Environment news

• Warning from the past: Future global warming could be even warmer

  24-06-2016 14:05 via feedproxy.google.com
  Future global warming will not only depend on the amount of emissions from man-made greenhouse gasses, but will also depend on the sensitivity of the climate system and response to feedback mechanisms. By reconstructing past global warming and the carbon cycle on Earth 56 million years ago, researchers from the Niels Bohr Institute among others have used computer modelling to calculate the potential perspective for future global warming, which could be even warmer than previously thought. The re
  
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• Extreme heat: why our cities can't cope | Opinion

  04-08-2026 15:38 via theguardian.com
  The UK and Europe have been facing extreme heatwaves – Greenpeace recorded temperatures of up to 53C at one London playground in recent weeks. It’s clear our cities are not equipped to deal with the soaring temperatures brought by the climate crisis. With the ‘Super El Niño’ on its way, next year is forecast to get even hotter. But is anyone really doing anything about it? The Guardian’s deputy opinion editor Kirsty Major goes in search of playgrounds that ar
  
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• ‘When you kill it, it doesn’t die’: the jellyfish that has cracked the secret of immortality

  04-08-2026 13:00 via theguardian.com
  Turritopsis dohrnii has the ability to turn back into a baby jellyfish and grow up all over againRevealed: the top ten invertebrates of the yearImmortality is generally considered the realm of the gods or science fiction, a fantasy that’s actively pursued by tech entrepreneurs in macabre experiments that include injecting “young blood”, cryopreservation, or resurrection in an AI afterlife.But one ethereal, thimble-shaped jellyfish has already cracked the code.It’s Inverte
  
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• We launched a war on nature. Now we are in a climate warzone | Rebecca Solnit

  04-08-2026 12:00 via theguardian.com
  Summer is not what it once was. We have been robbed of one of life’s great joys Far beyond the fires raging across Europe and North America, the smoke, dangerous to breathe, hangs in the air, dimming the view, changing the very color of sunlight into something grimly unsettling.An estimated 20,000 are said to have died in the extreme heat in Europe earlier this year, and heat is climate change’s quiet killer, compared to the dramatic violence of death by fire or flood. In eastern Was
  
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• ‘Nobody cares’: the Turkish farmers bearing the burden of UK’s plastic waste problem

  04-08-2026 11:00 via theguardian.com
  Britain exported 139,000 tonnes of rubbish to Turkey last year, leaving smallholders and poor districts of Adana to cope with the debris, microplastics and toxic smokeUK plastic ‘waste colonialism’ found to be polluting Turkey’s farming heartlandPlastic debris clings to the reeds in a waterway metres from where Ayhan*, a farmer in Adana, southern Turkey, is harvesting aubergines. “We get pollution from all sides here,” he says, referring to the plastic recycling zon
  
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• Six mind-bendingly amazing facts about invertebrates

  04-08-2026 09:00 via theguardian.com
  Just in case you hadn’t already realised how extraordinary the gigantic group of creatures known as invertebrates are, we’ve gathered together five facts that made our brains hurt (plus one more, because we couldn’t choose). Tell us your favourite extraordinary fact in the comments belowThe top ten invertebrates revealedDid you know that the mantis shrimp can accelerate to strike its prey faster than a .22 calibre bullet. They can smash shells, and even crack aquarium glass wit
  
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• Three lions die of suspected heatstroke at Tokyo zoo as Japan swelters

  04-08-2026 07:46 via theguardian.com
  
  Most of the zoo’s 16 lions have struggled to cope with high humidity this summerThree lions from a Tokyo zoo have died from suspected heatstroke and others are undergoing treatment, a spokesperson said on Tuesday, as the big cats struggle in Japan’s high levels of humidity.Japan sweltered through its hottest summer on record last year and parts of the country have hit 40C in recent weeks, qualifying for the new “cruelly hot day” designation. Continue reading...
  
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• Nine Lives, the feral cat that terrorised New Zealand’s rare ducks, is caught after three years

  04-08-2026 07:45 via theguardian.com
  
  Large tabby cat that wiped out dozens of rare pāteke, or brown teal, has been killed after eluding trappers with its ‘very erratic’ behaviourA notorious feral cat given the name “Nine Lives” because it eluded trappers for three years has been caught and killed in New Zealand, ending its devastating rampage against one of the country’s rare duck populations.The cat, a large grey tabby, is estimated to have killed dozens of New Zealand’s rarest mainland duc
  
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• Young white-tailed eagles released on Exmoor

  04-08-2026 07:24 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Up to 20 additional young birds will be released over the next three years.
  
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• Curlew revival continues at nature reserve

  04-08-2026 07:08 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Birds from previous releases pair up and return to nest at the site on the Isle of Sheppey.
  
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• UK plastic manufacturer could face legal action over toxic emissions

  04-08-2026 07:00 via theguardian.com
  Exclusive: Environment Agency is considering whether to prosecute Huntsman Polyurethanes over emissions of carcinogenic benzeneA plastic manufacturer in the north of England is facing potential legal action over emissions of benzene, a carcinogenic chemical with no safe level, the Guardian can reveal.The Environment Agency (EA) is considering taking legal action against Huntsman Polyurethanes in Teesside for a potential breach of licence, which is a criminal offence. Continue reading...
  
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• Country diary: Martha, a tribute to Buxton’s miners, has been knocked off her plinth. Why? | Mark Cocker

  04-08-2026 06:30 via theguardian.com
  Buxton, Derbyshire: Acts of vandalism are not unusual. Have we normalised the destruction of ‘common ground’?Our town is blessed to have the Buxton Civic Association, a charity devoted to the built and natural environment. It owns and manages, for wildlife and people, almost all our important woods, including Grin Low, which was a historically important area for lime‑burning. To celebrate that industry, the civic society commissioned wooden sculptures – Charlie, then Mart
  
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• Rebecca Hendin on Britain’s air con debate – cartoon

  03-08-2026 19:04 via theguardian.com
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• Scottish seabird hunt cancelled for first time in 400 years

  03-08-2026 18:56 via theguardian.com
  NatureScot refuses licence for hunt on Hebridean island of Sula Sgeir in which up to 2,000 gannet chicks are killedA controversial Scottish seabird hunt will not go ahead for the first time in 400 years, in what campaigners have called a “victory for common sense”.In the annual guga hunt, up to 2,000 gannet chicks are killed over a 10-day period on the uninhabited Hebridean island of Sula Sgeir, 40 miles north of Lewis and Harris. Continue reading...
  
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• Scottish gannet chick hunt blocked for first time in 400 years

  03-08-2026 18:56 via theguardian.com
  NatureScot refuses licence for hunt on Hebridean island of Sula Sgeir in which up to 2,000 seabirds are killedA controversial Scottish seabird hunt will not go ahead for the first time in 400 years, in what campaigners have called a “victory for common sense”.In the annual guga hunt, up to 2,000 gannet chicks are killed over a 10-day period on the uninhabited Hebridean island of Sula Sgeir, 40 miles north of Lewis and Harris. Continue reading...
  
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• Rhine falls to record low levels as drought strains Europe's rivers

  03-08-2026 18:27 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Low water levels in the Rhine, Danube and Po have curtailed the transport of goods and reduced electricity output.
  
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• July was driest month in southern England since records began

  03-08-2026 17:44 via theguardian.com
  England and Wales provisionally record driest July in nearly 200 years, Met Office saysJuly 2026 was the driest month in southern England since records began nearly 200 years ago, the Met Office has said.England and Wales also provisionally recorded their driest July since records began in 1836. Wales had its joint warmest July on record for mean temperature, and England recorded its second warmest July. Continue reading...
  
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• The buzz about fly infestations this summer | Letters

  03-08-2026 17:27 via theguardian.com
  Readers respond to an article on the swarms of houseflies people are having to cope with in hot weatherMy experience of flies is that during the past 20 years or so there has been a significant decline in numbers – Highland midges not included of course (‘It makes you feel you’ve got a really dirty house’: what’s behind the UK’s plagues of flies?, 30 July).Memories of childhood summers in the 1950s and 60s are of endless sticky flytraps, typically placed near
  
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• Whey to go! Could the cheese byproduct heat our homes and fuel our cars?

  03-08-2026 17:02 via theguardian.com
  British cheesemakers have struggled to find a use for the 95,000 tonnes of salty whey they produce every year. But researchers may have come up with a solutionName: Whey.Age: As old as milk. Continue reading...
  
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• ‘The obsession with endless growth can only end in tears’: your questions on extreme weather this summer answered

  03-08-2026 16:14 via theguardian.com
  From Europe’s deadly heat to floods in Asia, it’s been a terrifying summer. Environment writers Jonathan Watts and Ajit Niranjan answered Reddit users’ questions about their work – and their sources of hopeExtreme weather supercharged by the climate crisis is fuelling an explosive wildfire season in Europe and extreme rainfall across Asia this summer.Global heating made hot, dry and windy weather stoking wildfires at least 20 times more likely in Spain and twice as likely
  
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• From living roofs to rainwater harvesting: the future of sustainable homes

  03-08-2026 16:00 via theguardian.com
  A new book, Homes for Our Time, by Philip Jodidio, showcases the quiet revolution in green residential architecture Continue reading...
  
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• ‘They are such neat, busy little folk’: the unexpected superpowers of the common woodlouse

  03-08-2026 13:00 via theguardian.com
  This detritivore – known by a range of colourful names – tidies up our world and can withstand toxic pollutionRevealed: the top 10 invertebrates of the yearChucky pig. Slater. Monkey pea. Roly-poly. Boat-builder. Butchy boy. Cheeselog. Hobbling Andrew. Wood pig. If there were a prize for the range and joyfulness of a creature’s English-language names, the humble woodlouse would undoubtedly triumph over its million-plus invertebrate rivals.Over centuries of easy cohabitation wit
  
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• ‘Danger no longer only comes from the hitmen, but from the state’: the Honduran farmers labelled terrorists for protecting their land

  03-08-2026 13:00 via theguardian.com
  After another massacre of smallholders – who are subjected to violence from palm oil firms and drug traffickers – the country’s new Trump-backed government has criminalised community leadersSitting on the back of the motorcycle, 15-year-old Orlean* heard gunshots. A moment later, the bike crashed. His uncle and two cousins fell to the ground dead. Orlean fled into the dense green forest of the palm oil farm and rushed along the dirt road until he was home.He survived a massacre
  
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• ‘Bumbling, mumbling’ tidiers of our world: the unexpected superpowers of the common woodlouse

  03-08-2026 13:00 via theguardian.com
  This detritivore – known by a range of colourful names – feeds on rotting plant matter and can withstand toxic pollutionRevealed: the top 10 invertebrates of the yearChucky pig. Slater. Monkey pea. Roly-poly. Boat-builder. Butchy boy. Cheeselog. Hobbling Andrew. Wood pig. If there were a prize for the range and joyfulness of a creature’s English-language names, the humble woodlouse would undoubtedly triumph over its million-plus invertebrate rivals.Over centuries of easy cohabi
  
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• Suspected mass bird flu deaths found in second state as Murray Watt warns ‘this is the beginning’

  03-08-2026 12:27 via theguardian.com
  Environment minister says Australia has ‘long and difficult journey’ and says more mass mortality events likelyGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAerial surveillance has detected mass bird deaths in a second Australian state in another suspected escalation of the spread of deadly H5 bird flu.The environment minister, Murray Watt, said on Monday Australia had begun “a long and difficult journey” as CSIRO analysis confirmed Australia’s first ma
  
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• Black Foils on crest of a wave in fight against destructive marine trawling

  03-08-2026 12:24 via theguardian.com
  New Zealand sailing team combine racing with campaigning for environmental and social impact“Sailing on the Solent was awesome, but our racing … not quite perfect,” says Blair Tuke, co-chief executive of the Black Foils, New Zealand’s SailGP team, after finishing fifth at last month’s Great Britain Sail Grand Prix. It was only the team’s second competitive outing of the season after the boat had to be “pretty much rebuilt” following a big crash in
  
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• Find funding and save Jodrell Bank, stars say

  03-08-2026 11:56 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Astronaut Tim Peake, guitarist Johnny Marr and 150 other public figures have signed an open letter.
  
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• South-eastern Europe faces heatwave energy crunch as Romania detonates Danube rock to increase water flow – Europe live

  03-08-2026 11:34 via theguardian.com
  Explosives used to move a large rock and let more water flow to cool nuclear power plantHere’s a better look at the impressive controlled explosion in Romania…Meanwhile in Romania, the Romanian naval forces carried out a controlled explosion to divert a large volume of water to the Old Danube and the Cernavodă nuclear power plant to help with its cooling. Continue reading...
  
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• Weather tracker: Austria breaks heat records as Japan braces for Typhoon Dolphin

  03-08-2026 10:16 via theguardian.com
  Soaring temperatures continue to sweep parts of Europe, while Okinawa faces powerful winds and storm surgesEurope live – latest updatesUnbearable, record-breaking heat has dominated the summer of 2026 across much of Europe. New records were set in central Europe last week, with Wieselburg in Austria registering a new July peak of 40.3C (104.5F). This is particularly significant as it is just 0.2C behind the all-time high, set in the August of 2003.However, not all of the northern hemispher
  
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• It’s the debate of the century! Two climate ‘denialists’ battle it out to see who agrees the most denialistly | First Dog on the Moon

  03-08-2026 08:24 via theguardian.com
  What a vibrant marketplace of ideas Sign up here to get an email whenever First Dog cartoons are publishedGet all your needs met at the First Dog shop if what you need is First Dog merchandise and prints Continue reading...
  
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