, including three incidents at Sydney beaches.Any shark bite incident is traumatic and Sydney swimmers have been warned to stay out of the water. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Country diary: Is the willow Britain’s finest tree? In one sense, it is | Mark Cocker

  20-01-2026 06:30 via theguardian.com
  Buxton, Derbyshire: Others are taller, wider, older, but our varied stock of willows have a generosity that sets them apartUsually in this country when we think about important trees, we focus on height, girth, age, visual impact – in short, their material properties. Few therefore would probably name willow as a number one British species.Willows often have no central trunk as in our archetypal tree model, and few specimens are more than 7 metres tall. Yet there is a sphere in which willo
  
  Read more

• Antarctic penguins have radically shifted their breeding season – seemingly in response to climate change

  20-01-2026 06:01 via theguardian.com
  Changing temperatures may be behind change in behaviour, which experts fear threatens three species’ survivalPenguins in Antarctica have radically shifted their breeding season, apparently as a response to climate change, research has found.Dramatic shifts in behaviour were revealed by a decade-long study led by Penguin Watch at the University of Oxford and Oxford Brookes University, with some penguins’ breeding period moving forward by more than three weeks. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Is your body really full of microplastics? – podcast

  20-01-2026 06:00 via theguardian.com
  Studies detecting microplastics throughout human bodies have made for alarming reading in recent years. But last week, the Guardian’s environment editor, Damian Carrington, reported on major doubts among a group of scientists about how some of this research has been conducted.Damian tells Ian Sample how he first heard about the concerns, why the scientists think the discoveries are probably the result of contamination and false positives, and where it leaves the field. He also reflects on
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

Follow @UK_Environment on Twitter!