Environment news

• Barnaby Joyce: using constitution to block Shenhua would be 'disastrous'

  08-06-2016 10:39
  
  The deputy prime minister rejects suggestion by constitutional expert George Williams that section 51 could be used to halt mine on environmental groundsBarnaby Joyce has rejected outright the use of an export power in the constitution to stop the Shenhua Watermark mine, saying it would be “economically and socially disastrous”.
  Joyce told the Q&A audience in Tamworth this week that the commonwealth could do very little to stop mining on prime agricultural land near his New Engla
  
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• Week in wildlife: snub-nosed monkeys, amorous cobras and a milk-snatching fox

  31-07-2026 11:13
  This week’s best wildlife photographs from around the world Continue reading...
  
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• New solar panels in Great Britain at 15-year high as fossil fuel costs soar

  31-07-2026 11:00
  
  Boom in solar farms and home installations in first half of 2026 began shortly after start of US-Israel war against IranGreat Britain has recorded more new solar power installations in the first half of this year than in any six-month period since 2011, as households turn to rooftop panels to help cut their energy bills.An analysis of the government’s official figures shows that Great Britain added 142,536 solar installations in the first six months of the year, putting it on track to top
  
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• Suffolk wildfire near Sizewell nuclear plant ‘stabilising’ after 24 hours

  31-07-2026 10:22
  
  More than 100 firefighters remain at scene after Dunwich Heath blaze spread across 150 hectares and forced evacuationsFire crews tackling a large wildfire burning for more than 24 hours near Britain’s biggest nuclear power station have said the situation is “stabilising”.More than 100 firefighters have been battling the blaze in Dunwich Heath, near Leiston, on the Suffolk coast since Wednesday evening. Continue reading...
  
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• ‘Extremely scary findings’ show climate crisis is supercharging Europe’s wildfire weather

  31-07-2026 09:00
  
  Latest study says global heating has made hot, dry and windy conditions in Spain at least 20 times more likelyThe extreme heat and drought stoking huge wildfires in Spain and France were made far more likely by the climate crisis, a scientific analysis has found.Global heating made hot, dry and windy weather at least 20 times more likely in Spain and twice as likely in France, experts from the World Weather Attribution (WWA) consortium calculated. The finding is the latest to pin the blame for t
  
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• ‘It’s all right for them’: private schools and golf courses stay green despite England’s hosepipe bans

  31-07-2026 07:00
  As parks turn brown and paddling pools go unfilled, exemptions mean sports pitches can stay lush – even in school holidaysAfter multiple punishing heatwaves, and no rain in parts for over a month, it seems the whole of the south of England is golden brown.But by Hammersmith Bridge in Barnes, south-west London, there is the unmistakable scent of damp soil. The playing fields of St Paul’s school, where fees are up to £57,000 a year, are a bright, lush green. Continue reading...
  
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• Soy sauce refills and reused jars: can Philippines’ tingi culture hold back deluge of plastic waste?

  31-07-2026 06:00
  A zero-waste shop set up by a district council provides plastic-free products at affordable prices in a country that gets through 164m sachets a dayJust after classes finish for the day in Malabon City, in the Philippines, a corner shop begins to fill. Mothers arrive with their children, handing over empty bottles to be refilled with soy sauce and cooking oil. Plastic tubs that previously held ice-cream or biscuits are weighed and filled with flour or sugar. The kids get some sweets and banana c
  
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• ‘It makes your heart sing’: can a pioneering project show that rewilding really works? – podcast

  31-07-2026 06:00
  Intensive farming has all but destroyed England’s ancient woodlands and freshwater wetlands. On a farm in Lincolnshire a radical aristocrat hopes to show there’s money in protecting natureBy Patrick Barkham. Read by Dermot DalyRead the text version hereSupport the Guardian today: theguardian.com/longreadpodThe summer issue of the Long Read magazine is out now. Click here to order Continue reading...
  
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• Hundreds evacuated after ‘apocalyptic’ wildfire near Suffolk nuclear power station

  30-07-2026 20:08
  Major incident declared, Sizewell B power station monitoring blaze and RSPB nature reserve badly hitHundreds of people have been evacuated and a major incident declared after a wildfire spread over more than 200 acres on the coast of Suffolk, just a few miles from the Sizewell B nuclear power station.The fire – described by one witness as ‘apocalyptic’ – was still not completely under control as of late Thursday afternoon, according to Jon Lacey, chief fire officer at Suf
  
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• Holiday park evacuated as 90 firefighters tackle Suffolk heath wildfire

  30-07-2026 15:28
  Major incident declared, Sizewell B power station closely monitoring blaze and RSPB nature reserve closed to visitorsA holiday park with about 200 caravans has been evacuated after a wildfire broke out on the Suffolk coast, and the nearby Sizewell B nuclear power station has said it is closely monitoring the blaze.A major incident has been declared as firefighters battle a large heathland fire at Dunwich Heath near Leiston, about 3 miles from Sizewell B. Continue reading...
  
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• Europe burns: a visual guide to the wildfires

  30-07-2026 15:00
  Ferocious flames continue to rage in parts of France and Spain, with no sign of abating. We chart the destruction in graphics and picturesThe hellish infernos that have torn through parts of France and Spain have caused deaths, the evacuation of 330,000 people from their homes, widespread destruction and clouds of toxic smoke. Records have already been smashed and with the fourth heatwave of the European summer setting in, there are few signs of the waves of wildfires ending.France has already s
  
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• Fifteen elephant deaths at Kenya park may be due to cyanide poisoning

  30-07-2026 14:46
  Analysis of samples collected from carcasses found traces of toxic chemical compound, says Kenya Wildlife ServiceThe recent deaths of 15 elephants near a park in southern Kenya in the past month were most likely caused by the animals ingesting pesticides used on nearby tomato farms, the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) has said.Erustus Kanga, the agency’s director general, told Citizen TV that analysis of samples collected from the carcasses had found traces of cyanide, a chemical compound use
  
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• Families to be moved out of billionaire-owned tower after suffering without air con

  30-07-2026 14:39
  Several councils to stop housing tenants in glass-fronted Britannia Point in London, where tenants were earlier told they could not use air conAs the fourth heatwave of the year hit the UK on Wednesday, Benice Bodah and her three teenage sons braced for more scorching temperatures inside their south-west London home. The two-bedroom flat has a built-in air-conditioning unit, but it has worked only intermittently in the almost three years since the family were placed in temporary accommodation at
  
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• Europe is burning – and if Trump’s war on the climate is not met with sanctions, things will only get worse | Alexander Hurst

  30-07-2026 13:00
  The White House seems committed to ecocide. The EU should harness the power of the single market to force it to change courseAre we understanding it yet? As Europe burns in the west, the south and the north, are we grasping the fact that our economies, food systems, political stability and even our ability to plan for the future, will all be charred in a world on fire?Paris got a taste of what is in store for us Europeans when, weeks ago, fire ripped through Fontainebleau forest, a bouldering pa
  
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• UK on track for record heat-related deaths this summer, official data shows

  30-07-2026 12:33
  UKHSA estimates 2,877 fatalities during heatwaves in May and June, almost twice same period for 2025The UK is on track to suffer its highest ever number of heat-related deaths this summer after the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) announced that an estimated 2,877 people had died in the May and June heatwaves.The record was set in 2022 with 2,985 deaths and August, traditionally the hottest month is yet to arrive. The health secretary, Yvette Cooper, said: “My thoughts are with all those
  
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• England on track for record heat-related deaths this summer, official data shows

  30-07-2026 12:33
  UKHSA estimates 2,877 fatalities during heatwaves in May and June, almost twice that recorded in 2025 seasonEngland is on track to record its highest ever number of heat-related deaths this summer after the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) announced that an estimated 2,877 people had died in the May and June heatwaves.The record was set in 2022 with 2,985 deaths, and August, traditionally the hottest month, is yet to arrive. The health secretary, Yvette Cooper, said: “My thoughts are with
  
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• ‘Kind of like a fairytale’: documentary tells the unusual tale of Flaco the Owl

  30-07-2026 12:00
  Wild Inside looks back on the incredible year when an escaped zoo owl managed to bring New Yorkers together Flaco the Eurasian eagle-owl gained a cult following after leaving his life in captivity at the Central Park zoo in 2023 and surviving, against all odds, for more than a year as a free bird in Manhattan.Birdwatchers tracked his every move, capturing his vast wingspan and luminous orange eyes with their cameras. His fans got tattoos in his honor. And now, Wild Inside, a new documentary chro
  
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• ‘Kind of like a fairy tale’: documentary tells the unusual tale of Flaco the Owl

  30-07-2026 12:00
  Wild Inside looks back on the incredible year when an escaped zoo owl managed to bring New Yorkers together Flaco the Eurasian eagle-owl gained a cult following after leaving his life in captivity at the Central Park zoo in 2023 and surviving, against all odds, for more than a year as a free bird in Manhattan.Birdwatchers tracked his every move, capturing his vast wingspan and luminous orange eyes with their cameras. His fans got tattoos in his honor. And now, Wild Inside, a new documentary chro
  
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• Excess deaths caused by heatwaves in England ‘almost double’ so far this year

  30-07-2026 11:39
  UKHSA estimates 2,877 heat-associated deaths during heatwaves in May and June, almost twice the number in summer 2025The number of excess deaths caused by heatwaves has almost doubled so far this year in England compared with 2025, the UK Health Security Agency, has said.There were 2,877 heat-associated deaths during the heatwaves in May and June this year, a report has estimated, almost double the figure reported from the UK heatwaves in June to August last year. Continue reading...
  
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• Major incident declared in Suffolk as 90 firefighters tackle wildfire on heathland

  30-07-2026 10:01
  Several people evacuated after ‘large-scale, wind-driven’ fire breaks out at Dunwich Heath near LeistonA major incident has been declared as firefighters battle a large heathland fire on the Suffolk coast.Suffolk fire and rescue service was called to reports of a wildfire at Dunwich Heath, near Leiston, shortly after 5.30pm on Wednesday, and crews remained at the scene on Thursday morning. About 90 firefighters were tackling the blaze, while several people had been evacuated. Leiston
  
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• ‘Grey lump with orange wings’: migrating moth descends on UK gardens

  30-07-2026 10:00
  Boom in hummingbird hawk-moth sightings put down to hot weather, strong winds and food scarcity in EuropeHe had just sat down to dinner in the garden when a speedy visitor whizzed by – a “grey lump with orange wings”, recalled Luke Burstow, from Sussex. It was a hummingbird hawk-moth, a flying insect that migrates to the UK from continental Europe and north Africa.“I was like: ‘Wow!’,” said the software project manager. “I didn’t even know th
  
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• ‘Grey lump with orange wings’: hummingbird hawk-moths descend on UK gardens

  30-07-2026 10:00
  Boom in migrating moth sightings put down to hot weather, strong winds and food scarcity in Europe He had just sat down to dinner in the garden when a speedy visitor whizzed by – a “grey lump with orange wings”, recalled Luke Burstow, from Sussex. It was a hummingbird hawk-moth, a flying insect that migrates to the UK from continental Europe and north Africa.“I was like: ‘Wow!’,” said the software project manager. “I didn’t even know they exi
  
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• ‘It’s irreplaceable’: Fury over Reform plans to expand quarry in ancient Kent woodland

  30-07-2026 08:00
  Forty hectares of Oaken Wood could be razed after it was identified as potential site of expansion by Reform-run councilIt was at the confluence of seven forest paths that Allison Sweetman came to a stop. Trees rose on all sides, save for a recently coppiced section to the north-east. The noon heat had silenced most birds, but the quiet was peaceful.“This is what they call Seven Wents,” she said. For centuries, the people of Kent had travelled this way, from East Malling to Barming,
  
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• Weatherwatch: rainclouds are travelling farther in warmer world

  30-07-2026 07:00
  Climate crisis affects not only the amount of rain that falls but where, with implications for land use and water securityHave you ever wondered how far a raindrop has travelled before it lands on you? It may have journeyed thousands of kilometres from the ocean, sea or lake it evaporated from – and now research shows raindrops are travelling even farther than they used to.Warmer air can hold more water vapour, and that is changing not only how much rain we receive but also where it falls.
  
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• Country diary: A trip down Dungeon Lane for Beatles nostalgia and coastal beauty | Jennifer Jones

  30-07-2026 06:30
  Liverpool: Paul McCartney’s latest album has brought tourists here, but there’s so much more to see than the signEarlier this year, Paul McCartney released an album called The Boys of Dungeon Lane. Among the unashamed nostalgia is a wistful track, Days We Left Behind, which evokes memories of his visits to the Mersey shore with George Harrison and friends. Young Paul was, it turns out, a keen birdwatcher.Perhaps inevitably, the album has brought crowds of tourists to photograph the s
  
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• ‘It makes you feel you’ve got a really dirty house’: what’s behind the UK’s plagues of flies?

  30-07-2026 06:00
  From Leicestershire to Carmarthenshire, neighbourhoods are struggling with wave after wave of houseflies. Why are they suffering while others are spared? And is there no alternative to nets and zappers?Francesca Davies’s living room is absolutely teeming with flies. You can’t enter the contact centre worker’s home without a cluster of insects rising from the sofa or the floor to buzz around your face. Davies and her family live in West Heath, a suburb of the Cheshire town Congl
  
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• A rain festival with no rain: the Indian farmers bracing for a ‘super’ El Niño as monsoon arrives late

  30-07-2026 06:00
  Raja is normally a celebration of the start of the monsoon, but in the eastern state of Odisha, the rains came so late the seeds were sown under clear skiesKasturi Gamango and Pramila Sabar cannot contain their giggles as they explain one of the big attractions of the Raja festival, which they attended a few days earlier along with 20 other farmer families in Laxmipur, in Odisha’s Ganjam district.“We do no work for three days during the festival,” they say. “Our husbands
  
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• In Bordeaux as the wildfires close in – podcast

  30-07-2026 04:00
  Paris correspondent Angelique Chrisafis reports from Bordeaux, as wildfires in the region and beyond cause the biggest peacetime evacuation in French historyThis week, across France, more than 220,000 people were evacuated from their homes, fleeing wildfires that are burning all across the country.The Guardian’s Paris correspondent Angelique Chrisafis reports from Bordeaux, the historic centre of winemaking country, as the flames approach the outskirts of the city. We hear from evacuees ca
  
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• ‘The breath just went out of us’: people return to their homes after wildfires near Madrid

  29-07-2026 19:25
  Residents struggle to take in the devastation five days after El Morro was evacuated as fires burned across the countryside west of the Spanish capitalThe handwritten sign taped to the front gate of a house in the mountains an hour west of Madrid offered as succinct a summary of recent events as you will find.“EMPTY,” it said. “No people or animals here.” Continue reading...
  
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• Spain faces ‘complex’ three days with risks of heatwave and strong winds reigniting some fires – as it happened

  29-07-2026 18:04
  Authorities fear progress in containing the fires in the Gironde and Madrid regions may be set back by temperatures expected to hit the low 40sin BrusselsThe European Union’s crisis-management team is expecting difficult weeks ahead, fearing a further outbreak of wildfires in Italy and Greece as the summer goes on.“A firefighter will focus on protecting people. They will focus on protecting houses, protecting a business, a company, because this is something that matters for all our s
  
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