Environment news

• Hope for Hanoi? New bus system could cut pollution … if enough people use it

  18-02-2017 11:58
  
  A new $53m BRT (bus rapid transit) system has the power to reduce Hanoi’s dreadful air pollution. Persuading residents of Vietnam’s rapidly expanding capital to ditch their motorbikes and private cars, however, will be another storyFrom his high-rise office building in Hanoi, Tran Dung can barely see his city’s skyline behind the thick layer of smog. Before leaving work, the 25-year-old executive assistant checks the pollution reading on his AirVisual app, which provides real-t
  
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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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• 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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• Britain’s biggest community solar farm forced to shut over grid overload fears

  12-07-2026 16:00
  Timing of Devon switchoff ‘could not be worse’, says board, as members face an estimated £2m in lost revenue Britain’s biggest community solar project has been forced to shut for the duration of its first summer by the government’s energy system operator to avoid overloading the local grid with renewable energy.The north Devon solar farm was ordered to shut weeks before record high temperatures across Europe led to power supply warnings, due to concerns that the lar
  
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• ‘We plant belonging’: how nature charities and asylum seekers work together in UK countryside

  12-07-2026 15:00
  
  Environmental and refugee groups have joined forces to benefit lives and wildlife in Wales and elsewhereShielding his eyes from the blinding midday sun, Abdullah, a Sudanese asylum seeker, gazes out at the expanse of green in Tŷ Mawr country park in north Wales.“This place is so beautiful,” he says. “It feels a very long way from the Home Office.” Continue reading...
  
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• Readers reply: Why put solar panels on green space when we could put them over car parks?

  12-07-2026 15:00
  The long-running series in which readers answer other readers’ questions on subjects ranging from trivial flights of fancy to profound scientific and philosophical conceptsThis week’s question: Why is there no rugby culture in Germany?I would like to know why we build solar farms over green space, when we could just put them over massive car parks as a popular current internet meme suggests. Chris, MiddlesbroughSend new questions to [email protected]. Continue reading...
  
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• ‘Huge wave’ of carbon storage projects causes alarm in small-town USA as oil firms eye billions in subsidies

  12-07-2026 14:00
  Dozens of projects are in development across US despite concerns over environmental and health risksThe plan to bury carbon under remote Indiana farmland is supposed to be a slam dunk for the climate, according to its supporters – all generously funded by US tax dollars.But as far as Melissa Harrison and some other residents of Clymers, Indiana, are concerned, it just might be the end of their town. “This is our place,” she says. Generations of her family are buried in the ceme
  
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• China evacuates nearly two million people as powerful typhoon makes landfall

  12-07-2026 09:39 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Schools, work and outdoor activities have been suspended in Zhejiang province and many transport services cancelled.
  
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• ‘Super’ El Niño could cause global food price shock lasting into 2028, analysts say

  12-07-2026 09:00
  Weather cycle threatens harvests worldwide, adding to inflation already fuelled by the Iran warEconomists are warning that a “super” El Niño weather cycle this year could cause a severe shock to global food prices lasting into 2028.As the Iran war pushes up world food prices to the highest level in three years, economists said supply chains faced “two shocks at once” stoked by extreme weather linked to global heating. Continue reading...
  
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• Alderney set to welcome Britain in Bloom judges

  12-07-2026 08:27 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Alderney is set to represent the Bailiwick of Guernsey in the national Royal Horticultural Society awards.
  
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