Environment news

• Why melting Arctic ice can cause uncontrollable climate change – video report

  25-11-2016 15:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Arctic scientists have reported that the speed at which the northern ice cap is melting risks triggering 19 climate tipping points, with disastrous consequences. It could also affect ecosystems elsewhere on Earth, perhaps irreversibly. The Arctic Resilience Report says it is crucial to reduce greenhouse gas emissionsArctic ice melt could trigger uncontrollable climate change at global level
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• Iberian orca known for ramming boats seen with suspected gunshot wounds

  14-08-2026 17:07 via theguardian.com
  Marine conservationist says deliberate attack would be ‘act of extreme cruelty’ against endangered populationSpanish officials have launched an investigation after the matriarch of an orca pod known for jostling and ramming boats off the Iberian Peninsula was spotted with wounds suggesting she had been shot by a pellet gun.On Friday, Spain’s environment ministry said Toñi, the oldest living member of the pod, had been seen swimming in the Strait of Gibraltar with marking
  
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• Bird flu has been evolving and migrating for 30 years. It is a far more deadly virus that has now arrived in Australia

  14-08-2026 17:00 via theguardian.com
  Experts say the H5N1 bird flu virus’s risk to humans is low, but fear an impeding decimation of seal populations after tens of thousands of deaths in South America and AntarcticaGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastIn 1996, geese in poultry farms in the Guangdong province of southern China started to get sick with a virus causing “bleeding and neurological dysfunction” and then death.A strain of avian influenza had likely arrived as a relatively harmless v
  
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• Burnham temporarily bans disposable barbecue sales in ‘tinderbox’ Britain

  14-08-2026 16:50 via theguardian.com
  PM urges people not to risk lives and homes by starting fires as military brought in to help deal with wildfiresUK politics live – latest updatesDowning Street has issued a temporary GB-wide ban on the sale of disposable barbecue and brought in the military to help deal with wildfires as Andy Burnham urged people not to risk lives in “tinderbox” Britain this weekend.The prime minister spoke from Stourbridge in the West Midlands, where at least 19 people have been taken to hospi
  
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• Andy Burnham moves to cut new EV sales targets

  14-08-2026 15:25 via theguardian.com
  Possible cut from 80% down to as little as 50% could add millions of tonnes of CO2 to emissions and comes amid UK heatwavesAndy Burnham’s government has said it will look at cutting electric vehicle sales targets, in proposals that could add millions of tonnes a year to the UK’s future carbon dioxide emissions.The government launched a consultation on Friday on cutting the target for new EVs to as little as 50% of all new cars in 2030, down from 80% under existing rules. The consulta
  
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• ‘The eww holds power’: why disgust shapes how we see nature, queerness and each other

  14-08-2026 13:10 via theguardian.com
  We learn what to fear and reject from those around us. But if disgust can be learned, it can also be unlearnedVote for your favourite invertebrate of the yearIt was the summer of 2021 and I was standing in Hyde Park, London, trying to persuade passing tourists to come bug hunting with me. I was working on a campaign to increase public appreciation of invertebrates and, while I adore bugs, this job was teaching me how differently other people see them.A woman and her young daughter stopped to cha
  
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• Green groups urge Andy Burnham to break silence on climate crisis

  14-08-2026 12:58 via theguardian.com
  
  More than 50 organisations say PM urgently needs to show leadership and prepare British people for scale of change needed as UK struggles through another heatwaveUK politics live – latest updatesThe UK’s leading climate organisations have accused the prime minister, Andy Burnham, of “remaining silent” on the climate crisis as the country struggles to cope with its fifth heatwave of the year.As widespread droughts and devastating wildfires grip the country, green groups ha
  
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• Running dry: drought-hit UK sporting venues and parched pitches – in pictures

  14-08-2026 12:45 via theguardian.com
  With the UK experiencing the driest summer on record, we look at how the weather is affecting the pitches and courses across the country Continue reading...
  
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• El Niño may peak at the worst time for the Amazon – and it should worry us all

  14-08-2026 12:00 via theguardian.com
  Delay to rainy season in forest already damaged by human-driven heating could trigger powerful ‘Godzilla’ El NiñoAs a supercharged climate scorches Europe with wildfire and deluges Asia with floods, the Amazon is bracing for a drought that strikes fear into the hearts of forest defenders and food producers alike. But it should worry even more of us.Scientists are predicting that the peak of El Niño will occur at the worst possible time for the world’s biggest trop
  
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• ‘They do look majestic’: tears and pride as first white storks set free in Cornwall

  14-08-2026 10:00 via theguardian.com
  Twenty-one birds released on Bodmin Moor where it is hoped they will one day return to produce their own youngThey took a little coaxing at first – after all, they had got used to a safe, comfortable aviary tucked away in woodland on the edge of Bodmin Moor. But after a few minutes, the birds stepped out into freedom and the bolder ones were soon soaring into the blue, the first white storks to be released into the wilds of Cornwall.Yan Swiderski, the founder of the Cornwall Stork Project,
  
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• Weather forecasts once gave Britons something safe to chat about. Not any more | Andy Beckett

  14-08-2026 09:00 via theguardian.com
  Our once-mild climate is increasingly extreme – and how we talk about it is now another front in the culture warsIn this fragmented but supposedly mild country, watching and talking about the weather forecast is meant to be a reassuring, unifying activity. Collectively, we have created and maintained a national climate narrative of small disappointments and pleasures. The first weather forecaster to appear on British TV, George Cowling, made his debut on the BBC in January 1954, predicting
  
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• How can we talk about this extreme weather now that it’s a battleground in the culture wars? | Andy Beckett

  14-08-2026 09:00 via theguardian.com
  Weather forecasts once gave Britons something safe to chat about. Not any more, and that’s a problem for the experts – indeed, for all of usIn this fragmented but supposedly mild country, watching and talking about the weather forecast is meant to be a reassuring, unifying activity. Collectively, we have created and maintained a national climate narrative of small disappointments and pleasures. The first weather forecaster to appear on British TV, George Cowling, made his debut on th
  
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• Bird flu is a huge disaster and it’s normal to find it distressing and sad. How can we deal with this grief? | First Dog on the Moon

  14-08-2026 08:14 via theguardian.com
  Firstly you can just grieve – it’s not your fault because you used a plastic straw that one timeSign 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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• Tougher crops and beaver dams: how UK farmers are tackling drought

  14-08-2026 08:00 via theguardian.com
  Hit by heatwaves and low rainfall, food producers are finding novel solutions to help crops and cattle survivePonds and collection tanks, drought-resistant crops and a certain rodent. As the climate crisis brings more extreme weather to Britain, farmers are experimenting with new tactics to tackle drought – and flooding.The string of heatwaves and drought conditions experienced across vast swathes of Britain this summer has brought a series of challenges for food producers, particularly th
  
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• Crush-worthy cephalopods and beautiful bugs – vote for the invertebrate of the year

  14-08-2026 08:00 via theguardian.com
  Of the 1.3m spineless wonders in the world, you told us your favourites. Now it’s time to pick the winner• Don’t get Down to Earth delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereIt’s raining in Melbourne as I write this, and on my way to work I saw pale pink earthworms everywhere, scattered and exposed all over the footpath like soft-bodied streamers.It was a visible reminder, as I dodged to avoid squishing the inaugural winners, in 2024, of the invertebrate of the year contest, of
  
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• Week in wildlife: snake on a car, a careful spider mum and a lazy squirrel

  14-08-2026 07:00 via theguardian.com
  This week’s best wildlife photographs from around the world Continue reading...
  
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• ‘We feared we’d all be drowned’: the Indian floods that killed more than 100 and left thousands homeless

  14-08-2026 07:00 via theguardian.com
  More than 2,600 villages have been flooded in Assam this year, in a climate disaster made worse by uncontrolled deforestation and mining in the regionIt was a normal July morning in the Indian state of Assam. After finishing her chores and eating breakfast, Gitali Phukon, a resident of the town of Gaurisagar, left her home to buy groceries. After two days of rainfall that had made the unpaved roads muddy and slippery, the sun was shining.But less than an hour later, she returned home to a nightm
  
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• From toxic blooms to dead zones, how wildfires transform oceans and lakes

  14-08-2026 07:00 via theguardian.com
  Wildfire smoke and ash can reshape aquatic ecosystems long after the flames have been extinguishedWildfires are an increasing problem in Europe and elsewhere. While their immediate effect on air quality is obvious, they can also trigger less visible but significant environmental effects, including algal blooms.An algal bloom is the rapid growth of algae and other plant-like microorganisms. These blooms can become so dense that they change the colour of the lake and seas. Although most are harmle
  
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• Builders, bakers and cheeseburger-makers: the UK workers struggling in extreme heat

  14-08-2026 07:00 via theguardian.com
  From chefs to paramedics, workers tell the Guardian how they are coping and unions outline the changes needed in the workplaceIn the sweltering kitchen of the Plimsoll pub in north London, the head chef, Joshua Swinney, has a frozen tea towel wrapped around his neck to combat the heat.As temperatures exceeded 35C (95F) in the capital, workers who were not lucky enough to be in air-conditioned offices sweltered in the heat. Continue reading...
  
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• Country diary: It’s not easy, finding grass seeds in a river – but this search matters | Claire Stares

  14-08-2026 06:30 via theguardian.com
  Calshot, Hampshire: Underwater meadows are vanishingly rare habitats, so I join a group who are gathering eelgrass seed to help restore themIt’s 6.30am and I’m wading knee-deep in the River Solent, searching for common eelgrass (Zostera marina) seed. I meander through the shallows, scanning the underwater meadow for something no bigger than my little finger.I’ve been shown photos of the seed-bearing spathes, but at first the sheer expanse of leaves is overwhelming. I try combin
  
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• UK sees temperatures of 38.1C, the hottest day of 2026; Greece battles wildfires after gale force winds – as it happened

  13-08-2026 21:02 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...
  
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• Europe heatwave live: UK sees temperatures of 38.1C, the hottest day of 2026; Greece battles wildfires after gale force winds

  13-08-2026 20:42 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...
  
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• 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...
  
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• 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...
  
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• 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
  
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• 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...
  
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• 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
  
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• 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
  
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• ‘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
  
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• 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...
  
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