Environment news

• ‘Food and fossil fuel production causing $5bn of environmental damage an hour’

  09-12-2025 10:00
  UN GEO report says ending this harm key to global transformation required ‘before collapse becomes inevitable’The unsustainable production of food and fossil fuels causes $5bn (£3.8bn) of environmental damage per hour, according to a major UN report.Ending this harm was a key part of the global transformation of governance, economics and finance required “before collapse becomes inevitable”, the experts said. Continue reading...
  
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• Snakes, spiders and rare birds seized by Border Force in month-long operation

  11-12-2025 07:00
  
  Wildlife smuggling is serious organised crime that ‘fuels corruption and drives species to extinction’, Home Office saysMore than 250 endangered species and illegal wildlife products were seized at the UK border in a single month, new figures have revealed, including spiders, snakes and birds.The illicit cargo was uncovered as part of an annual crackdown on wildlife smuggling known as Operation Thunder, which is led by Interpol and the World Customs Organisation. Continue reading...
  
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• Endoscopy finds Neanderthal noses not as adapted to the cold as expected

  11-12-2025 07:00
  Study on skull of Altamura Man could be blow to adaptation theories about Neanderthals and their extinctionOne sign of a really cold day is the sharp sting of freezing air in your nose. It was believed that the noses of Neanderthals were better adapted to breathing the cold air of the Ice Age and that when the climate became warmer they were outcompeted by modern humans. This is now being questioned.The opening in the Neanderthal skull is bigger than ours, with a larger nasal cavity behind it. T
  
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• Country diary: A lifelong love affair with common scoters | Mary Montague

  11-12-2025 06:30
  Tyrella Beach, County Down: These fine ducks are tricky to spot from the shore, but I feel lucky to be seeing them at allThe common scoter has long haunted the edges of my mind. I think of this handsome duck migrating from its summer breeding grounds in the boreal lakelands of Scandinavia. I watch for the tattered ribbons of its flight formations arriving to winter along this coast. I scrutinise the sea for flocks far offshore.Because even here in Dundrum Bay, where large winter flocks gather, a
  
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• Shell facing first UK legal claim over climate impacts of fossil fuels

  11-12-2025 01:20 via bbc.com
  Survivors of a deadly typhoon in the Philippines have filed a claim against the UK's largest oil company.
  
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• A dead whale shows up on your beach. What do you do with the 40-ton carcass?

  10-12-2025 17:00
  A fin whale washed ashore in Anchorage and was left there for months. Then a self-described ‘wacko’ museum director made a planWhen a whale dies, its body descends to the bottom of the deep sea in a transformative phenomenon called a whale fall. A whale’s death jump-starts an explosion of life, enough to feed and sustain a deep-ocean ecosystem for decades.There are a lot of ways whales can die. Migrating whales lose their way and, unable to find their way back from unfamiliar w
  
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• A tribute to resilience: what we can learn from the splendour of Accra Cultural Week

  10-12-2025 15:46
  Ghana’s capital is a party and entertainment hub but members of the diaspora would do well to experience its spectacular art scene• Don’t get The Long Wave delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereAfter more than 50 editions surfing across the waves of the global Black diaspora with Nesrine, this will be my final dispatch for the Long Wave, as I move on to a new role on the Opinion desk at the Guardian. I am heartbroken to be leaving, but I am so thankful to all of our readers for b
  
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• How monogamous are humans? Scientists compile 'league table' of pairing up

  10-12-2025 08:11 via bbc.com
  When it comes to monogamy, humans more closely resemble meerkats and beavers than our primate cousins.
  
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• Synthetic chemicals in food system creating health burden of $2.2tn a year, report finds

  10-12-2025 07:00
  Scientists issue urgent warning about chemicals, found to cause cancer and infertility as well as harming environmentScientists have issued an urgent warning that some of the synthetic chemicals that help underpin the current food system are driving increased rates of cancer, neurodevelopmental conditions and infertility, while degrading the foundations of global agriculture.The health burden from phthalates, bisphenols, pesticides and Pfas “forever chemicals” amounts to up to $2.2tn
  
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• Birdwatch: a rare winter sighting of the short-eared owl

  10-12-2025 07:00
  Once fairly frequent winter visitors to southern England, they now stay close to their northern breeding groundsAn owl? Or just a gatepost? In my experience, it’s usually a gatepost. So as I drove home across the Somerset Levels, returning from my first starling murmuration of the year, I was convinced that the owl-shaped lump a few yards away was just that. It was also dark brown, unlike the barn owls I sometimes see, which glow like beacons long after sunset.Stopping the car, I lifted my
  
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• Country diary: An unlikely job for a farmer – preserving a roman fort | Andrea Meanwell

  10-12-2025 06:30
  Tebay, Cumbria: We have 30 acres of Roman remains underground here, but thanks to recent storms and a redirected river, I fear they’re not safeToday I am out in freezing temperatures photographing a riverbank. Mist, which we call “clag”, swirls over the higher ground and I cannot see any of our livestock that are overwintering on the hills.The reason I’ve turned photographer may come as a surprise: on Low Borrowbridge farm we have a Roman fort and civilian settl
  
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• ‘Even the animals seem confused’: a retreating Kashmir glacier is creating an entire new world in its wake

  10-12-2025 05:00
  Kolahoi is one of many glaciers whose decline is disrupting whole ecosystems – water, wildlife and human life that it has supported for centuriesFrom the slopes above Pahalgam, the Kolahoi glacier is visible as a thinning, rumpled ribbon of ice stretching across the western Himalayas. Once a vast white artery feeding rivers, fields and forests, it is now retreating steadily, leaving bare rock, crevassed ice and newly exposed alpine meadows.The glacier’s meltwater has sustained paddy
  
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• Iain Douglas-Hamilton, pioneering elephant conservationist, dies aged 83

  10-12-2025 04:37 via bbc.com
  His groundbreaking field research was instrumental in banning the international ivory trade and protecting elephants from poachers.
  
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• It’s two years since we were told ‘the age of fossil fuels will end’. When will Australia get prepared for what’s coming? | Clear Air

  10-12-2025 00:26
  The decline of the coal export industry could come even faster than expected, and we need to do more to manage the economic risksWant to get this in your inbox when it publishes? Sign up for the Clear Air Australia newsletter hereThe year is winding down and for some Australians that means thinking about Christmas or the beach. For others, it will mean considering how they will cope with the next heatwave or bushfire. Already, two states have been burning.The least bold prediction for the summer
  
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• The nine best eco-friendly holiday decor in the US to celebrate with less waste

  09-12-2025 21:15
  We found reusable wrapping clothes, garlands made from invasive species, and solar-powered lights that you’ll want to use season after seasonNine eco-minded gifts for Americans that actually make a differenceSign up for the Filter US newsletter, your weekly guide to buying fewer, better thingsThe holiday season is a time for joy, togetherness and generosity, but it can also be a time for overflowing waste bins. According to Oklahoma State University, families tend to generate about 25% mor
  
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• The Guardian view on waste: the festive season is a good time to think about rubbish | Editorial

  09-12-2025 19:49
  Weak regulation is to blame for disastrous failures in relation to pollution. But there are solutions if people get behind themA study suggesting that as many as 168m light-up Christmas ornaments and similar items could be thrown out in a single year, in the UK, is concerning if not surprising in light of longstanding challenges around recycling rates and waste reduction. Even if the actual figure is lower, there is no question that battery-powered and electrical toys, lights and gifts are proli
  
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• The 20 best gifts in the US for people who love the outdoors, tested in nature by our expert

  09-12-2025 16:28
  Wondering what to get the nature lover in your life? Our outdoor enthusiast curates the must-haves: Loop earplugs, Yeti Rambler and moreThe 163 best holiday gift ideas for 2025, vetted by the Guardian US staffSign up for the Filter US newsletter, your weekly guide to buying fewer, better thingsWhether you know someone who camps every weekend or just enjoys morning coffee outside, you already know: outdoorsy people can be particular about their gear. They want to stay both comfortable and safe in
  
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• Houseplant hacks: can grow lights help plants during winter?

  09-12-2025 11:00
  As the days grow shorter and darkness descends, tropical varieties can struggle. But there’s a clever fix that nature can’t provideThe problem
  In the dark days of winter, the whole house is darker, days are shorter, skies are greyer and our tropical houseplants receive far less light than they would in their natural habitat. Leaves fade and growth slows as plants struggle to photosynthesise.The hack
  Grow lights offer a clever fix, topping up what nature can’t provide. But with
  
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• UN environment report 'hijacked' by US and others over fossil fuels, top scientist says

  09-12-2025 10:00 via bbc.com
  The US and other governments derailed an agreement on a global environment study, its co-chair says.
  
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• UK households bin 168m Christmas lights and ‘fast tech’ items a year

  09-12-2025 09:00
  Consumers spent £1.7bn on festive lighting last year and much of it is treated as disposableUK households have thrown away an estimated 168m light-up Christmas items and other “fast-tech” gifts over the past year, a study suggests.The research by the non-profit group Material Focus found about £1.7bn was spent last year on Christmas lighting, including 39m sets of fairy lights. Continue reading...
  
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• Caribbean reefs have lost 48% of hard coral since 1980, study finds

  09-12-2025 07:00
  ‘Destructive’ marine heatwaves driving loss of microalgae that feed coral, says Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network Caribbean reefs have half as much hard coral now as they did in 1980, a study has found.The 48% decrease in coral cover has been driven by climate breakdown, specifically marine heatwaves. They affect the microalgae that feed coral, making them toxic and forcing the coral to expel them. Continue reading...
  
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• Country diary: A close encounter with a buzzard – but something’s not quite right | Ed Douglas

  09-12-2025 06:30
  Hargatewall, Derbyshire: Cycling towards a frosty Kinder Scout, I was waylaid by a raptor so settled she wouldn’t even move for a passing tractorNorth of Hargatewall, the country has an austere quality, a high limestone plateau with a tracery of walls the colour of old bones dividing oblongs of pasture. The hamlet’s name has nothing to do with gates or walls. It’s derived from Old English words meaning “herd farm by the spring” – a clue to the deep roots that
  
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• It’s the world’s rarest ape. Now a billion-dollar dig for gold threatens its future

  09-12-2025 06:00
  Tapanuli orangutans survive only in Indonesia’s Sumatran rainforest where a mine expansion will cut through their home. Yet the mining company says the alternative will be worseA small brown line snakes its way through the rainforest in northern Sumatra, carving 300 metres through dense patches of meranti trees, oak and mahua. Picked up by satellites, the access road – though modest now – will soon extend 2km to connect with the Tor Ulu Ala pit, an expansion site of Indonesia&r
  
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• 2025 ‘virtually certain’ to be second- or third-hottest year on record, EU data shows

  09-12-2025 04:00
  Copernicus deputy director says three-year average for 2023 to 2025 on track to exceed 1.5C of heating for first timeThis year is “virtually certain” to end as the second- or third-hottest year on record, EU scientists have found, as climate breakdown continues to push the planet away from the stable conditions in which humanity evolved.Global temperatures from January to November were on average 1.48C higher than preindustrial levels, according to the Copernicus, the EU’s eart
  
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• The Guardian view on solar geoengineering: Africa has a point about this risky technology | Editorial

  08-12-2025 19:08
  Sun-dimming risks putting the planet’s thermostat under Donald Trump’s control. Better to adopt the precautionary principle with high-stakes scienceIt is fitting that this week’s UN environment talks are in Nairobi, with Africa shaping the global climate conversation. The continent’s diplomats are dealing with the vexed question of whether it is wise to try to cool the planet by dimming the sun’s rays. While not on the formal summit agenda, on the sidelines they are
  
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• Cornish activist injured as police remove her from tree-felling protest

  08-12-2025 18:30
  Charity worker had joined 40 demonstrators ‘bearing witness’ to the loss of three lime trees in FalmouthA charity worker suffered a head injury when police tried to remove her from a protest against trees being felled in a Cornish seaside town.Debs Newman, 60, was “bearing witness” to the loss of three mature lime trees in Falmouth when she was seized by officers. Continue reading...
  
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• White storks to make historic return to London in 2026

  08-12-2025 15:00
  Species extinct as breeding birds in Britain since 1416 to be reintroduced in Barking and Dagenham as part of rewilding effortAbove the roar of traffic, the rumble of the tube and the juddering construction noise of a towering new datacentre in Dagenham, east London, will soon rise a beautiful and unlikely melody: the bill-clattering of white storks.The birds will next year make a historic return to the UK capital as part of an ambitious rewilding effort to bring charismatic nature into busy cit
  
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• ‘I’m a prisoner of hope’: Olafur Eliasson on using art to bring us together to save the world

  08-12-2025 15:00
  Inside Presence, the Icelandic-Danish artist’s epic new show in Brisbane, what you see changes based on where you stand or how you look – crucial when it comes to tackling the climate crisisI gasp as it comes into view: an enormous sun looming above, its surface roiling with what looks like thousands of tiny atomic explosions. It seems to notice me as well: when I stop, it stops too. It’s both awe-inspiring and unnerving.In the mirrors around the glowing orb, I spot Icelandic-D
  
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• Canada’s environmental ‘realism’ looks more like surrender | Tzeporah Berman

  08-12-2025 14:00
  At a time when the UK and other countries are finally taking bold steps for climate, Canada is preparing a new oil pipelineLast week, the United Kingdom did something all too rare: it chose leadership by backing science and prioritizing public safety. The Labour government announced it would ban new oil and gas licences in the North Sea, strengthen a windfall tax and accelerate phasing out of fossil-fuel subsidies.These are not symbolic gestures. They are an acknowledgment that the global energy
  
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• Weather tracker: Atmospheric rivers to bring heavy rain and snow to Pacific north-west

  08-12-2025 13:05
  Flood and weather alerts in place across western half of region as parts of Iraq and Iran also face significant rainWeather alerts are in effect across the Pacific north-west this week as a series of atmospheric rivers are forecast to deliver multiple rainfall events and heavy mountain snow from western British Columbia in Canada, to Washington and Oregon in the US.More than 200mm (8ins) of rainfall is expected across the western half of Washington state and north-west Oregon by Friday, with bet
  
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