Environment news

• McDonald's unveils plan to phase-out plastic straws

  29-03-2018 11:00
  McDonald's will start phasing out plastic straws from UK restaurants from May, with the fast food giant ready to trial paper and biodegradable alternatives in response to consumer demand.
  
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• The Guardian view on the Nepal-Tibet floods: prepare for more climate-linked disasters | Editorial

  27-08-2026 19:40 via theguardian.com
  Medicine, food and other supplies are the urgent priority. But the rising risks from shrinking glaciers must be faced tooThousands of people in Nepal and Tibet are in desperate need of emergency assistance following Wednesday’s disaster. With 360 people confirmed dead, more than 1,300 others are still missing as search and rescue operations continue. The precise sequence of events linking glacier collapse to flash floods is yet to be confirmed. But there is no doubting the enormous destruc
  
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• The Guardian view on energy costs: vulnerable households need help with their bills | Editorial

  27-08-2026 19:39 via theguardian.com
  Soaring prices are plunging struggling families into debt. The government must support them in the short term as it invests in a clean energy futureFuelled by the consequences of Donald Trump’s disastrous war on Iran, household energy debt in Britain is continuing to soar, rising to a record £6bn by the end of June. That figure is set to hit £7bn by the end of the year, as the government’s cap on gas and electricity prices goes up to a three-year high in October. The huma
  
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• ‘Tsunami from the sky:’ floods leave trail of devastation in Nepal and Tibet - The Latest

  27-08-2026 18:47 via theguardian.com
  Hundreds of people are missing or have been killed after a catastrophic flash flood hit Nepal and Tibet on Wednesday. Entire villages have been destroyed, many of which are popular pilgrimage and trekking destinations for tourists. Lucy Hough talks to global editor Devika Bhat about how the devastating event unfolded Continue reading...
  
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• Homes damaged as storms follow heatwaves in England and Wales

  27-08-2026 16:28 via theguardian.com
  Environment Agency issues 40 flood alerts across Midlands, Yorkshire and south-east of EnglandDozens of homes have been damaged by flooding and the Met Office had issued warnings for thunderstorms and heavy rain at the end of a summer in which most of England and the whole of Wales was declared in drought.The Met Office said thundery showers in England and Wales could cause 75mm of rain to fall in just 12 hours in some areas. Continue reading...
  
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• Nepal flash flood: more than 350 killed amid warning of fresh danger from rising lake water – latest updates

  27-08-2026 14:45 via theguardian.com
  Authorities say water rising at lake at site of disaster and it could burstNearly 1,400 missing, mostly tourists, and hundreds killedVisual guide: how the deadly flooding unfoldedTell us: have you been affected by the flash floods?Eyewitness accounts have been emerging from the Tibetan side of the border, with a woman saying she was travelling from Gyirong town towards Nepal on Wednesday morning when her group encountered the flood about 4km from Gyirong port.“Trees and electricity poles h
  
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• Nearly 1,400 missing, mostly tourists, after Nepal-Tibet flash flood kills at least 356

  27-08-2026 14:41 via theguardian.com
  Entire villages swept away after glacial collapse triggers flood in mountainous region popular with trekkers and pilgrimsNepal-Tibet flash flood – latest updatesHave you been affected by the flash floods?Rescuers are searching for nearly 1,400 people, most of them tourists, who are missing after a catastrophic flash flood hit Nepal and Tibet, thundering down valleys, obliterating entire villages and killing at least 356 people.Efforts to locate those missing – including hundreds of p
  
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• A Britain of wildfires and flood risks: be sure, the climate crisis is real, and we will deal with it | Angela Eagle

  27-08-2026 14:05 via theguardian.com
  Reform and the Conservatives are willing to mislead the public, but as environment secretary, I believe we must be honest – and act boldlyThis long, hot summer has brought our third drought in five years and the driest July in almost two centuries. We’ve seen wildfires burn down homes and now face the risk of flash floods as we move into autumn. It should be a wake-up call for those saying that concerns about the climate crisis are overblown; that we should simply sit back and do not
  
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• Nearly 1,400 missing, mostly tourists, after Nepal-Tibet flash flood kills at least 270

  27-08-2026 11:50 via theguardian.com
  Entire villages swept away after glacial collapse triggers flood in mountainous region popular with trekkers and pilgrimsNepal-Tibet flash flood – latest updatesWhat we know so farHave you been affected by the flash floods?Rescuers are searching for nearly 1,400 people, most of them tourists, who are missing after a catastrophic flash flood hit Nepal and Tibet, thundering down valleys, obliterating entire villages and killing at least 270 people.Efforts to locate those missing – incl
  
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• How decoding beluga whales’ chitchat may save them – and teach us more about ourselves

  27-08-2026 11:02 via theguardian.com
  From humpbacks learning the latest songs to sperm whales’ ‘clan codas’, drones and AI learning are helping reveal another dimension to the concept of culture In 2015, the whale researcher Valeria Vergara pitched a small tent at the icy water’s edge on Somerset Island in the remote Canadian high Arctic, shrouded in a freezing fog so thick she struggled to see her own hands. She trailed a cord out to the coast and plopped a hydrophone into the water to record the calls of b
  
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• Nepal flash flood: more than 1,500 missing, mostly tourists, after disaster kills at least 165 at Tibet border

  27-08-2026 08:51 via theguardian.com
  Entire populated areas swept away after glacial collapse causes catastrophic flood in mountainous region popular with trekkers and pilgrimsNepal-Tibet flash flood – latest updatesWhat we know so farHave you been affected by the flash floods?Nearly 1,500 people are missing, the majority of them tourists, authorities have said, after a catastrophic flash flood hit Nepal and Tibet, roaring down valleys and wiping out entire villages, with the preliminary death toll standing at 165.Rescuers ar
  
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• Nearly 1,500 missing, mostly tourists, after Nepal-Tibet flash flood kills at least 165

  27-08-2026 08:51 via theguardian.com
  Entire villages swept away after glacial collapse triggers flood in mountainous region popular with trekkers and pilgrimsNepal-Tibet flash flood – latest updatesWhat we know so farHave you been affected by the flash floods?Nearly 1,500 people are missing, the majority of them tourists, authorities have said, after a catastrophic flash flood hit Nepal and Tibet, roaring down valleys and wiping out entire villages, with the preliminary death toll standing at 165.Rescuers are racing to locate
  
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• Weatherwatch: how to protect our railways in hotter summers

  27-08-2026 07:00 via theguardian.com
  Steel rails warping and signalling equipment failing in metal cabinets are among the problems to be solvedTarmac softens in the summer heat, which may cause problems on the roads, but even trains running on steel rails are not immune.Railways in the UK are generally designed to operate within a 45C temperature range. The rails expand slightly in the heat, and excessive temperatures can produce “sun kink” with rails warping into S-shapes. The effect is small but the distortion can der
  
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• ‘Sad moments ahead’: Kew Gardens to fell rare trees in race to save Victorian greenhouse

  27-08-2026 07:00 via theguardian.com
  Horticulturalists begin moving and propagating plants before the rusty and warped Palm House begins renovation – but some are too tall to saveIt will be a gut-wrenching moment for the horticulturalists at Kew Gardens when some of the magnificent trees in the Palm House have to be felled.“There are some sad moments ahead,” said Palm House manager, Will Spoelstra, who knows all the plants inside the cathedral-like greenhouse. Continue reading...
  
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• ‘Forever chemicals’ surge during pilot of Thames Water plan to combat drought

  27-08-2026 07:00 via theguardian.com
  Exclusive: utility company wants to draw off tens of millions of litres of water a day from Thames and replace it with treated effluentLevels of a toxic “forever chemical” rose to 13 times the legal limit during Thames Water pilots for a controversial multimillion pound water recycling scheme that will pump millions of litres of treated sewage into the River Thames during drought.The data from the pilots is in stark contrast to public comments from Thames Water that their water recyc
  
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• Top of the crops: record heatwaves help deliver bumper UK berry harvest

  27-08-2026 06:00 via theguardian.com
  Investment in climate-resilient irrigation enables this year’s haul to rise 6% on 2025’s already bigger-than-usual yieldBritish farmers have faced a sweltering summer tested by heatwaves, wildfires and water shortages – but a bumper berry harvest could prove a rare bright spot.With two-thirds of the harvest now picked, this year’s haul is 6% up on last year’s already unusually large crop, according to British Berry Growers (BBG). Volumes of blackberries, blueberries
  
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• The flat-pack skyscraper: how wood can shape the cities of the future

  27-08-2026 06:00 via theguardian.com
  Our buildings are monuments to extraction and extreme emissions. But what if we turned from destructive concrete to timber?Last chance to buy the summer issue of The Long Read magazine, now with 15% off. Click here to orderI travelled to Oslo in the early autumn. It felt like arriving into the future. Or, at least, a fragment of a possible future. I drove north in the quiet digital bubble of my electric rental car. In 2024, Norway became the first country in the world where electric cars outnumb
  
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• Japan killed 14,000 bears after a rise in deadly attacks on people – but will it work?

  27-08-2026 06:00 via theguardian.com
  Bears killed 13 people in Japan last year, as a lack of forest foods increased conflicts. Yet some say the country’s controversial cull could threaten the endangered speciesEvery summer, millions of people escape the heat and humidity of Tokyo by heading to the tranquil resort town of Karuizawa in Japan’s Nagano prefecture – just an hour by bullet train from the capital. Here, at the foot of Mount Asama, visitors stroll bamboo-lined pathways, cycle in verdant highlands, and pra
  
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• ​W​hy are European leaders staying silent after our summer of climate shock?

  26-08-2026 16:40 via theguardian.com
  Lethal temperatures ​and wildfires have exposed a widening gulf between voters demanding ​action and politicians unwilling to confront the long-term choices global heating requires• Don’t get This Is Europe delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereThe climate crisis means “we’re going to have to change everything – the way we live, the way we produce, the way we trade,” France’s veteran radical-left firebrand, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, told the s
  
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• 1.3m plastic bottles collected in a day in global volunteer ocean cleanup

  26-08-2026 15:00 via theguardian.com
  Ocean Conservancy says last year’s cleanup collected 13.9m pieces of rubbish from beaches and rivers worldwideMore than 1.3m plastic bottles were collected from beaches, rivers and waterways last year during the world’s largest single-day volunteer ocean cleanup.About 630,000 people took part in the International Coastal Cleanup in 2025, removing almost 13.9m pieces of rubbish from more than 15,000 miles of coastline and waterways. Continue reading...
  
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• ‘You can taste the ash’: surviving in America’s wildfire smoke capital

  26-08-2026 14:00 via theguardian.com
  A magical corner of Oregon has the highest US rate of wildfire smoke deaths. How do residents live with the haze – and grief?Driving into the county, you can’t miss the sign.“IT’S THE CLIMATE”. Continue reading...
  
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• ‘National scandal’: extreme heat linked to 40,000 deaths in England between 1988 and 2025

  26-08-2026 12:55 via theguardian.com
  ONS data shows rising toll of climate crisis, with officials warning this summer on track to set further recordsMore than 40,000 more people died on the hottest days in England between 1988 and 2025 than would be expected in normal temperatures, according to data published by the Office for National Statistics on Wednesday.The figures do not include this summer, when England has sweltered under a succession of heatwaves and is on track to record its highest ever number of heat-related deaths. Th
  
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• ‘132F’: meet the man calling out NYC’s infernally hot subway stations

  26-08-2026 12:00 via theguardian.com
  Jack Klein takes heat readings, gives fans to overheated passengers and lugs big jugs of water into the stationsOn a recent August day in the subterranean furnace of New York City’s subway, one bearded, curly haired man was studying his phone for different reasons than the other wilting passengers – to track the soaring temperatures and ponder how underground train stations can cool down in an era of climate crisis.Jack Klein, a 31-year-old construction site manager, has in the past
  
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• ‘Shocking scandal’: extreme heat linked to 40,000 deaths in England between 1988 and 2025

  26-08-2026 11:51 via theguardian.com
  
  ONS data shows rising toll of climate crisis, with officials warning this summer on track to set further recordsMore than 40,000 more people died on the hottest days in England between 1988 and 2025 than would be expected in normal temperatures, according to data published by the Office for National Statistics on Wednesday.The figures do not include this summer, when England has sweltered under a succession of heatwaves and is on track to record its highest ever number of heat-related deaths. Th
  
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• Heatwaves show UK must do more to promote cycling and walking, campaigners say

  26-08-2026 09:00 via theguardian.com
  Civil society groups argue climate crisis means transport sector needs to urgently reduce its carbon emissionsDozens of civil society groups have demanded the UK government do more to promote cycling and walking, after this summer’s extreme heat exposed the desperate need to decarbonise transport.This summer’s heatwaves and wildfires were “immediate, real-world manifestations of the climate emergency”, the groups said, making reform of transport – responsible for mo
  
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• 'Magical' and rare barn owl has bumper breeding season

  26-08-2026 07:43 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Ten chicks have been successfully reared by two breeding pairs at secret sites across Fermanagh.
  
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• Does 'rewilded' land need better wildfire prevention measures?

  26-08-2026 07:25 via bbc.co.uk
  
  RSPB is considering measures it can take to improve resilience in the wake of a five week long fire
  
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• Toxic waste sites exposed in Michael Sheen documentary are 'tip of the iceberg'

  26-08-2026 07:14 via bbc.co.uk
  
  One scientist says there are thousands of sites across the UK that need investigating.
  
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• RSPB reports record-breaking chough numbers

  26-08-2026 07:13 via bbc.co.uk
  
  RSPB England says 161 Choughs have been counted - 32 more than the 129 recorded last year.
  
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• Muck-spreading: The smellier the better as farmers ask for patience

  26-08-2026 07:02 via bbc.co.uk
  
  East Yorkshire farmers explain the process as they prepare their fields for next year's crops.
  
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