Environment news

• Thames Water 'flagship' chalk stream rated as poor

  11-08-2026 17:14 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The firm says it has invested in the chalk stream and water quality is "influenced by a range of factors".
  
  Read more

• Europe heatwave live: UK sees temperatures of 38.1C, the hottest day of 2026; Greece battles gale force winds, sparking fears about wildfires

  13-08-2026 17:27 via theguardian.com
  A former UK government scientific adviser warned amid the ‘shattering’ heat that worse is still to comeMet Office has just offered an update on temperatures across the UK, with several stations already reporting temperatures above 30C – and it’s not even 11am.It’s 30.4C in Wych Cross, 30.3C in Charlwood, 30.2C at Kenly Airfield. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Europe heatwave live: Greece battles gale force winds, sparking fears about wildfires; UK sees temperatures of 37C for third time this year

  13-08-2026 16:34 via theguardian.com
  A former UK government scientific adviser warned amid the ‘shattering’ heat that worse is still to comeMet Office has just offered an update on temperatures across the UK, with several stations already reporting temperatures above 30C – and it’s not even 11am.It’s 30.4C in Wych Cross, 30.3C in Charlwood, 30.2C at Kenly Airfield. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Bugging devices: the astounding ways insects are talking and listening all around us

  13-08-2026 15:00 via theguardian.com
  From spiders tuning their silken listening tools, to the beetle’s heady perfume, hundreds of conversations are happening in languages we don’t understandIt’s invertebrate of the year – vote for your favouriteAll around us, every day, hundreds of conversations are taking place in languages we don’t understand, or even, in most cases, notice. Birdsong is one you would probably recognise, and you may have heard of honeybee “waggle” dances. But what about th
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Europe heatwave live: Temperatures of 40C expected in Spain; rare warning for ‘extreme heat’ expanded across England

  13-08-2026 14:10 via theguardian.com
  A former UK government scientific adviser warned amid the ‘shattering’ heat that worse is still to comeMet Office has just offered an update on temperatures across the UK, with several stations already reporting temperatures above 30C – and it’s not even 11am.It’s 30.4C in Wych Cross, 30.3C in Charlwood, 30.2C at Kenly Airfield. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Wing and a prayer: how probiotics might save bat species from a killer fungus

  13-08-2026 14:00 via theguardian.com
  Bat experts were shocked at how fast white-nose syndrome had spread to Canada’s northernmost colonies from the US. Now, the race is on to find a cure before species disappearCrawling through a narrow passage in a cave beneath a boreal forest near Fort Smith in Canada’s Northwest Territories in May, two biologists spotted a lifeless bat on a limestone ledge, its body covered in a spindly white fungus.When they shone their headlamps to get a closer look, they saw another bat with the f
  
  Read more

• Lost jobs, inequality, rogue agents: why are we accepting oligarchs’ AI agenda? | Robert Reich

  13-08-2026 12:00 via theguardian.com
  The dangers of AI become clearer every day. Why are we still acting as if we have no choice about our future?Rather than producing jobs, the US economy actually lost 23,000 jobs in July, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data released on Friday. In addition, May and June’s job numbers were revised downward, showing a combined 103,000 fewer jobs than previously reported.As if this weren’t bad enough, wage growth has also slowed. Average hourly earnings rose by just 0.1% from Jun
  
  Read more

• ‘Everyone is scared’: flood-hit Porto Alegre braces for another El Niño

  13-08-2026 12:00 via theguardian.com
  Two years after southern Brazil’s worst climate disaster ravaged the city, and with poor areas still recovering, many fear official neglect has left them exposed once againIn the backstreets of Porto Alegre, a state capital in southern Brazil, you can still see signs of the devastating flood that swept through the city two years ago: scattered debris, waterlogged homes and destroyed businesses.In May 2024, flooding killed 183 people in the state of Rio Grande do Sul and displaced more than
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Europe heatwave live: Temperatures of 40C expected in Spain, with amber heat health warning in place across large parts of UK

  13-08-2026 11:27 via theguardian.com
  In France, 80 departments have been placed on an orange heat warningMore than 135 million people – particularly in France, Italy, Spain and the UK – are set to experience temperatures over 35C on Thursday as the continent’s latest heatwave intensifies, according to AFP calculations.Temperatures are set to surpass 30C for nearly three out of five European residents (excluding Turkey), amounting to around 340 million people. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Stop the bites! How to survive another summer of mosquitoes, midges and horseflies

  13-08-2026 10:59 via theguardian.com
  Dress like a zebra, wash your feet, keep off the beer: insect experts explain what works and what doesn’t – and why some of us get bitten more than othersIt’s a good time to be a mosquito or other blood-sucking insect. In the UK and beyond, they are enjoying the summer heat, and there are lots of humans outdoors, some wearing very little, like an all-you-can-eat walking buffet. Some of the humans are drinking beer, which apparently makes them even more irresistible to mosquitoe
  
  Read more

• Britain's scorched fields mean a food crisis – and the government is ignoring the one measure that would help | George Monbiot

  13-08-2026 09:00 via theguardian.com
  This summer’s extreme weather and wars in Iran and Ukraine have made our need for food stockpiles more pressing than everWhen a business makes long-term plans, they call it prudence. When a government makes long-term plans, they call it communism. Any sustained state intervention attracts the prefix “Soviet-style”, and triggers vicious attacks across the billionaire media. So governments have developed a bias against long-term thinking. This may explain why we no longer maintai
  
  Read more

• ‘Living proof damaged landscapes can recover’: exploring a vast restored forest in southern Sweden

  13-08-2026 08:00 via theguardian.com
  Söderåsen national park is one of Europe’s largest protected broadleaf woods, offering wild swimming, spectacular hiking trails and an inspiring story of regenerationFrom the bus window, the ridge looks like a giant slumbering beast stretched deep green across the flat farmland. “It feels alive,” I say to the woman beside me. “Yes,” she answers. “It is where you would run for safety, don’t you think?”I am in southern Sweden to explore S&
  
  Read more

• Manila river clogged with rubbish after Typhoon Dolphin floods – in pictures

  13-08-2026 07:08 via theguardian.com
  Days of rain has caused widespread flooding across the Philippines capital, Manila, and filled the city’s waterways with debris. A massive cleanup operation involving teams of workers and heavy machinery is under way Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Weatherwatch: Why Britain’s heatwaves don’t always end with thunderstorms

  13-08-2026 07:00 via theguardian.com
  The science behind summer storms – and why they have yet to break the hot spell gripping the country“The English summer: three fine days and a thunderstorm,” George II is reputed to have said, although the line has also been attributed to Charles II and others. It was not recorded until 1867, by which time it was already in common circulation.A brief hot spell ending in a thunderstorm is a familiar pattern, but it is not what we have experienced in recent weeks. Continue readin
  
  Read more

• Too smart to eat? Why octopus farms are such a slippery problem

  13-08-2026 06:00 via theguardian.com
  As a controversial Spanish plan for sustainable meat on an industrial scale is dropped, it has revived the ethical debate over farming these intelligent wild animalsIn 2022 Nueva Pescanova, Spain’s largest fisheries business, announced it was investing €65m (£56m) in the world’s first industrial octopus farm and processing plant near the Canary Islands’ port of Las Palmas.Despite the creatures being notoriously difficult to farm, the company predicted that by 2025 it
  
  Read more

• Burnham to consider ban on disposable barbecues as wildfires rage in UK

  12-08-2026 17:13 via theguardian.com
  PM to look at imposing restriction on devices in public spaces, though campaigners fear it does not go far enoughThe government will look at banning disposable barbecues as wildfires continue to rage across the UK, Andy Burnham has said.Disposable barbecues have been the cause of a number of serious fires over the last few years, but campaigners were critical of the prime minister’s failure to link those fires more broadly to the climate crisis. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• From grey water to cool spaces: 10 climate crisis policies Britain needs right now

  12-08-2026 16:34 via theguardian.com
  Rejecting North Sea drilling licences and protecting nature are just some measures Andy Burnham must implement to ready countryFrom record-smashing temperatures, wildfires, hosepipe bans and thousands of premature deaths, the climate crisis has left its mark across the summer of 2026.Tackling the root cause – the burning of fossil fuels – and ending the crisis will take years. So will fixing the UK government’s calamitous failure to protect lives and livelihoods against the lon
  
  Read more

• From grey water to cool spaces, 10 climate crisis policies Britain needs right now

  12-08-2026 16:34 via theguardian.com
  Rejecting North Sea drilling licences and protecting nature are just some measures Andy Burnham must implement to ready countryFrom record-smashing temperatures, wildfires, hosepipe bans and thousands of premature deaths, the climate crisis has left its mark across the summer of 2026.Tackling the root cause – the burning of fossil fuels – and ending the crisis will take years. So will fixing the UK government’s calamitous failure to protect lives and livelihoods against the lon
  
  Read more

• Too many holes! Why badgers are digging up Britain’s lovingly maintained golf courses

  12-08-2026 16:04 via theguardian.com
  Thanks to the drought, these black-and-white beauties are struggling to catch worms in the rock-hard earth. But there’s still good foraging on well-watered fairways and greensName: Badgers.Age: European badgers live for five to eight years in the wild. They have been in the UK, where this story is set, for half to three-quarters of a million years. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• 10 urgent climate policies the UK should implement now

  12-08-2026 15:36 via theguardian.com
  From rejecting drilling licences to preparing communities for heat, drought and wildfires, here’s how Burnham can ready the UK for a hotter, drier climateFrom record-smashing temperatures, wildfires, hosepipe bans and thousands of premature deaths, the climate crisis has left its mark across the summer of 2026.Tackling the root cause – the burning of fossil fuels – and ending the crisis will take years. So will fixing the UK government’s calamitous failure to protect live
  
  Read more

• Top chefs find grouse in short supply as wildfires add to heat over shoots

  12-08-2026 14:19 via theguardian.com
  As London restaurants say wild birds are smaller and fewer this year, experts say countryside should not be ‘playground for bloodsports’Every year on 12 August, fans of traditional British cuisine flock to plush restaurants in Mayfair to dine on grouse served with bread sauce and game chips. But those hoping to find the small wild birds, sourced from the UK’s moorlands, may be disappointed.Wildfires have been raging on moors across the UK, burning habitats and incinerating wild
  
  Read more

• Inglorious Twelfth? Calls for grouse season to be banned to prevent wildfires and peatland damage

  12-08-2026 14:19 via theguardian.com
  
  As London restaurants say wild birds are smaller and fewer this year, experts say countryside should not be ‘playground for bloodsports’Every year on 12 August, fans of traditional British cuisine flock to plush restaurants in Mayfair to dine on grouse served with bread sauce and game chips.But those hoping to find the small wild birds, sourced from the UK’s moorlands, may be disappointed. Wildfires have been raging on moors across the UK, burning habitats and incinerating wild
  
  Read more

• Humpbacks return to Rio: the whales are back from the brink of extinction – but will tourism help or hinder?

  12-08-2026 14:00 via theguardian.com
  The gigantic aquatic acrobats are exciting Brazil’s tourists as numbers recover from whaling. But some marine biologists question how booming tourism and conservation can coexistThe anticipation is palpable onboard the Boaventura II as the yacht sets off from Rio de Janeiro at sunrise. Once beyond the Cagarras Islands, rocky outcrops just three miles off Ipanema beach, the group gathers at the bow and starts scanning the horizon.They do not have to wait long. “Eleven o’clock!&r
  
  Read more

• ‘Like an alien invasion’: the neon flying squid that can fly in formation above the ocean

  12-08-2026 13:00 via theguardian.com
  Smart, sociable squid use funnel-like organ to force water to jet propel themselves along in and out of seaOn a research vessel 15 years ago, a group of Japanese scientists documented something that had only previously been described by startled sailors to disbelieving listeners. They saw a formation of squid flying through the air.The shoal of about 100 squid rose unexpectedly from a patch of the Pacific Ocean around 370 miles from Tokyo and glided near the boat for about 30 metres. The astonis
  
  Read more

• Invertebrate of the year 2026: vote for your favourite

  12-08-2026 13:00 via theguardian.com
  We’ve gone in search of the invertebrate of the year. Now it’s your chance to chooseRead about this year’s contendersIt’s time to vote for the 2026 invertebrate of the year. For the third year running, we’ve been profilng some of the most spectacular, fascinating and yet overlooked inhabitants of our planet; the huge category of animals (more than 1.3million different species) that have no spine. This group includes all sorts of creatures from jellyfish to bumblebee
  
  Read more

• I was enjoying growing vegetables. Then the climate crisis raised its ugly head | Bim Adewunmi

  12-08-2026 12:00 via theguardian.com
  My child and I were bonding over our hit-and-miss approach to reaping crops. But with heatwaves pushing more of Britain into drought, it’s starting to feel like a luxury we can’t affordFor the first time in my life, I live in a home that has real outdoor space. What a concept! There are no downsides to a garden. Back in spring, I made grand plans – I watched all the TikToks, I bought seeds and trays and pots and grow bags, I ordered soil, a trowel and a watering can. I knew wha
  
  Read more

• Just 20 of 6,600 Defra staff working on climate adaptation amid drought and wildfires

  12-08-2026 11:36 via theguardian.com
  Exclusive: England ‘desperately unprepared’ for effects of crisis including water shortages and heatwavesUK heatwave live – latest updatesJust 20 staff are working on climate adaptation within a key government department tasked with protecting the environment and maintaining food security, a freedom of information request has revealed.The officials make up 0.3% of staff within the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• ‘It’s been a revelation’: how heat pumps can cool your home in a heatwave

  12-08-2026 08:00 via theguardian.com
  It might seem an unlikely way to stop overheating, but many owners have found the tech a lifeline in hot weather“If it is 35C outdoors, I can get the temperature down to 21C,” says Andrew Ingram of the sanctuary that his living room has provided this summer.“On the nights I’ve slept in there, you have to put your thick pyjamas on,” jokes Ingram, who lives in Maidenhead, Berkshire, with his wife, Sue. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Signs of a house sparrow comeback in the UK after decades of decline

  12-08-2026 07:00 via theguardian.com
  Populations starting to stabilise but much still needs to be done to reverse loss of 30m that almost led to species vanishingHow do you lose 30 million house sparrows? That is the number that have vanished from Britain’s hedgerows, fields and gardens during my lifetime.I can recall clouds of sparrows rising up in the fields behind my suburban childhood home on the edge of London. But by the late 1990s they had simply vanished from many of their former haunts. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Country diary: One flower here is thriving, defying the drought | Derek Niemann

  12-08-2026 06:30 via theguardian.com
  Frome, Somerset: While other plants are withering or skeletal, tansy is growing in great profusion, and it rewards close observationAt first light, the scent of ’76 hangs in the air, a reminder of that endless summer burning itself into autumn, just like this one. I first caught a sniff of it walking home one sweltering evening in the June heatwave and said: “Too soon, too soon.” Now the toasted aroma of spent grass is everywhere – on crispy playing fields, stra
  
  Read more

Follow @UK_Environment on Twitter!