Environment | The Guardian

August is on track to be hottest on record, with temperatures hitting at least 110F (43C) nearly every dayMore than 400 people are suspected to have died from extreme heat in Maricopa county, Arizona, so far this summer, according to official figures, as the brutal current heatwave enters its 12th day.August is on track to be the hottest on record, with temperatures hitting at least 110F (43C) every day apart from one so far. As of 11 August, at least three daily records had been broken including an all-time monthly high of 118F (48C), as well as several night-time record temperatures, according to Isaac Smith, meteorologist at the National Weather Service (NWS) in Phoenix. Continue reading...

PM says sustainable revenue for roads is needed as report shows nearly one in 10 new car sales are electric vehicles

Australia's biggest bank delivers bumper payout to shareholders as CBA vows to end lending to coal companies with no net zero plans

Hawizeh's wetlands once had abundant fishing and wildlife. In a land threatened by drought and desertification, oil drilling is draining the last of the waterAt dawn, a veil of mist clings to the canals of Hawizeh, where sky and water seem to blur into a mirror. In the stern of a narrow wooden boat, 23-year-old Mustafa Hashim scans the marshes' shallows, cutting the motor and switching to a traditional pole to avoid snagging on invasive roots or thickening mud.It takes him about half an hour to push through the shrinking marshes to reach Um al-Nea'aj, once a vibrant lake teeming with boats and birdsong. Now, the water is about half a metre deep. Continue reading...

Charity gives children a well-earned break from caring responsibilities, hoping that a day's snorkelling amid the island's wildlife will help them connect with natureA seal just swam right by me," squeals Odin Rawlinson, 14, as he awkwardly clambers back on to the dive boat in his flippers. He had hoped to see a megalodon or a kraken (a mythical sea creature) on his first ever snorkelling trip. But to his surprise, he finds the marine life that actually frequents the waters off Lundy in the Bristol Channel just as enchanting.Odin Rawlinson on the trip to Lundy - the 14-year-old looks after his mother who has kidney failure and has to have regular dialysis sessions in hospital. Continue reading...

Boy, four, dies of heatstroke in Rome as scientists say high temperatures and fires are reminder of climate emergencyThe deadly heatwave fanning wildfires across the Mediterranean region has claimed at least three lives and forced thousands of people from their homes.Firefighters continued to battle blazes on Tuesday and authorities braced for further damage as temperatures in some areas surged well past 40C. In Spain, a Romanian man in his 50s died after suffering 98% burns while trying to rescue horses from a burning stable near Madrid on Monday night. Continue reading...

Greens senator David Shoebridge says communities will have no way to protect the land' from waste that will be radioactive for millennia

Ministers say online vendors of electrical goods such as microwaves will also have to contribute to recycling feesVape sellers will have to pay for the disposal of the devices under plans announced by the government.Ministers said they would end the UK's throwaway culture" as they revealed measures to fund the recycling of electrical waste. Continue reading...

Government analysis finds 10 times more locations used for recreation than previously identified

Sources say delayed risk assessment includes modelling of effects of climate crisis in ways that have been little discussed in political debate so far

Millions of the tiny plastic pellets are being washed up on the coast of Kerala in India in the latest in a series of global spills, as plastic treaty talks continue in GenevaWhen a Liberian-flagged container ship, the MSC Elsa 3, capsized and sank 13 miles off the coast of Kerala, in India, on 25 May, a state-wide disaster was quickly declared. A long oil slick from the 184-metre vessel, which was carrying hazardous cargo, was partially tackled by aircraft-borne dispersants, while a salvage operation sealed tanks to prevent leaks.But almost three months later, a more insidious and persistent environmental catastrophe is continuing along the ecologically fragile coast of the Arabian Sea. Among the 643 containers onboard were 71,500 sacks of tiny plastic pellets known as nurdles. By July, only 7,920 were reportedly recovered. Continue reading...

In today's newsletter: Hotter houses are likely to become the norm, with the dangerous health impacts facing society's most vulnerableGood morning. With temperatures soaring across Europe, fears of drought and people trying to steer clear of the most severe heat, there's one place millions of us will still not be comfortable: home.The Guardian's Hot Property series shows how the poorest and most vulnerable are trapped inside dangerously hot homes. Even for today's temperatures much housing is inadequate, let alone the even more extreme heat predicted for the coming years, the reporting shows.Israel-Gaza war | Hundreds of mourners carried the body of the prominent Al Jazeera journalist Anas al-Sharif through the streets of Gaza City on Monday, a day after he and four colleagues were killed in an Israeli airstrike, prompting condemnation from across the world.NHS | Attacks on A&E nurses have almost doubled over the last six years, with incidents often involving patients frustrated at waiting so long for care.US news | Donald Trump has ordered the national guard to Washington DC and seized control of the city's police force, describing a lawless" city in ways that are sharply at odds with official crime statistics.UK news | David Lammy is facing possible legal action over a plan to invite staff from the oil firm Shell and the defence firm BAE Systems to work inside the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.Agriculture | A study has found that Biochar, a charcoal made from human waste, could help solve fertiliser shortages as well as reduce pollution and energy use. Continue reading...

Kirsten Mae Fearn was repeatedly warned about the behaviour but she continued to import plants which she intended to sell online

National Drought Group meets and water companies prepare to take drastic action as supplies dwindleA nationally significant water shortfall is gripping England, the government has warned, as experts say the conditions could last until mid-autumn.The National Drought Group met to discuss actions to save water across the country, and Steve Reed, the environment secretary, briefed the chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster, Pat McFadden, about the risks posed by the dry weather. Continue reading...

Lee fire is one of largest blazes in state history after burning 130,000 acres, while Elk fire surpassed 14,000 acresFirefighters in Colorado responding to one of the largest blazes in the state's history are facing gusty winds and dry conditions that are expected to continue to drive extreme fire behavior.More than 1,000 firefighters have been deployed, and while crews have gained containment on one fire, another has grown amid fire-friendly weather. Continue reading...

Four-year-old boy dies of heatstroke in Italy as scientists warn of molotov cocktail' of climatic conditionsDeadly heat of up to 44C is searing southern Europe, as scientists warn of a molotov cocktail" of climatic conditions that is fuelling vast wildfires across the Mediterranean.In Italy, where temperatures of 40C are expected in Florence later this week, a four-year-old boy died of heatstroke, and a red alert warning was issued for seven major cities, including Bologna and Florence. Continue reading...

Fish once as large as grizzly bears have become far smaller in recent years due to overfishing, dams and climate crisisThe size of megafish in the Mekong River has shrunk alarmingly in recent years owing to overfishing, a study has found. The length of the largest and most endangered freshwater giants, some as big as grizzly bears, decreased by 40% in seven years.Some fish, like the Mekong giant catfish, have been studied for over a longer period and show a decline in weight of 55% in the past 25 years, dropping from an average of 180kg (397lb) to 80kg. Continue reading...

Singapore firm using secretive international legal system to seek compensation for climate concerns blocking plansThe UK government is being sued in a secretive corporate court" after a proposal for a new coalmine in Cumbria was quashed by the high court. If successful, UK taxpayers would have to fund a substantial compensation payment to the mine's investors.It is the first such case to be filed against the UK government by a fossil fuel company as a result of climate policy. The case uses investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) rules agreed in a 1975 trade agreement between the UK and Singapore, where the major investor in the coalmine is incorporated. Continue reading...

Portuguese firefighters have been battling wildfires across southern Europe, as scientists warn of a 'molotov cocktail' of climatic conditions across the Mediterranean.Southern Europe swelters under deadly heatwave as temperatures pass 40C

Heavy rainfall cut power and closed roads across Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri, Illinois and WisconsinHeavy rainfall in half a dozen midwest US states forced motorists to abandon their vehicles, cut power to thousands of households and closed busy roadways over the weekend.The National Weather Service issued flood watches and warnings for parts of Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri, Illinois and Wisconsin. After rainfall began on Saturday in some areas forecasters predicted repeated rounds of heavy rain", along with hail, damaging winds and isolated tornadoes into Monday. Continue reading...

Some Salisbury, Maryland, residents say the contaminated water from Perdue Farms's local plant has sickened themWastewater from an industrial soya bean farm and processor has poisoned a Maryland town's drinking water with Pfas, several lawsuits allege, raising questions about residents' health and forever chemical" pollution from industrial agricultural operations nationwide.Perdue Farms acknowledged that its 300-acre Salisbury, Maryland, operation is polluting local waters, but the chemicals' sources have not been confirmed. It appears the Pfas is in part also coming from some combination of sludge used as fertilizer and pesticides, attorneys for plaintiffs say. Continue reading...

Danish company makes $9bn cash call as it says business model has been derailed by US policiesEurope's largest wind power company has blamed Donald Trump for derailing its business model, after it announced a $9bn (6.7bn) fundraising and its market value plunged by almost a third.The share price for Denmark's Orsted tumbled to an all-time low after it told investors on Monday that the extraordinary situation" facing the industry meant it would need to tap shareholders to cover the costs of its plans. Continue reading...

White House denies suggestions resort in Vietnam presents conflict of interest amid row over compensation ratesVillagers whose farms in Vietnam will be bulldozed to make way for a $1.5bn golf resort backed by the Trump family have reportedly been offered rice provisions and cash compensation of as little as $12 for a square metre of land by state authorities.Thousands of villagers will be offered compensation based on land size and location, according to a report by Reuters. The agency spoke to elderly farmers who said they feared they would struggle to find a stable livelihood. Continue reading...

Judge in Hawaii rules that commercial fishing is illegal in Pacific Islands Heritage marine national monumentA federal judge in Hawaii has ruled that commercial fishing is illegal in the Pacific Islands Heritage marine national monument, a federally protected area in the central Pacific Ocean.The decision from Judge Micah WJ Smith overturns an April letter released by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) - also known as National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) Fisheries - that allowed fishing in parts of the monument that Barack Obama had protected during his presidency. The letter came about a week after Donald Trump's presidential proclamation to reverse fishing regulations across the national monument, a world heritage site that includes archeological treasures, marine mammals, seabirds and coral reefs. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Homes are heating up as summers get hotter but least well-off are shouldering greatest risk, study finds

Reducing urban heat islands, greening local areas and using heat pumps for air conditioning can also play a role

Voluntary climate commitments were supposed to be a step towards progress. A change in political climate has revealed their weaknessesEarlier this month, as Nordic countries were hit with an unprecedented heatwave and wildfires in the US began spurting fire clouds", Barclays pulled out of the net zero banking alliance. The story may have seemed less alarming than extreme weather, but it has existential implications, as the finance sector quietly surrenders its former climate commitments.The initiative forms part of the Glasgow Finance Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ), a voluntary network of banks that Mark Carney, formerly the UN's special envoy on climate action and now Canada's prime minister, launched in 2021. At the time, the alliance, which encourages banks and asset managers to work towards the goals of the Paris agreement, seemed like an optimistic step in the right direction. Mr Carney described it as a breakthrough". Continue reading...

French officials says heatwave in southern Europe complicates efforts to contain biggest wildfire since 1949Tourist trails have been closed on Mount Vesuvius in southern Italy as firefighters tackle a huge blaze on the volcano's slopes, while officials warned of another challenging day" for those working to contain France's biggest wildfire since 1949.The wildfire on Mount Vesuvius, close to Naples, broke out a few days ago and by Saturday afternoon had stretched to about 3km (1.9 miles) wide, destroying hundreds of hectares of woodland and killing wild animals. Thick smoke could be seen from Pompeii and Naples. Continue reading...

Scientists say lightning bugs are having a revival this year - but they're concerned about the insects' long-term viabilityMax Vogel, a 29-year-old public defense attorney, was picnicking with friends in early August at Prospect Park in Brooklyn, New York, when he noticed flashes of light appear in the air around him.They were fireflies, bioluminescent insects that the Washington DC native had not seen while living in Oregon, where there are few, if any. For many Americans who live where fireflies do, their flashing lights at dusk are a tangible rite of summer - though one that may now be under threat. Continue reading...

US Bureau of Land management is working to rapidly strip protections to largest tract of land in the USThe Trump administration's plan to expand oil and gas drilling in a 23m acre reserve on the Arctic Ocean is sparking an impassioned response, amid fears it threatens Arctic wildlife, undermines the subsistence rights of Alaska Natives and imperils one of the fastest-warming ecosystems on Earth.More than a quarter of a million people have responded to the 2 June proposal from the US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to roll back protections on the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A), the largest tract of public land in the US. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Polluted water was released into loch near Glasgow because Royal Navy failed to maintain 1,500 water pipes, says watchdogRadioactive water from the base that holds the UK's nuclear bombs was allowed to leak into the sea after old pipes repeatedly burst, official files have revealed.The radioactive material was released into Loch Long, a sea loch near Glasgow in western Scotland, because the Royal Navy failed to properly maintain a network of 1,500 water pipes on the base, a regulator found. Continue reading...

Prof Miles Richardson says people risk extinction of experience' in the natural world without new policiesPeople's connection to nature has declined by more than 60% since 1800, almost exactly mirroring the disappearance of nature words such as river, moss and blossom from books, according to a study.Computer modelling predicts that levels of nature connectedness will continue to decline unless there are far-reaching policy and societal changes - with introducing children to nature at a young age and radically greening urban environments the most effective interventions. Continue reading...

Canyon fire in Ventura county, north of Los Angeles, is 25% contained but still growing, officials sayHundreds of firefighters and first responders are working to contain a rapidly growing brush fire in a mountainous area of southern California that has forced thousands of evacuations.The Canyon fire erupted in a rural, sparsely populated area of Ventura county on Thursday afternoon and quickly exploded in size, spreading east into Los Angeles county. By 3pm on Friday afternoon, the blaze was 25% contained but covered nearly 5,400 acres (21.9 sq km) , according to authorities. Continue reading...

Campaigners had urged Lula to veto the bill entirely, but many have welcomed his alterationsBrazil's president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, has signed into law a controversial bill that scientists and environmentalists had dubbed the devastation bill", but vetoed key articles that would have in effect dismantled the country's environmental licensing system.On Friday, the final day to either sanction or veto the law, Lula struck down or amended 63 of the 398 provisions in a bill that, as approved by congress last month, had been regarded as the most significant setback to Brazil's environmental protections in four decades. Continue reading...

Con Edison, city's monopoly utility, cut off 88,000 households in first half of 2025 as climate crisis drives extreme temperaturesAn energy company seeking to hike utility bills in New York City by 11% disconnected more than 88,000 households during the first six months of 2025, signaling a crackdown on families struggling to cover rising energy costs even as the climate crisis drives extreme temperatures.Con Edison, the monopoly utility that provides electricity to 3.6m homes across the country's largest city and neighboring Westchester county, disconnected almost 2.5% of all its customers between January and June this year - triple the total number of families left without power in 2024. One in five disconnected homes remain without power for at least a week. Continue reading...

Sightings confirmed in County Durham and Suffolk as southern small white flutters in from European mainlandBritain has a new species of butterfly: the southern small white has continued its rapid colonisation of northern Europe by flying across the North Sea.The species looks very similar to the native small, large and green-veined whites but two individuals spotted in County Durham and Suffolk this summer have been verified as Pieris mannii, which was once confined to southern Europe. Continue reading...

UK Health Security Agency warns of potential rise in deaths as hot weather sweeps in from MondayA yellow heat health alert has been issued across much of England for the start of next week as forecasters predict another heatwave.Temperatures could reach the mid-30s across central, southern and eastern areas of the country by Wednesday, the Met Office has said. Continue reading...

Experts warn country is in danger of becoming dirty man of Europe' as it falls to bottom of bathing water leaderboardEnglish swimming waters are five times more likely to be polluted than those in the EU, new research has revealed.Experts have said that the country is in danger of becoming the dirty man of Europe" again as it falls at the bottom of the leaderboard for bathing water which is free of bacterial contaminants. Continue reading...

Lek Chailert devoted her life to rescuing abused elephants. Now caring for 120 of them, she fears for their future in AsiaSaengduean Lek Chailert was five years old when she saw an elephant for the first time. It was in chains, lumbering past her home in rural Thailand on its way to help loggers pull trees from the forest. Back then, she saw the giant mammals like everyone else - as animals that served humans. But that changed the day she heard a scream from the forest.Chailert was 16 when she heard the terrible noise. She scrambled through the trees until she found the source: a bull elephant scrabbling in the mud as it tried and failed to drag a log out of a ditch. Every failed attempt was met with punishment from the loggers and mahout, the elephant keeper. Continue reading...

The best of this week's wildlife photographs from around the world Continue reading...

Plans have provoked outrage from communities in areas of Great Britain expected to host new infrastructureThe government is pushing head with a plan to offer those who live near new electricity pylons a discount of 2,500 from their energy bills over the next 10 years to ease the backlash against its clean power plans.Thousands of households within half a kilometre of new or upgraded electricity infrastructure could each receive up to 250 off their annual energy bill from next year to help speed up the rollout of infrastructure critical to the government's targets. Continue reading...

News Corp broadsheet puts Pollyannish spin on study that found a record decline in the world's largest coral reef. Plus: Grok goes woke

Otterpool Park's 8,500 homes will run on solar power and batteries - with enough renewable energy to help keep lights on elsewhereOne of Britain's first all-electric towns to be built with almost no reliance on fossil fuels could soon help to power the grid with renewable energy.The developers of a new garden town in Kent have struck a deal with a leading energy infrastructure company to design and operate a smart" energy grid, which could mean its 8,500 households act as a virtual power plant for the rest of the country. Continue reading...

Duplomb law' provision to allow use of acetamiprid, toxic to pollinators, found not to abide by environmental charterFrance's top constitutional authority has ruled against the reintroduction of a pesticide that is harmful to ecosystems, saying it is unconstitutional.The decision on Thursday night deals a blow to the government. It comes after weeks of opposition from the left, environmentalists and doctors, and a record-breaking 2m signatures on a petition against a bill that would have allowed a pesticide banned in France in 2020 to come back into use. Continue reading...

Trees to remain as memorial to Marline Anderson, who died recently, and who planted them in Battersea in 1980sThe pair of subtropical grapefruit trees have stood, slightly incongruously, on a street in south-west London for 40-odd years since Marline Anderson brought them over from Grenada - a gift" from her homeland - and planted them in her front garden.The trees will remain as a memorial to Anderson, who died recently, after campaigners seeking to protect them were told on Thursday they had been successful. Continue reading...

Environmental group says industry figures will be obstructive and aim to reduce overall ambition of meetingMore than 200 industry lobbyists are attending the UN's meeting to hammer out a global plastics treaty, raising fears that moves to prevent runaway plastic production may be undermined.The 234 lobbyists from the oil, petrochemical and plastics industries outnumber the combined delegations of all 27 EU member states, and far exceed the number of people attending with the delegation of scientists as well as Indigenous peoples at the Geneva talks. Continue reading...

Overall clearing was up 3%, with almost half in Great Barrier Reef catchment areas while 21% was remnant woodland, government data shows

Park bosses say they're running visitor centers and even cleaning bathrooms as remaining staff try to keep sites openAcross the US's fabled but overstretched national parks, unusual scenes are playing out this summer following budget cuts by Donald Trump's administration. Archeologists are staffing ticket booths, ecologists are covering visitor centers and the superintendents of parks are even cleaning the toilets.The National Park Service (NPS), responsible for maintaining cherished wildernesses and sites of cultural importance from Yellowstone to the Statue of Liberty, has lost a quarter of its permanent staff since Trump took office in January, with the administration seeking to gut the service's budget by a third. Continue reading...

The recent hopeful surge of some wildlife isn't down to us. But in an era of climatic decline, it shows the resilience of our fellow speciesButterflies flit across my vision wherever I go this summer. Screams of swifts have been unusually audible in cities. Hedges are laden with blackberries. Hordes of plump wood pigeons devour my kale. Fruit trees bow with plums and apples. There are wasps galore and each morning I'm woken by a raucous new neighbour: a herring gull that's moved on to the factory roof next door.Wild nature, in Britain this year, is visibly abundant. Most of us share similar stories. But is there really a blizzard of butterflies? Are there actually more swifts? Is nature in recovery after years of decline? Or is this shifting baseline syndrome in action, whereby we are so inured to decimated levels of nature that we are deceived by tiny blips of hope? Continue reading...

A new polar project compared samples with those collected more than a century ago by by Scott, along with voyages led by Shackleton and BorchgrevinkThree glass specimen jars full of satsuma-sized sea urchins sit on Dr Hugh Carter's desk in the Natural History Museum. Each one, collected from the depths of the Southern Ocean by polar teams led by Sir Ernest Shackleton, Capt Robert Falcon Scott and the Norwegian Carsten Borchgrevink, tells a tale of heroic exploration and scientific endeavour.Now, more than a century later, Carter, the Natural History Museum's (NHM) curator of marine invertebrates, hopes the preserved Antarctic urchins, 50 in all, will help tell a different, increasingly urgent story of modern times: how changes in the world's southernmost waters may be affecting marine life. Continue reading...