Environment news

• The weather in October

  06-11-2016 22:30 via theguardian.com
  
  A remarkably fine and dry month, with Shetland recording more than twice the average hours of sunshine, and rainfall less than half the average through most of the UKOctober was a remarkably fine and dry month over the whole of the UK. As a result it seemed mild, but temperatures were actually close to average. The settled conditions were caused by a blocked pattern in the atmosphere in which the “normal” westerly winds were held at bay by a blocking high pressure system that lingere
  
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• Can hope save the planet? An endangered parrot that is beating the odds can help us find out | Helen Pilcher

  08-10-2026 17:05 via theguardian.com
  A new global biodiversity report strikes an encouraging note. But we cannot rest on our laurels – and resilience is keyThe new Living Planet Report is out. Published every two years, it assesses the health of the natural world and, historically, it’s made for gloomy reading.Take 2024’s report, which showed global wildlife populations had plummeted by 73% in 50 years and that ecosystems were being pushed toward collapse. Continue reading...
  
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• As monarch butterflies migrate for the fall, meet the Chicago woman trying to protect them

  08-10-2026 13:00 via theguardian.com
  Claudia Galeno-Sánchez has turned her home into a sanctuary for the insects by planting native milkweed and wildflowers – and sharing her experienceAlong the concrete streets of Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood, a vividly colored home stands out among the rest.Over the past few years, Claudia Galeno-Sánchez has transformed her modest family home, which she shares with her husband and two children, into a sanctuary and educational space dedicated to the monarch butterfly.Ga
  
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• Britons kept in dark about scale of climate crisis, say viewers of ‘first-of-its-kind’ emergency briefing

  08-10-2026 10:00 via theguardian.com
  Nine out of 10 people felt motivated to act after watching film outlining threats to food security, economy and public healthThe British government must be honest about the scale of the threat posed by climate and nature breakdown, researchers have said, after nine out of 10 people surveyed after watching a briefing on the issue felt more motivated to act.Last November, in the “first-of-its-kind national emergency briefing”, nine experts gave stark assessments in Westminster Hall in
  
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• How a scientist used Britpop to reach Mars

  08-10-2026 07:39 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Colin Pillinger died believing that Beagle 2 had not landed, and now his work is being celebrated around the UK.
  
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• Wonky wych elm in County Down crowned Tree of the Year

  08-10-2026 07:31 via bbc.co.uk
  
  It is the first time a tree in Northern Ireland has won the national title since it was launched in 2014.
  
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• Why are there so many mushrooms around this year?

  08-10-2026 07:13 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The RHS says the hot, dry summer followed by autumn rain could lead to record sightings.
  
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• Margaret Hamilton, whose software helped land Apollo 11 on the Moon, dies at 90

  08-10-2026 07:10 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Pioneering computer scientist led the development of the software for Nasa's Apollo mission and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
  
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• 'The wood is alive': Ranger retires after 38 years

  08-10-2026 07:01 via bbc.co.uk
  
  William McLaughlin leaves a "lasting legacy" of care at Bourne Woods in Lincolnshire, bosses say.
  
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• UK bluefin tuna comeback shows nature can recover, says WWF

  08-10-2026 07:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The tuna is one of several wildlife recoveries highlighted in a major new report from WWF.
  
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• Stockpile food – and wash your hands: is that really how to prepare for environmental catastrophe? | George Monbiot

  08-10-2026 07:00 via theguardian.com
  The UK state is dumping its responsibilities on our doorsteps, while green-lighting policies that lead us closer to crisisWould you mind fixing the NHS? And while you’re at it, could you please build an anti-missile system in your garden? Then regulate the banks, replace the water mains, tax the very rich and use the proceeds to rebuild our schools. Well, come on people: what are you waiting for?I exaggerate, but this isn’t very far from the approach taken by the government’s P
  
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• Country diary: The changing face of stubble fields, those shortcuts of my youth | Nicola Chester

  08-10-2026 06:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Linkenholt, Hampshire and Wexcombe, Wiltshire: Even to the untrained eye, traditional ones and modern, regenerative ones look very differentStubble fields, those post-harvest acres of short straws, seem to be lasting longer into the season, as farmers respond to changing practices. I have a wistful attachment to stubble fields: for so long a kind of temporary commons where, for a few redundant weeks before autumn or winter ploughing, you could shortcut across them, the dew-filled straws flicking
  
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• This is one of Norway’s most pristine fjords. So why is it being used as a dumping site for mine waste?

  08-10-2026 06:00 via theguardian.com
  The Norwegian government has given a permit to a mining company to release waste into Førde fjord despite a 17-year battle by campaigners and a supreme court ruling against itShortly after the Norwegian stock market closed on 17 June 2026, a few dozen local people from the small west coast town of Vevring crowded around a laptop in a school. Surrounded by children’s drawings and windows looking out over Førde fjord, they listened as news arrived from Oslo. Norway’s supr
  
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• Comebacks for wild tigers, tuna and sea turtles prove nature loss can be reversed, scientists say

  08-10-2026 01:01 via theguardian.com
  A landmark report reveals that the world must change the way it produces food to avoid a biodiversity collapseConservation comebacks for wild tigers, tuna and green​ sea turtles prove that global nature loss can be reversed, ​scientists have said. ​But a report warns food production must be the next ​“positive tipping point​” if the world is to avert biodiversity collapse.The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) analysed nearly 36,000 animal populations and more th
  
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• Bendy elm still standing against all odds crowned UK tree of the year

  08-10-2026 01:01 via theguardian.com
  Hundred-and-fifty-year-old Wych elm in Newcastle, Co Down has grown sideways owing to strong windsThe “astonishing and bizarre” Bendy Tree in Northern Ireland has been crowned the winner of this year’s tree of the year competition.The wych elm tree, located in Newcastle, County Down, owes its name to its near horizontal trunk, which has grown sideways owing to the strong seaside winds coming off the Irish Sea. Continue reading...
  
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• Q&A: ‘Are the warnings all hype?’ – our environment writers answered your El Niño questions

  07-10-2026 19:37 via theguardian.com
  Guardian reporters Jonathan Watts and Gabrielle Canon answered your question climate and extreme weather, from what to expect this winter in the UK to the increasing risk of natural disastersfunkymentalist asks: Unrelated to El Niño, what is the likelihood of the AMOC (Atlantic meridional overturning circulation) shutting down?Jon says: I don’t think these two things are unrelated. Everything is affected by climate breakdown. And both El Niño and the slowdown of AMOC are rela
  
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• Blue Planet III ventures into darkest depths of ocean

  07-10-2026 18:07 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Sir David says the series uncovers marine life that is "even more precious than we ever realised".
  
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• Tropical Storm Isaias forecast to become first Atlantic hurricane of 2026

  07-10-2026 17:46 via bbc.co.uk
  
  El Niño has led to an eerily quiet season so far but the first Atlantic hurricane of the year is now set to impact the southern USA.
  
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• Q&A: ‘Godzilla-level’ El Niño is causing extreme weather – our environment writers answer your questions – live

  07-10-2026 17:19 via theguardian.com
  Guardian reporters Jonathan Watts and Gabrielle Canon are online answering your questions on climate and extreme weather from what to expect this winter in the UK to the increasing risk of natural disasters.ndl4321 asks: Has the accuracy of forecasting improved significantly in the last decade or do the same margins of error still apply?PhDistracted asks: I’ve been trying to read up on El Niño, but having difficulty finding any other answer than (to expect) “extreme weather&rd
  
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• World’s largest penguin colony suffers ‘enormous population crash’

  07-10-2026 17:00 via theguardian.com
  Chinstrap penguins on Zavodovski Island in Antarctica down by two-thirds since 2011, probably due to climate crisisThe world’s largest penguin colony has declined by two-thirds since 2011, most likely because of the climate crisis, a study has revealed.Scientists said the rapid demise of chinstrap penguins on Zavodovski, the northernmost of the South Sandwich Islands in Antarctica, increased the risk of a wider ecosystem collapse. Continue reading...
  
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• World's largest penguin colony hit by 'alarming' decline in numbers

  07-10-2026 17:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Climate change is blamed for dramatic decline of chinstrap penguins living on a remote volcanic island.
  
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• Landslides, flash floods and raging seas: is California ready for the ravages of El Niño?

  07-10-2026 16:30 via theguardian.com
  A mix of natural disasters could all befall the state at once as it finds itself in the crosshairs of the climate phenomenonOn a cloudless autumn afternoon, sunlight sparkled on the water that had quietly swallowed a busy intersection to the north of San Francisco, as the surrounding rush-hour traffic slowed to a painful crawl.There were no crashing waves or storm surges to blame for the flood. Marin county was one of many areas up and down the California coast affected by high tides last week,
  
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• ‘A real-life moment from The Castle’: the retired Australian couple who took on a coal giant and won

  07-10-2026 16:00 via theguardian.com
  Wendy Wales and Tony Lonergan’s four-year fight over MACH Energy’s Mount Pleasant coalmine went all the way to the high courtSign up for climate and environment editor Adam Morton’s free Clear Air newsletter hereWhen Wendy Wales and Tony Lonergan and a few of their neighbours in the New South Wales Hunter region decided to take on the expansion of a local coalmine, people thought they were “crazy” to engage in the David and Goliath battle.“When we started this
  
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• Flávio Bolsonaro’s advance in Brazil’s election is grim jolt for climate campaigners

  07-10-2026 14:03 via theguardian.com
  Inquest under way into why President Lula’s success in curbing Amazon deforestation has not lead to success at pollsMore fire, more ash, more crime, more death. And a globally important ecosystem driven ever more rapidly towards a point of no return. That is the prospect for the Amazon rainforest for at least the next four years if Flávio Bolsonaro holds on to the lead he established this week in the first round of Brazil’s presidential election.This appears to be of far more
  
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• Chemistry Nobel awarded for solving mystery of life's asymmetry

  07-10-2026 13:51 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The prize was given to the French and Japanese scientists for solving the mystery of life's asymmetry.
  
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• Flávio Bolsonaro’s advance in Brazil’s election is an unnerving jolt for climate campaigners

  07-10-2026 13:20 via theguardian.com
  Inquest under way into why President Lula’s success in curbing deforestation in the Amazon did not lead to success at pollsMore fire, more ash, more crime, more death. And a globally important ecosystem driven ever more rapidly towards a point of no return. That is the prospect for the Amazon rainforest for at least the next four years if Flávio Bolsonaro holds on to the lead he established this week in the first round of Brazil’s presidential election.This appears to be of fa
  
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• ‘We’ll borrow a stargazing kit next’: first public nature library in US helps visitors explore great outdoors

  07-10-2026 13:00 via theguardian.com
  As well as books, the new facility offers hundreds of kits to connect people with the natural world, including hammocks and nightvision binoculars. We asked five of the first visitors what they thought of itMark Fink knows exactly why he opened the first public nature library in the US. “There are a lot of barriers for people to access nature here. We want people to learn about the birds and the plants in their own back yard and to appreciate that you don’t need a three-day camping t
  
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• Tents, night-vision goggles, bear tracking kits – and even books: America’s first nature library opens

  07-10-2026 13:00 via theguardian.com
  As well as books, the new facility in Colorado offers hundreds of kits to connect people with the natural world. We asked five of the first visitors what they thought of itMark Fink knows exactly why he opened the first public nature library in the US. “There are a lot of barriers for people to access nature here. We want people to learn about the birds and the plants in their own back yard and to appreciate that you don’t need a three-day camping trip in the mountains to experience
  
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• Heatstroke ruined his health. Years before, it took the life of another farm worker at the same company

  07-10-2026 13:00 via theguardian.com
  A farm labor contractor exposed laborers on H-2A agricultural visas to heat-related health hazards, but is still bringing hundreds of migrant farm workers to North CarolinaIt was 4pm and 90F (32C) when Carlos Vargas Moreno and other farm workers set out to weed a watermelon field in Goldsboro, North Carolina, on 19 July 2022.The work day had begun at 7am and included two 15-minute breaks and a one-hour lunch eaten outdoors. The heat index – what the temperature feels like to the human body
  
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• A ‘Godzilla-level’ El Niño is causing extreme weather conditions around the world – put your questions to our environment writers

  07-10-2026 10:47 via theguardian.com
  Climate reporters Jonathan Watts and Gabrielle Canon will be online from 4pm BST (11am EDT) today to answer your El Niño questions.Sign in or sign up to join the conversationThis year’s huge El Niño is causing climate chaos around the world. Temperate records have already been broken, with extreme heat reported from western Europe to California. Meanwhile, Bangkok is suffering massive flooding and the weather phenomenon is projected to cause a further 450,000 deaths globally
  
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