Environment news

• The Guardian view on the US Democrats: Biden seized his moment | Editorial

  21-08-2020 19:30 via theguardian.com
  
  This year’s virtual convention gave the party’s presidential nominee an opportunity which he took with skill and stubborn decencyThere have never been two campaign gatherings like this week’s US Democratic convention and next week’s Republican one. Stripped to their essentials by the coronavirus pandemic, the 2020 conventions cannot match the energy of normal years. Yet the big speech by the presidential candidate at the convention remains a defining campaign moment, and
  
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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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• Sand overextraction weakening riverbanks as concrete demand soars

  26-08-2026 07:00 via theguardian.com
  Research finds demand has more than doubled since 2000 and 80% of current demand comes from AsiaA booming demand for concrete has resulted in sand and gravel being extracted from riverbeds faster than nature can replenish it. A study published in Reviews of Geophysics shows that the demand for sand and gravel has more than doubled in the last two decades, with overextraction leading to weaker riverbanks, lower groundwater levels, coastal salt intrusion and poorer water quality.In 2024, city-buil
  
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• Country diary: A farm that’s a pocket rocket of rewilding – and a success in the face of opposition | Amy-Jane Beer

  26-08-2026 06:30 via theguardian.com
  Asturias, Spain: Wild Finca is thrilling in its ecological abundance, and was created in just eight years despite countless obstaclesOn a rocky 13-hectare pocket in the foothills of the Picos de Europa, Luke Massey and Katie Stacey are raising children, dogs, cattle, chicken, ducks, geese and eyebrows. In their eight years here, the farm they call Wild Finca has become a mass of scrub, with scattered large trees and dozens of clearings that Luke calls fields, but which look more like tiny irregu
  
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• Mood-boosting benefits of birdsong drowned out by traffic noise, study finds

  26-08-2026 06:00 via theguardian.com
  Even low levels of traffic noise can negate the benefits of listening to natural sounds, researchers sayHearing the trill or whistle of a bird while going about daily life is well known to boost people’s mood. But a new study suggests the psychological benefits of hearing birdsong are being threatened by traffic noise.Researchers found that even low levels of traffic noise negatively affected the benefits to wellbeing that could otherwise be derived from listening to natural sounds. Contin
  
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• Call to ban marmot hunting in France as campaigners say they are ‘killed for fun’

  26-08-2026 06:00 via theguardian.com
  Protests and petitions planned amid growing concerns over impact of climate crisis on numbers of Alpine rodentAnimal rights campaigners are gearing up for protests and petitions aimed at persuading the French government to ban the hunting of Alpine marmots.Open season on the rodents, members of the squirrel and groundhog family, begins in September, a few weeks before they go into a long winter hibernation. Continue reading...
  
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• A nosy polar bear and a lucky squirrel: Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2026 shortlist

  26-08-2026 01:41 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The polar bear image taken by Audun Rikardsen was among the 'highly commended' entries in this year's competition.
  
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• Yellow warnings in force as rain and thunderstorms hit parts of UK

  26-08-2026 01:11 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Torrential downpours will affect parts of England and Wales, delivering some of the wettest weather in several weeks
  
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• Relief may be near for Indiana city after days without power

  25-08-2026 18:33 via bbc.co.uk
  
  After nearly two-weeks without power, Gary, Indiana residents and officials call for accountability, infrastructure improvements, and customer relief measures.
  
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• NSW’s koala national park will protect threatened species and cap logging across the state. Could the Greens really block it? | Adam Morton

  25-08-2026 17:00 via theguardian.com
  The Albanese government approved a proposal allowing the park to create carbon credits worth hundreds of millions of dollars, sparking a schism among environmentalistsWhat qualifies as a win in environmental campaigning?Is it when a huge forest area that is home to a stack of threatened species, including koalas, and has been the focus of years and years of campaigning, is protected from logging? Continue reading...
  
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• ‘Not any old vermin’: rats numbers are on the rise thanks to global heating – and poison may not be the answer

  25-08-2026 16:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Robert Corrigan has been dealing with the ‘smart’ rodents all his life – and believes there are better solutions to deal with the growing infestation in the world’s cities“The rodents have paid for every single bill I’ve ever had – every mortgage, every car payment, every pint of Guinness,” says Dr Robert Corrigan. “It’s been a great ride and I’m still at it.”New York-based Corrigan is one of the most respected voices in the
  
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