Environment news

• Could you be an ‘autumn spotter’? Public asked to track changing colours of trees in England

  22-09-2026 16:16 via theguardian.com
  Forestry England invites people to help it create a record of when and how the season arrives across the countryThe reds and golds of autumn leaves may be beginning to appear, but exactly when the season arrives is not always as predictable as the calendar might suggest.Now, Forestry England is asking people to help track the changing colours of forests to create a record of when and how autumn arrives across the country. Continue reading...
  
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• High-mileage electric cars are more reliable than petrol ones, study finds

  22-09-2026 15:37 via theguardian.com
  EVs with 90,000 to 120,000 miles on the clock are more likely to pass MOTs than petrol models of the same ageMotorists buying a secondhand car with a lot of miles on the clock are likely to find an electric vehicle (EV) ultimately more reliable than a petrol vehicle, according to a study.An analysis of 47.4m MOT tests found that after cars were driven 90,000 to 120,000 miles, EVs were about 25% less likely to fail than petrol models of the same age (based on a failure rate of 16.5% versus 22.1%)
  
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• The Patagonia town where Nepal’s deadly glacier flood could be repeated – and what they’ve learned

  22-09-2026 15:00 via theguardian.com
  The risk to El Chaltén in Argentina has been known for years but recent findings and the Nepal disaster have brought planning for the worst-case scenario into sharp focusThe images from Nepal stopped Daniela Schmidt in her tracks. A geologist at the University of Buenos Aires in Argentina, she watched the deadly flash floods on 26 August tear through everything in their path, people running for their lives as the water and debris swept over the landscape.“I had never seen anything l
  
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• ‘It’s my duty to tell the truth’: UN chief on the climate crisis, capitalism and reasons to be hopeful

  22-09-2026 15:00 via theguardian.com
  Before his final general assembly, António Guterres speaks about why he put climate at the centre of his UN tenureAntónio Guterres, who will finish his second term as UN secretary general on 31 December, has spoken out more strongly on the climate crisis than any of his predecessors. He has criticised “immoral” fossil fuel companies for their “grotesque greed”, warned that we have “opened the gates of hell” and hailed the new “clean energy
  
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• Wasp spider seen in north of England latest ‘climate refugee’ amid global heating

  22-09-2026 14:31 via theguardian.com
  The Argiope bruennichi, spotted in Cheshire for first time, part of worrying trend that could threaten native speciesShe is an unlikely harbinger of the climate emergency: a venomous black and yellow spider who spins mysterious patterns in her webs and eats her mates for breakfast.Native to mainland Europe, north Africa and Asia, the Argiope bruennichi – commonly known as a wasp spider – is rarely seen in the north and west of Britain. But a fully grown female has been spotted in Che
  
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• Robot fashion models and freediving with turtles: photos of the day – Tuesday

  22-09-2026 13:47 via theguardian.com
  The Guardian’s picture editors select photographs from around the world Continue reading...
  
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• Prison Letters: the teenager writing letters to jailed climate activists – documentary

  22-09-2026 13:26 via theguardian.com
  A teenager struggling with climate anxiety searches for hope in an unexpected place – writing letters to imprisoned activists. Max, 14, is on a quest to understand the human stories behind direct action and why so many climate protesters are in prison​. As replies begin to arrive, a dialogue bridging generations unfolds and connection transforms despair into purpose. ​When Max writes to the judge presiding over a high-profile trial​, he is surprised to hear the letter ref
  
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• Poorer nations will be among the last to benefit if global emissions cut to net zero

  22-09-2026 13:13 via theguardian.com
  
  Scientists found unequal impact of the climate crisis would not be reversed even if implicit goal of the 2015 Paris agreement is achievedThe unequal impact of the climate crisis on the world’s poorest people, including those in tropical areas, has been highlighted by new research that finds they will be among the last to feel the benefits if global greenhouse gas emissions are cut to net zero.Temperatures have risen more significantly in tropical areas relative to their historic range than
  
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• Meet Barbie Pig: new documentary reveals the wonders of life on the Pacific seabed

  22-09-2026 09:00 via theguardian.com
  A magical new film captures the secret life of the deep sea in a stretch of the ocean at risk from industrial miningA magical film that explores the wonders of the deep sea through the eyes of a team of scientists and an underwater robot called Isis will be shown in selected cinemas across the UK next month.The documentary, How Deep Is Your Love, offers a playful, irreverent and bittersweet look at our anthropocentric view of Earth, as it switches perspective from humans to deep sea animals and
  
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• Winners of bird photographer of the year 2026 – in pictures

  22-09-2026 07:00 via theguardian.com
  Photographers from all over the world entered more than 24,000 images into the world’s largest bird photography competition, with an image of a northern gannet bursting through the ocean’s surface taking the grand prize Continue reading...
  
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• Country diary: A little love at Larkrise has worked wonders for wildlife | Virginia Spiers

  22-09-2026 06:30 via theguardian.com
  St Dominic, Tamar valley: After just a few years, this rewilded plot of soggy land is home to voles and shrews and vigorously growing indigenous plantsAt last, proper rain has greened the scorched pastures and washed shrivelled leaves and nut husks along the narrow lanes. Springs dribble and streams remain low; inspection of our well, dug more than a century ago by the legendary “Diver/Diviner” Cullas of Metherell, reveals a water level better than feared, but we remain cautious in o
  
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