Environment news

• Barratt Developments sets net-zero target for 2040

  30-06-2020 18:34
  
  The UK's largest housebuilder, Barratt Developments, has built on recently announced science-based targets by committing to achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040.
  
  Read more

• How can I water my garden in a hosepipe ban and will there be drought this summer?

  21-07-2026 13:29
  
  Millions of people in southern England and parts of Wales face restrictions after prolonged periods of hot weatherMillions of people across southern England are subject to hosepipe bans after prolonged periods of extreme heat and reduced rainfall. On Tuesday, Thames Water, Britain’s biggest water company, announced a ban starting on Thursday. Here, the Guardian answers questions about what the restriction means for you. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Country diary: I’m immersed in the rich, chromatic aura of a summer meadow | Mark Cocker

  21-07-2026 06:30
  Hartington Meadows, Derbyshire: Amid a complex reticulation of stalks, stems, blooms and leaves, the right response might be to drop down before itIn his glorious poem Haymaking, about a flower meadow, Edward Thomas describes how the fiery day “had a kernel sweet of cold” and “the white empty road was lightly strewn/With leaves”. The heat here, however, was unrelieved, and if the road was empty, it was also liquefying at its margin. Sweat banded my cap and ran in the crea
  
  Read more

• Not enough water for UK’s datacentre plans, trade body says

  21-07-2026 06:00
  Industry says government’s failure to address cooling demands means AI growth plans are ‘fatally flawed’The UK will not have enough water for future datacentres, the water industry has said in stark criticism of the government’s AI growth plans.Datacentres rely on large amounts of water to manage the heat generated by densely packed servers. Cooling towers, chillers and humidification systems make direct use of this water, with large volumes also consumed indirectly throu
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Tropical Storm Bertha threatens US Gulf coast

  21-07-2026 04:42 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Storm surges up to 4ft are possible along parts of the Louisiana and Mississippi coasts, officials say.
  
  Read more

• Is UK facing drought for second summer in a row?

  21-07-2026 02:12 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The longest dry spell in over 30 years for central England raises concerns about drought and when it might rain.
  
  Read more

• Bumblebees are struggling in UK heatwaves - but you can help them

  21-07-2026 02:01 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The furry bodies of UK bumblebees are specially adapted for cold weather - making heatwaves a struggle.
  
  Read more

• Slowdown in Arctic ice melt ends after largest winter decline on record

  20-07-2026 21:00
  Scientists recorded slower reduction over past 20 years, but study finds this was ‘temporary rather than sustained’A previously recorded slowdown in Arctic sea ice decline has ended, according to a new study, with the largest year-to-year wintertime reduction ever recorded.In a study published last summer, researchers found that melting sea ice in the Arctic had slowed down over the past 20 years, with no statistically significant decline in its extent recorded between 2005 and 2024.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Canadian wildfires rage as Trump warns Carney again over 'poisoning' US air

  20-07-2026 20:16 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The US president raised the issue with the the Canadian prime minister while the pair attended the World Cup Final in New Jersey.
  
  Read more

• ‘A public health emergency waiting to occur’: how US industry groups spent years fighting who gets to measure toxic air

  20-07-2026 16:00
  Air polluters try to ensure toxic emissions happen far from monitors – but the people who live nearby still feel itKimbrelle Kyereh lives just a few hundred feet from the massive chemical storage tanks in St Rose, in south-eastern Louisiana. Oily fumes sometimes drift into her home, bringing headaches, nausea and insomnia. On one such night, she grabbed her son at 3am and fled to an all-night Ihop.In 2023, after years of coping with the noxious odors, Kyereh began collecting air samples in
  
  Read more

• ‘My shirt was wringing’: National Express bus drivers speak out on 40C conditions

  20-07-2026 15:51
  Drivers in West Midlands say buses ‘unbearable’ during heatwaves, raising employee and passenger safety fearsBus drivers in the West Midlands have spoken out about the “horrendous” working conditions they have experienced during heatwaves, which led to 40C temperatures in their cabs.The UK was hit by high temperatures and dry weather in three successive heatwaves, with temperatures topping 37C last month when the country recorded its hottest ever June day. Last week, the
  
  Read more

• The hunger-striking engineer demanding education reforms in India

  20-07-2026 14:25 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk has a long history of challenging the status quo and refusing food to highlight his causes.
  
  Read more

• On a Colorado farm, solar panels bring shade for plants, power – and cash: in pictures

  20-07-2026 14:00
  
  More than 3,000 solar panels power Jack’s Solar Garden, cool the land and help it turn a profitThe Guardian receives support for visual climate coverage from the Outrider Foundation. The Guardian’s coverage is editorially independent Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Weather tracker: Flooding and landslides hit large parts of Asia

  20-07-2026 11:46
  Torrential rain has battered Vietnam, southern China and South Korea, leading to multiple deathsLarge parts of Asia were hit by devastating flooding and landslides last week, leading to multiple deaths, as torrential rain battered Vietnam, southern China and South Korea.According to the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological forecasting in Vietnam, the Phuc Than weather station recorded 206mm of rain in 24 hours, from last Thursday into Friday, which caused homes to be swept away, power cuts a
  
  Read more

• Going with the flow: Renewable energy battery breakthrough

  20-07-2026 10:20 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A 3D-printed battery designed at Queen's University Belfast could speed up energy storage research.
  
  Read more

• Fight to save rare ecosystem of chalk streams

  20-07-2026 08:12 via bbc.co.uk
  
  We visit Langford Lakes nature reserve in Wiltshire, home to the River Wylye chalk stream.
  
  Read more

• Controversial farm subsidy scheme gets billion pound budget

  20-07-2026 07:49 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The protest-hit Sustainable Farming Scheme has been introduced after almost a decade in development.
  
  Read more

• 'Hidden time-capsule of UK biodiversity' unlocked

  20-07-2026 07:25 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The specimens with links to Charles Darwin will soon be studied by scientists across the world.
  
  Read more

• ‘It’s total devastation’: inside the Amazonian war against illegal gold mining

  20-07-2026 07:00
  The Guardian goes on the ground with Brazilian forces fighting to eradicate mining that has destroyed protected areas of Indigenous landThe jerry-built bordello at the foot of Vila Cururu, an illegal gold-mining settlement at the heart of Brazil’s most desecrated Indigenous territory, was a hive of depravity until just a few weeks ago.Inebriated prospectors huddled around wooden tables, swigging beer and Scotch whisky, and ogling pole-dancing sex workers before going with them to shacks be
  
  Read more

• Country diary: Beaver-style flood defences take root amid a hosepipe ban | Kate Blincoe

  20-07-2026 06:30
  Caistor St Edmund, Norfolk: Underfoot the ground is as hard as metal, while the council’s ‘leaky dams’ are set for the next delugeCatkins fall from the sweet chestnut trees like long yellow streamers from a party. More than 20 wasps fret over the bonnet of my car, feeding off something – maybe sticky tree sap or dead insects.The hay crop is in. No high yields, but better than last year. Two red kites hunt over the coumarin-sweet cut meadows and the swallows glide low. The
  
  Read more

• Al-altered images on birdwatching forums putting research at risk

  20-07-2026 06:00
  Experts warn increase in enhanced photos on birding platforms creating fake sightings, threatening credibility of tool used by scientistsFor many birdwatchers, recording a species outside its normal range is the holy grail. In the UK, the discoveries often make national headlinesThe western reef heron, for example, usually found in Africa and southern Europe, spotted in a seaside town in north Wales in June, which was widely celebrated on birding forums.But a new scourge is threatening to disrup
  
  Read more

• AI-altered images on birdwatching forums putting research at risk

  20-07-2026 06:00
  Experts warn increase in enhanced photos on birding platforms creating fake sightings, threatening credibility of tool used by scientistsFor many birdwatchers, recording a species outside its normal range is the holy grail. In the UK, the discoveries often make national headlinesThe western reef heron, for example, usually found in Africa and southern Europe, spotted in a seaside town in north Wales in June, which was widely celebrated on birding forums.But a new scourge is threatening to disrup
  
  Read more

• ‘When I get home, my whole body aches’: extreme heat saps health and wages of India’s poorest workers

  20-07-2026 05:00
  Exclusive: Outdoor workers losing up to 9% of income as weather becomes ‘poverty multiplier’, research saysExtreme heat is pushing some of India’s poorest workers further into poverty, with income losses of up to 9% for outdoor workers, new research has found.Analysis done by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), and shared exclusively with the Guardian, found that extreme heat is acting as a “poverty multiplier” for hundreds of million
  
  Read more

• Is Burnham promising a new dawn for North Sea oil and gas?

  19-07-2026 16:27 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The incoming PM is expected to announce fresh support for the North Sea from day one of his premiership.
  
  Read more

• From coffee grounds to guinea pig bedding - the composters keeping it local

  19-07-2026 13:33 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Food waste is a resource like water and should be kept in communities, compost champions say.
  
  Read more

• ‘Liberate the lidos!’ Who will win the war over Italy’s private beaches?

  19-07-2026 13:00
  Almost all of the sandy stretches on the country’s 8,000km of coastline are run for profit. Now ‘free beach’ campaigners are fighting back against the mafia, the military and those profiteering from sun loungers and cocktailsWalking along Italian beaches is like strolling through a rainbow. The sand will be subdivided into colours: for 50 metres or so the perfectly spaced parasols and deck chairs will be all red, then they become orange, then yellow, green and so on.These
  
  Read more

• How Trump and his administration have mired the US in multiple crises

  19-07-2026 13:00
  From manufactured election insecurity to an outbreak of ‘explosive’ diarrhea, Americans are bearing the brunt of harmful policiesBetween widespread cuts to vital government agencies, various disease and illness outbreaks, and new environmental disaster vulnerabilities, the United States is facing a convergence of crises with widespread repercussions.Yet the Trump administration has hamstrung the federal government from addressing these crises – and in some cases is actively fan
  
  Read more

• Perseid meteors to light up night sky in one of the year's most active showers

  19-07-2026 10:22 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The Perseid meteor shower will light up the night sky over the next five weeks.
  
  Read more

• Sex-loving hookworms and other peculiar parasites: one man’s mission to champion nature’s villains

  19-07-2026 08:00
  Award-winning entomologist Dino Martins, known for his work on pollinators, shows in his latest book that even the most gruesome creatures have vital roles to playDino J Martins has never been able to resist the small things. The renowned entomologist and evolutionary biologist spent his formative years in biodiversity-rich western Kenya with his foster parents, Joe and Sarah Ellen, looking at birds, flowers and insects on Mt Elgon, and in Kakamega forest and Kerio valley.He was especially trans
  
  Read more

• The hidden cost of the night shift and how to sleep it off

  19-07-2026 02:01 via bbc.co.uk
  
  More than three million people in the UK work night shifts, which can greatly impact their health. What can be done to help them?
  
  Read more

Follow @UK_Environment on Twitter!