Environment news

• Two helicopters collide outside Athens as Greece battles to control wildfires

  02-08-2026 19:36 via theguardian.com
  Fire department says two-person crew of one aircraft killed in incident during gale-force winds to west of capitalTwo firefighting helicopters have collided west of Athens, killing the two-person crew of one of the aircraft, as efforts to control a massive wildfire barrelling towards the outskirts of the Greek capital intensified.Footage showed one of the helicopters losing control in the face of gale-force winds that have pushed flames towards settlements on Athens’ western fringes. Conti
  
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• Britain could face food shortages as drought continues, farmers warn

  02-08-2026 18:54 via theguardian.com
  Farmers battle to salvage what they can of their crops as heatwave set to continueBritain could face shortages of certain foods after punishing drought in parts of England, the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) has warned as a heatwave was forecast to continue into next week.The UK’s Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has issued heat health alerts for eight regions of England, with temperatures set to rise above 30C in parts of the country. UKHSA said rising temperatures may increase health
  
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• The Guardian view on drought: hot, dry conditions make inequality starker | Editorial

  02-08-2026 18:30 via theguardian.com
  Water is a vital shared resource, and privatisation has made a just transition harder Compared with rising heat-related deaths, and devastating wildfires in the Cairngorms and Suffolk, the announcement that the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) is considering moving its hydrangea collection from Surrey to Greater Manchester and North Yorkshire might seem unimportant. But it points to geographical differences in exposure to global heating that have arguably never been mor
  
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• Solar powers record share of Britain’s electricity mix in July

  02-08-2026 17:46 via theguardian.com
  Farms and rooftop panels contribute 14.4% to the grid – and figures reveal a surge in new installationsSolar energy supplied more power to Great Britain’s grid in July than in any previous month as households turned to rooftop panels to cut their energy bills.Solar farms and rooftop panels provided 14.4% of the country’s electricity after some parts of the UK recorded almost twice the average sunshine hours for the time of year. Continue reading...
  
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• A new Queensland bill aims to ‘streamline’ major projects. Matt and Caitlin fear it could hand their farm to developers

  02-08-2026 17:00 via theguardian.com
  Experts say new power to bypass conservation and planning regulations are incredibly broad and could let the state effectively fast-track any project it wantsGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastMatt Wood gives Neville a pat behind his ear – as if the one-tonne Droughtmaster bull were an oversized labrador puppy – while his wife, Caitlin, watches hundreds of pasture-fed hens scratch beneath old macadamia trees her dad planted.Their talk is of building their rege
  
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• A mystery virus started killing horses. Then humans. Was this the moment our coronavirus era began?

  02-08-2026 17:00 via theguardian.com
  In the 1990s, scientists in Australia began searching for the origins of a new disease showing up in places hundreds of kilometres apart. They discovered the origin: bats. And found a way to reduce the risk of bat disease spilloversThe virus could have appeared in many places on the east coast, but it is a strange coincidence, in the light of later scientific discoveries, that it first became known in the Brisbane suburb of Hendra. The high school is named Aviation High, and the streets are bord
  
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• ‘There’s no nurdle fairy’: thousands mobilise to clean up plastic spillage in north-east England

  02-08-2026 15:00 via theguardian.com
  Volunteers painstakingly gather plastic pellets washing up on beaches after ship collision on 19 July“You’ve got a local community that really cares about the coastline,” said Alice Laverty, reflecting on the huge army of volunteers who had taken to crisis-hit beaches in north-east England with passion and only the most basic tools. “They’ve all got a dustpan, a brush, a bucket, a kitchen sieve.”On beaches from Cambois in Northumberland to Seaburn on Wearside,
  
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• Struggling to get through summer? Treat yourself like a beloved dog – and six other survival tips | Emma Beddington

  02-08-2026 15:00 via theguardian.com
  August usually sends me into an anxious funk, but I think I’ve worked out how to handle 2026’s terrifying heat and apocalyptic imagesUnfortunately for hairdressers, “How’s your summer going?” is a loaded question this year. Even basking lizards and barbecue obsessives are wavering in their sun worship as cataclysmic wildfires engulf our nearest neighbours (and threaten the UK), Wales and parts of England experience drought, and farmers issue dire warnings about our
  
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• Relentless UK heatwaves turn ‘green and pleasant land’ brown

  02-08-2026 12:12 via theguardian.com
  Visible impact of warming climate is impossible to ignore across landscapes that have been starved of rainfallHalf of England and the whole of Wales are officially in drought and July is set to be the driest month on record as extreme heat intensified by the climate crisis continues to grip the UK and Europe this summer.The announcements this week by England’s Environment Agency and Natural Resources Wales mark the third such event over the past five years, and come in the wake of four rec
  
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• Relentless UK heatwaves turn ‘green and pleasant’ land brown

  02-08-2026 12:12 via theguardian.com
  Visible impact of warming climate is impossible to ignore across landscapes that have been starved of rainfallHalf of England and the whole of Wales are officially in drought and July is set to be the driest month on record as extreme heat intensified by the climate crisis continues to grip the UK and Europe this summer.The announcements this week by England’s Environment Agency and Natural Resources Wales mark the third such event over the past five years, and come in the wake of four rec
  
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• July set to be driest on record for England and Wales after relentless heatwaves

  02-08-2026 12:12 via theguardian.com
  Climate scientist urges better planning as southern England had just 1% of long-term average rainfall last monthHalf of England and the whole of Wales are officially in drought and July is set to be the driest month on record as extreme heat intensified by the climate crisis continues to grip the UK and Europe this summer.The announcements this week by England’s Environment Agency and Natural Resources Wales mark the third such event over the past five years, and come in the wake of four r
  
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• ‘I have an understanding housemate’: the student who makes videos of fungus on faeces

  02-08-2026 10:00 via theguardian.com
  Alfred Drummond-Herdman’s extraordinary timelapses have been viewed by millions – and led him to identify new speciesAlfred Drummond-Herdman is possibly the only person in the UK who is sent animal faeces in the post out of goodwill. His bedroom in Edinburgh is full of the stuff: clothes have been removed from his wardrobe and cupboards, replaced with terrariums and plastic containers housing sections of cowpats, grouse droppings and rabbit pellets.“I have a very understanding
  
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• Beaver dams 'helping boost drought resilience'

  02-08-2026 08:07 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Research shows beavers are creating more wetland areas since being reintroduced to the wild.
  
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• ‘We cannot magic up more water’: the supply problems putting housing targets in England at risk

  02-08-2026 08:00 via theguardian.com
  Council leaders say crumbling infrastructure and lack of water are jeopardising government’s plans for new homesThe government’s housebuilding agenda is hitting the stark reality of a lack of water and crumbling infrastructure across the east and south-east of England.Half the country was declared to be in serious drought this week, for the second consecutive year, with the Environment Agency warning of dire consequences for the economy, environment and wildlife. Continue reading...
  
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• Injured peregrine reunion 'brought tears to eyes'

  02-08-2026 07:58 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The bird of prey was found injured on the ground but was nursed back to health over a month.
  
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• ‘Climate change kills’: Pedro Sánchez speaks plain truth to Spain’s deniers

  02-08-2026 06:00 via theguardian.com
  PM has long history of speaking out on realities of global heating but political opponents remain unnmovedJust over four years ago, Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, visited a small town in the south-western region of Extremadura that had been affected by one of the wildfires devouring tens of thousands of hectares of land across the country.That summer’s blazes had left two people dead in the northern region of Castilla y León and another man there fatally burned
  
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