Environment news

• Shell submits plan for dismantling Brent North Sea production platforms

  08-02-2017 13:51
  Royal Dutch Shell has submitted a plan to the British government for dismantling its Brent North Sea production platforms, a turning point for the UK oil industry as operators face the huge challenge of gradually abandoning depleted fields after 40 years of production. Shell on Wednesday lodged the plans for decommissioning production at the huge Brent field, which lends its name to the globally traded benchmark crude oil grade and which has produced over 3 billion barrels of oil equivalent sinc
  
  Read more

• A bee’s-eye view: art installation beside the Thames celebrates crucial pollinators

  11-09-2026 14:32 via theguardian.com
  More than 100 lenses inside Luke Jerram’s Pollenarium let visitors see the outside world as insects wouldFrom the outside, it looks a little like something out of the Teletubbies.In fact, the new installation by the Bristol artist Luke Jerram represents a grain of pollen, and the inside is an insect’s eye. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• They drive toward tornadoes. We went with them to see how their work could save lives

  11-09-2026 14:00 via theguardian.com
  Tornadoes kill hundreds each decade in the US. These researchers are investigating why some storms produce twisters – despite the fatal risksOn a narrow road in southern Iowa, my phone shrieked.Tornado warning. Take shelter now in a basement or an interior room on the lowest floor of a sturdy building. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Curse of the Nile’s gold: how Sudan is losing its fertile fields and ability to produce food

  11-09-2026 13:00 via theguardian.com
  An artisanal mining boom driven by war and poverty is causing a public health emergency, as chemicals poison soil, water and societyIn Abu Hamad, on the banks of the Nile, verdant orchards, gardens and fields once produced a bounty of dates, citrus fruits, winter grains and cereals for the towns and cities of eastern Sudan, including Khartoum and Port Sudan.Today, the land looks drastically different. Trees have been cut down, agricultural areas cleared, and farms have been replaced by shops and
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• One in nine migratory birds threatened with extinction, global report says

  11-09-2026 12:00 via theguardian.com
  Findings on decline of species such as Arctic tern and turtle dove published alongside flyways pledge at Kenya summitOne in nine migratory birds are threatened with extinction and 45% of migratory species such as cuckoos, turtle doves and Arctic terns are in decline, according to a global report.The migratory slender-billed curlew was officially declared extinct last year, the first global bird extinction in mainland Eurasia and Africa in recent centuries. Worldwide, seven migratory bird species
  
  Read more

• ‘Fresh from the roof’: the supermarket growing salad a few metres above the tills

  11-09-2026 11:00 via theguardian.com
  Customers seeking greens at one Berlin outlet are dealing with some very local supply chains indeedWalking into the Felix Thomas REWE supermarket in Lankwitz, Berlin, customers are immediately presented with a choice of greens: romaine, rocket, iceberg. But last month, a new option joined the selection: Lankwitz loose-leaf lettuce. A combination of head lettuce, romaine lettuce, Lollo Rosso, and dark green easy leaf lettuce, its yellow packaging makes it stand out in a row of green. But it&rsquo
  
  Read more

• Week in wildlife: a sea turtle hatchling, baby orangutans and flying ibises

  11-09-2026 09:00 via theguardian.com
  This week’s best wildlife photographs from around the world Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Homes for sale in a national park in England – in pictures

  11-09-2026 08:00 via theguardian.com
  From an energy-efficient bungalow in the South Downs to an historic chapel in Northumberland Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Weatherwatch: soil moisture deficit – how dry are the UK’s thirsty soils?

  11-09-2026 07:00 via theguardian.com
  SMD is the moisture the soil must make up until it is at capacity, with very dry conditions over most of England and WalesWhen the ground is thoroughly wet, after excess rainwater has run off it is said to be at field capacity. Meteorologists describe drought in terms of soil moisture deficit (SMD) from field capacity. The SMD is a measure of how thirsty the soil is, expressed as how many millimetres of rain it would take to top it up to field capacity.In southern England, the SMD tends to hover
  
  Read more

• Iceland to submit bill that could ban whaling in its waters

  11-09-2026 07:00 via theguardian.com
  The country is one of just three that still permits commercial whaling, while its government has faced mounting pressure to ban the practiceIceland will submit a bill in February 2027 which could permanently ban whaling in its waters, a move that would leave Norway and Japan as the only two countries to permit commercial whaling.Whaling in Iceland has been put under intense scrutiny since a government-commissioned report was published in 2023 that found harpooned whales took two hours to die. Th
  
  Read more

• Country diary: The slow magic of growing a cricket bat from scratch | Michael White

  11-09-2026 06:30 via theguardian.com
  Cranbrook, Kent: We are felling a crop of willow trees that have managed to survive their nemesis – the grey squirrel – and are destined for the batter’s gripAs the thwack of leather on willow fades from village greens with the waning of the cricket season, a new sound, perhaps less evocative of the country idyll, fills our little valley. Toppled willow trees rip through the canopies of their doomed neighbours, and drop with dull thuds to the angry screams of chainsaws.To
  
  Read more

• New hurricane season record as 'historic' El Niño leaves Atlantic eerily quiet

  11-09-2026 01:22 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The Atlantic hurricane season has reached its climatological peak, but a strong El Niño means no hurricanes have formed this year.
  
  Read more

• Species 'at risk of vanishing' from area of Wales' largest national park

  10-09-2026 23:58 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The National Trust warns species are on the brink of extinction in a valley of Eryri National Park.
  
  Read more

• NHS reports busiest ever summer as heatwaves drive up hospital admissions

  10-09-2026 16:32 via theguardian.com
  Record demand for A&E units, ambulance services and NHS 111 shows extreme heat having unprecedented impact on health, experts sayThe NHS came under its most intense strain ever as a result of the summer’s five heatwaves, amid warnings that extreme heat is having an unprecedented impact on human health.A&E units, ambulance services and the NHS 111 telephone advice line all experienced record demand for their services in England in June, July and August as Britain experienced record
  
  Read more

• Hawaii has often dodged the path of hurricanes. Why did it see so many storms this summer?

  10-09-2026 16:00 via theguardian.com
  Despite its location, the island chain has avoided the worst effects, but Hurricanes Lowell and Lala left a trail of damage this yearHurricane Lowell surged near the Hawaiian Islands this week, leaving a trail of downed trees and power lines, crumbled roads, sunken boats and destroyed piers on the island of Kauai.Residents were left to grapple not only with the damage, but the rising risks to the tropical archipelago as sea surface temperatures climb. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• English winemakers expect ‘vintage year’ after record-breaking summer heat

  10-09-2026 16:00 via theguardian.com
  Hot weather means sweeter grapes, but outlook gloomier for beermakers, as drought diminishes barley harvestEnglish sparkling winemakers expect their earliest grape harvest and a “vintage year” after a scorching summer quickly ripened grapes.However, beer sellers have warned of a potential shortage after record-breaking temperatures and a drought hitting much of England has caused poor yields of barley. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• August joint hottest month on record globally

  10-09-2026 14:04 via bbc.co.uk
  
  BBC Weather Presenter Simon King explains the figures.
  
  Read more

• UK ministers explore raising price of water for some users amid shortages

  10-09-2026 13:14 via theguardian.com
  Environment Agency says talks under way about increasing prices for industrial users to try to reduce poor water managementMinisters are exploring making water more expensive for some users, in the face of severe supply shortages.Despite the UK being a famously wet country, the precarious nature of the water supply has been made particularly acute this summer, with almost three-quarters of England and all of Wales in drought and 27 million people facing restrictions on their water use. Continue
  
  Read more

• UK ministers explore raising price of water for industrial users amid shortages

  10-09-2026 13:14 via theguardian.com
  Environment Agency says talks under way about increasing prices for industrial users to try to reduce poor water managementMinisters are exploring making water more expensive for some users, in the face of severe supply shortages.Despite the UK being a famously wet country, the precarious nature of the water supply has been made particularly acute this summer, with almost three-quarters of England and all of Wales in drought and 27 million people facing restrictions on their water use. Continue
  
  Read more

• World must reject climate culture wars or face economic ruin, says UN’s Stiell

  10-09-2026 12:42 via theguardian.com
  Warning by United Nations climate chief comes as EU data shows August 2026 was joint hottest month everAttempts to stoke a climate crisis culture war must be rejected or the world will face economic disaster, the UN’s climate chief has warned.Simon Stiell, the executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, warned that this year’s “hot as hell” summer had killed tens of thousands of people in Europe alone and “hammered” infrastructure, bu
  
  Read more

• Drax ash mound extraction plan approved

  10-09-2026 12:30 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Plans to extract and reuse million tonnes of ash from a mound next to Drax are given the go-ahead.
  
  Read more

• Climate ‘feedback loops’ could worsen global warming by 30%, study finds

  10-09-2026 10:00 via theguardian.com
  Emissions of planet-heating methane and CO2 from natural sources are worsening the climate crisis, paper saysRising global temperatures caused by the burning of fossil fuels are transforming the world’s forests, wetlands and tundra to the point they are releasing emissions that could further worsen global heating by as much as 30%, a new study has found.As the world heats up, permafrost in the high latitudes is thawing, fiercer wildfires are burning in drying forests and wetlands and lakes
  
  Read more

• How the fate of a small furry animal reveals the ecological tragedy of Israel’s war on Lebanon | Hisham Younes

  10-09-2026 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  The Syrian rock hyrax depends on the fragile landscapes of the border region. Alongside other environmentalists, I have been documenting the destruction of its habitatWars are usually measured in the number of people killed, homes destroyed and towns erased. Far less attention is paid to what happens beneath the rubble. Across southern Lebanon, repeated large-scale detonations are not only causing human tragedy by demolishing villages, they are also destroying the ancient limestone habitats that
  
  Read more

• Is Burnham trying to appease Trump? Or Reform? What other reason is there for these North Sea oil plans? | George Monbiot

  10-09-2026 07:00 via theguardian.com
  Climate catastrophe is on our doorstep – yet Labour’s impending approval of further drilling will bring more pain for negligible gainsPinch yourself, it’s happening again. Here is a Labour government spending a vast amount of political capital to earn tiny material gains while risking huge political losses. It occurred repeatedly under Keir Starmer, and now – with the impending decision to approve further gas and oil drilling in the North Sea – it is happening under
  
  Read more

• August joint-hottest month on record as climate change and El Niño drive heat

  10-09-2026 04:05 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Climate change and the rising influence of El Niño saw August reach the record for warmest month.
  
  Read more

• August was joint-hottest month ever recorded globally

  10-09-2026 04:00 via theguardian.com
  Temperatures reached 1.65C above preindustrial levels, months before El Niño system reaches full strengthAugust was the joint-hottest month ever recorded around the world, with global temperatures reaching 1.65C above preindustrial levels, scientists said on Thursday, amid warnings of further heating on the way.August 2026 tied with July 2023 for the hottest month ever recorded, according to the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service. Sea surface temperatures also soared to their hi
  
  Read more

• Can an entire Arctic ecosystem evolve to adapt to the climate crisis?

  09-09-2026 13:00 via theguardian.com
  In the first project of its kind, scientists are trying to answer if the future of Alaska’s streams and tundra may depend not on survival of the fittest but on how species adapt togetherOn Alaska’s North Slope, scientists tread carefully across clumps of tussock grasses toward a fast-flowing stream draining the imposing Brooks Range of ice and snow. Near Galbraith Creek, they string out a mist net for white-crowned sparrows. The birds have recently arrived from southerly latitudes, i
  
  Read more

• Polanski calls for report on ecosystem collapse to be published in full

  09-09-2026 08:00 via theguardian.com
  Green leader says ministers must stop ‘hiding the truth’ about threat to UK security from climate and nature crisisZack Polanski will challenge Andy Burnham’s government to publish an unredacted version of an explosive report by the UK’s spy chiefs that found the collapse of overseas ecosystems would have catastrophic consequences for the UK’s national security.The Green party leader in England will demand that the prime minister come clean about the scale and impac
  
  Read more

• Beavers 'could boost wildlife and tackle drought'

  09-09-2026 07:28 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust is looking for suitable areas to reintroduce the animals.
  
  Read more

• Douglas Head designated a Conservation Area

  09-09-2026 07:16 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Douglas Head has been formally designated a Conservation Area - but what does that actually mean?
  
  Read more

Follow @UK_Environment on Twitter!