Environment news

• Exclusive - Isabel dos Santos pledges transparency, efficiency at Angolan state oil giant

  09-06-2016 20:11
  By Ed Cropley LUANDA (Reuters) - Angolan state energy giant Sonangol is spinning off non-core investments in areas such as banking and real estate into a separate fund to allow it to focus exclusively on oil, new CEO Isabel dos Santos said on Thursday. In her first interview since being appointed last week, the daughter of Angola President Jose Eduardo dos Santos also pledged to bring openness and efficiency to the 40-year-old company that is frequently criticised as opaque and unwieldy. Dos San
  
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• England risks building new ‘death traps’ as experts warn of overheating crisis

  15-07-2026 08:00
  
  Vulnerable people more at risk as research finds only half of local authority plans require cooling strategiesEngland risks constructing a new generation of “death trap” buildings that can fatally overheat unless the government tightens standards and prioritises climate safeguards, planning experts have said.Fears are growing about the plight of vulnerable people in heatwaves, with research this week suggesting that 2,700 people had died in the May and June heatwaves in England and W
  
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• Drivers charging electric cars handed shock parking fines

  15-07-2026 08:00
  
  EV owners were sent hefty PCNs but say some signs in private car parks fail to warn of fees to park and recharge carDoes refuelling your car class as parking? The answer appears to be yes if it’s an electric vehicle. Guardian Money has been contacted by several readers who were fined after charging their cars away from home.The motorists report being caught out by signs that fail to make clear that charging points are subject to parking tariffs or to store opening times. Also, they ha
  
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• Plantwatch: Beware a tasty mushroom with a powerful hallucinogen

  15-07-2026 07:00
  Anyone eating Lanmaoa asiatica could have visions for days of tiny people running and jumping aroundLanmaoa asiatica is a bolete mushroom, prized for its delicious taste and hugely popular in Yunnan province, China, where it is found growing in a symbiotic relationship with pine trees. But anyone eating the mushroom needs to be careful because it also gives hallucinations of lots of tiny people about 2cm tall wearing brightly coloured clothes, all jumping, running, climbing and being generally p
  
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• Country diary: The rewards of sloping off down an old railway line | Derek Niemann

  15-07-2026 06:30
  Frome, Somerset: I feel like a walking carriage, trundling down Colliers Way, glimpsing hedgerows and hayfields and, best of all, one of the original tracksIf there is such a thing as a level playing field in the Mendip Hills, I have yet to find it. Not one street has “Rise” in its name, for nigh on every road has a rise (and fall). Folk here walk, run and cycle up the steepest of climbs. The former Guardian journalist Matthew Engel once interviewed an elderly yet sprightly man in a
  
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• ‘Unprecedented’ changes in UK climate are normalising extremes, report says

  15-07-2026 01:01
  
  Annual State of the UK Climate analysis finds last four years in UK are in top five hottest on recordThe UK’s climatic extremes are becoming increasingly normal, a report has found, with last year the hottest on record and further “unprecedented changes” likely to break the record again soon.Data stretching back to 1884 shows the UK has never experienced a year as hot as 2025, according to the annual State of the UK Climate report, with temperatures pushed to dizzying heights b
  
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• Seven Britons among 12 foreign nationals killed in Spain’s deadly wildfires

  15-07-2026 00:38
  Fire broke out last Thursday in the southeastern province of Almería, which is home to many foreign residents
  Seven Britons are among 12 foreign nationals killed in wildfires in southern Spain, authorities said.Officials said 12 of the 13 victims were foreign nationals after completing postmortem examinations after the fires that swept through Andalusia. Continue reading...
  
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• Andy Burnham must act fast on the climate – or risk getting stuck in a ‘derailment’ doom loop | Laurie Laybourn

  14-07-2026 18:51
  Around the world, climate-sceptic parties are exploiting floods and fires to make political capital. Without urgent changes, this deadly spiral will continueRecent unprecedented heatwaves in the UK may have killed thousands of people. Children are suffering in overheating schools. NHS trusts are straining under record-breaking demand. This all comes after climate extremes have even affected national security, with three of Britain’s five worst harvests coming since 2020, impairing food sec
  
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• California faces highest shark numbers in years as great whites head north

  14-07-2026 16:00
  El Niño climate phenomenon heating waters off Mexico but incidents with humans remain a rarityCalifornia is set to see one of its sharkiest summers in a decade, with large numbers of juvenile great whites already on a reverse vacation from the warm waters of Mexico to cooler pastures along the western United States.The marine predator has become more common along the west coast in recent years, with stories of surfers seeing underwater behemoths closer to shore and scientists saying swimm
  
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• Inside the secret Laos shops selling pangolin scales, bear bile and tiger bones to tourists

  14-07-2026 13:17
  Covert footage obtained by the Guardian shows how crime networks are using front souvenir shops to hide a booming wildlife trade targeted at a new influx of Chinese touristsThe shop is dark and deserted. Though the door is open, there is clearly no expectation of any customers walking in off the street. Visits are likely by appointment and from a specific clientele. This shop is part of an organised crime network. What is being sold is highly illegal and incredibly unethical.Anyone wandering in
  
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• Undercover in Laos: how Chinese tourism fuels animal trafficking – video

  14-07-2026 13:00
  Chinese tourism is booming in Laos and the illegal wildlife trade is booming with it. Pangolin scales, rhino horn and elephant ivory are all being sold at secret shops and restaurants as a new high-speed rail line brings millions of visitors to the country. Working with Chinese activists, the Guardian goes undercover to investigate the criminal networks profiting from this trade and to reveal how wildlife trafficking is pushing the critically endangered pangolin ever closer to extinction Continu
  
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• Giving nature a say: why Scottish marine scientists appointed the ocean to their board

  14-07-2026 08:00
  As the rights of nature are increasingly being recognised, the Scottish Association for Marine Science is the latest organisation to make the ocean a trusteeIn a boardroom in an office building in Oban, a picturesque town on the west coast of Scotland, trustees attending meetings have long been able to see the breaking waves of the Atlantic through the windows. But since last month, the ocean has also been present in the room, with an unusual new initiative ensuring that it now has a say on deci
  
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• Can you spot the poacher’s handprint? Earth Photo award winners – in pictures

  14-07-2026 08:00
  From scientific tricks to stop turtle traffickers to stranded seals and displaced workers, these images all scooped prizes at this year’s Earth Photo awards Continue reading...
  
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• Most UK media reports on June heatwave failed to mention climate crisis

  14-07-2026 07:00
  
  Exclusive: Analysis of nearly 2,500 articles finds almost three-quarters made no reference to global heatingMost of the UK media stories about the record-breaking heatwave that struck in June failed to mention the climate crisis, analysis has found.Nearly 2,500 articles about the extreme heat – when temperatures topped 37C, a record for the time of year – appeared in the UK’s nine main national daily media publications. But nearly three-quarters of them – about 72% &ndash
  
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• Country diary: Spot the young hare – they know how to make it hard | Ed Douglas

  14-07-2026 06:30
  Eyam Moor, Derbyshire: I go in search of a leveret, which is a tricky business. For them, subterfuge is key to survivalHigh on Eyam Moor, there was no shortage of things to look at. Meadow vetch and lady’s bedstraw had turned the trackside a vibrant yellow. The moor itself glittered white with heath bedstraw, over which small heath butterflies fluttered restlessly. The rich and ceaseless accompaniment to this was a skylark overhead, and as I approached the farmhouse and the stand of sycamo
  
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• Who is ‘stealing’ Bali’s water? How tourism siphoned off a prized resource

  14-07-2026 06:00
  Along with the rice fields, a centuries-old infrastructure that treated water as a gift to be shared is disappearing I Putu Partayasa pushes his fingers into the soil as he squats at the edge of a rice terrace. They come up dry. His field has water; his neighbour’s does not. “We have a big problem in the dry season,” he says. “Fifteen years ago, we have water every day. But today it’s getting less.”The 52-year-old, who goes by the name Parta, is lucky because
  
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• Lancashire chemicals factory facing potential legal claim announces closure

  13-07-2026 20:05
  More than 90 residents have expressed interest in contamination claim against AGC Chemicals EuropeA Pfas factory in Lancashire has announced plans to close down, just days after the Guardian revealed that more than 90 residents had signed up to be involved in a potential legal claim over contamination of the local area.AGC Chemicals Europe is consulting with employees and their union representatives about plans to cease operations at its manufacturing plant in Thornton-Cleveleys, Lancashire. The
  
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• UK in ‘firewave’ as extreme heat provides ideal conditions for wildfires, experts warn

  13-07-2026 18:19
  National Fire Chiefs Council say emergency services dealing with 19 wildfires across Britain, many near urban areasThe UK is in the grip of a “firewave”, as the summer’s extreme heat produces the ideal conditions for wildfires, scientists and environmentalists have warned.A particular danger was that more blazes seem to be taking place closer to urban areas rather than in remote countryside, causing hazards to homes and health, they said. Continue reading...
  
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• British couple named among 13 killed in Spanish wildfires

  13-07-2026 17:54
  Pete and Fran Gillam confirmed dead as authorities use DNA samples to identify victims of blaze in AlmeríaA British couple have been named among the 13 people killed by wildfires in Spain, as authorities race to use DNA to identify victims who were unable to escape the blaze.Pete and Fran Gillam, who lived in Bédar, the village that bore the brunt of the wildfires on Thursday, were confirmed dead by their family. Continue reading...
  
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• Hello from the outside: heat domes impeding radio and other signals in US midwest

  13-07-2026 17:00
  Higher temperatures can cause radio, TV and microwave signals to travel hundreds of miles farther, upsetting communicationsIt was 3am in north-east Indiana’s Huntington county when the outdoor emergency alarm went off on 1 July.The only issue? There wasn’t a storm, tornado or any other emergency weather event forecast or present anywhere for hundreds of miles. Continue reading...
  
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• ‘As if a hurricane had passed’: Puerto Ricans at breaking point after weeks without water

  13-07-2026 16:00
  
  Shortages triggered by pipeline rupture drive up costs and deepen frustrations, as pressure grows on water utilityJonathan Collazo owns two restaurants in a bustling section of San Juan, which has been plagued by water outages, severely disrupting the daily lives of residents and businesses alike.The water scarcity is part of an escalating frustration felt by thousands of customers of Puerto Rico’s water utility over the past several months, prompting the governor to activate the national
  
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• First came the dead fish, then invasive plants. A year later and Lake Suchitlán’s pollution remains a mystery

  13-07-2026 15:00
  Fishers on El Salvador’s largest lake are still looking for answers after the die-off, with no explanation provided by the governmentFrom the village of Copapayo, Noel Avalos recalls the morning they ran to the shore of Lake Suchitlán, El Salvador’s main hydroelectric reservoir, also known as Cerrón Grande, and its largest body of freshwater, to find thousands of dead fish had washed up overnight.By August 2025, nearly 70% of the lake’s 135 sq km (33,000 acres) su
  
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• A journey down one of the last wild rivers in the American west: ‘The bullseye will always be on its back’

  13-07-2026 15:00
  As US water wars rage, a tributary of the Colorado River faces unprecedented pressure. Visitors worry how long this aquatic ‘relict’ will lastOn an early morning in mid-May, a group of near strangers shoved camping gear and clothes into waterproof bags, slathered on sunscreen, and ambled into the bright-yellow rafts that would carry them down one of the last free-flowing rivers in the American west.Unhindered by large dams or diversions, the Yampa curves across 250 miles (400km) of a
  
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• Plan to restore nature in England by 2030 criticised as ‘completely insufficient’

  13-07-2026 13:27
  Critics accuse ministers of failing to take control of nature crisis and leaving it to private landowners to act voluntarilyThe government’s plan to protect and restore nature in England by 2030 has been condemned as “pathetic” and “completely insufficient” in the face of the spiralling environmental crisis.The long-awaited plan published on Monday calls for landowners to voluntarily opt to protect and enhance nature, rather than creating legal protections for natur
  
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• Weather tracker: Unusually warm rivers affect French nuclear power plants

  13-07-2026 12:53
  High temperatures and below average rainfall put pressure on waterways used to cool reactorsAbove average temperatures combined with below average rainfall across much of western and central Europe during June and the first half of July have placed increasing pressure on rivers, ecosystems and energy infrastructure. Persistent high pressure brought prolonged sunshine, suppressed rainfall and enhanced evaporation, causing river levels to fall and water temperatures to increase.These unusually war
  
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• Firefighting planes scrambled from south of France to tackle huge wildfire near Paris

  13-07-2026 11:34
  Officials say blaze in Fontainebleau forest is of ‘exceptional scale’, with 900 homes evacuated and road and rail links hitEurope live – latest updatesFirefighters are tackling a blaze of unprecedented scale sweeping through Fontainebleau forest south-east of Paris.The fire began late on Sunday afternoon in the one-time royal hunting preserve about 40 miles (60km) from the capital, which today is dotted with villages. The blaze, which is unusual in its proximity to Paris, raced
  
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• May and June heatwaves killed about 2,700 people in England and Wales, data suggests

  13-07-2026 07:00
  Extreme heat led to 440 deaths a day during June peak, say scientists, with climate crisis ramping up temperaturesThe heatwave that affected England and Wales in June killed about 440 people a day during its three-day peak, scientists have estimated. Across the whole of the June heatwave, plus the one in May, about 2,700 people lost their lives prematurely.The data starkly illustrates the danger of extreme heat, which is being supercharged by the climate crisis. More than 40% of the people affec
  
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• Country diary: Phacelia is the most useful plant – I always have a packet for my garden | Susie White

  13-07-2026 06:30
  Allendale, Northumberland: Farmers use it as cover crop, and I sow it into bare soil – but not before I’ve had a close look at its stunning detailsCupped by bristly sepals, the five-petalled flowers of phacelia flare open at the tips, drawing insects to their abundant nectar and blue pollen. Hoverflies, honeybees, parasitic wasps, solitary bees and bumblebees – there’s life all around me as I hunker down among the plants.I always have a ready packet of Phac
  
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• ‘No matter how bad, it is always fixable’: how Bea Elton cleans up the houses – and lives – of desperate people

  13-07-2026 06:00
  
  She has built an unlikely career in mould, maggots and excrement, cleaning for those who most need it. It can take months building trust with a stranger, before she and her boyfriend go in and transform everything‘There might be a dead bird in the box room. We think it has been there for a couple of years,” says Bea Elton, raising her voice to be heard through her respirator. It is particularly robust, as she has a dust and cat hair allergy. “Not ideal,” in her line of wo
  
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• Britain’s cars and SUVs are growing bigger – but there is a way to stop this deadly ‘carspreading’ | Christian Wolmar

  12-07-2026 17:30
  Larger vehicles crowd our roads and are far more dangerous to pedestrians. Let’s curb them before they do even more damageWe need an Ozempic for cars. They are growing at a phenomenal rate, wreaking havoc on the roads, squeezing out smaller vehicles in car parks and endangering pedestrians.Like ever-hungry teenagers, cars in Europe are growing, on average, a centimetre wider every year, according to new research reported by the Guardian. And fewer than half of new cars in the UK can fit in
  
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