Environment | The Guardian

World Meteorological Organization says weather pattern is in place, which for Australia increases risk of drought, heatwaves, bushfires and coral bleaching

Heatwaves sizzled around the world from the US south and the north of Africa to China and AntarcticaThis Monday, 3 July 2023, was the hottest day ever recorded globally, according to data from the US National Centers for Environmental Prediction.The average global temperature reached 17.01C (62.62F), surpassing the August 2016 record of 16.92C (62.46F), as heatwaves sizzled around the world. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Disclosure provokes fury as Rishi Sunak accused of betraying populations vulnerable to global heatingThe government is drawing up plans to drop the UK's flagship 11.6bn climate and nature funding pledge, the Guardian can reveal, with the prime minster accused of betraying populations most vulnerable to global heating.The disclosure provoked fury from former ministers and representatives of vulnerable countries, who accused Rishi Sunak of making false promises. Continue reading...

Five Tory-led councils take legal action in bid to block Sadiq Khan's plans to extend ultra-low emission zone to whole of capitalLondon's mayor Sadiq Khan lacks the legal power" to extend the ultra-low emission zone (Ulez) to the whole of the capital, five Conservative-led councils have argued in the high court.Lawyers for four outer London boroughs - Bexley, Bromley, Harrow and Hillingdon - and Surrey county council said that key information was not disclosed" in consultations over the proposed expansion of the Ulez. Continue reading...

Team hope sale of block of rare ambergris, used by perfumers, will help victims of 2021 La Palma volcanoWhen a sperm whale washed up dead on a beach in the Canary Island of La Palma no one imagined a valuable treasure was hidden in its entrails.Heavy seas and a rising tide made it difficult to carry out a postmortem, but Antonio Fernandez Rodriguez, head of the institute of animal health and food security at the University of Las Palmas, was determined to find out why the whale had died. Continue reading...

Vast majority of releases were illegal, high court told - as Thames Water is fined 3.34m for sewage dumping in separate caseWater companies discharged raw sewage into rivers and seas via their storm overflows more than 300,000 times last year, according to new data presented to the high court. The new figures came as - in a separate hearing - Thames Water was fined 3.34m for sewage dumping.The vast majority of the releases of raw sewage were illegal, the high court heard. The discharges had happened because of a lack of capacity at treatment works run by water companies and had been in breach of the law, it was told. Continue reading...

Japanese firm believes it could make a solid-state battery with a range of 745 miles that charges in 10 minutesToyota says it has made a technological breakthrough that will allow it to halve the weight, size and cost of batteries, in what could herald a major advance for electric vehicles.The world's second largest carmaker was already pursuing a plan to roll out cars with advanced solid-state batteries, which offer benefits compared with liquid-based batteries, by 2025. Continue reading...

World Meteorological Organization warns of record temperatures and extreme heat in environmental double whammy'The arrival of a climate-heating El Nino event has been declared by the UN's World Meteorological Organization (WMO), with officials warning that preparation for extreme weather events is vital to save lives and livelihoods.The last major El Nino was in 2016, which remains the hottest year on record. The new El Nino comes on top of the increasing global heating driven by human-caused carbon emissions, an effect the WMO called a double whammy". This can supercharge extreme weather, and temperature records are already being broken on land and at sea across the globe. Continue reading...

The Cornish Seal Sanctuary has been rescuing and rehabilitating pups for more than 60 years. Between September 2022 and March 2023, 50 grey seal pups were treated by the animal care team, with 86% of them being released back into the sea. The sanctuary also provides a permanent home to those needing special care Continue reading...

WildFish charity says 56bn plan to reduce sewage dumping from storm overflows is illegal because it expects customers to foot billWater companies must pay to fix illegal sewage discharges rather than pass the cost to customers, lawyers for the charity WildFish are to argue in the high court.The campaign group will allege at a judicial review that the government's 56bn plan to reduce raw sewage dumping from storm overflows is illegal. Continue reading...

Researchers alarmed by results of study of dogs and horses living close to Chemours factory in North CarolinaPets living near a PFAS manufacturing plant in Fayetteville, North Carolina have concerning levels of the toxic chemicals in their blood, and show evidence of health effects linked to exposure, new research finds.PFAS were present in all 32 dog and 31 horse blood samples checked, and the findings provide evidence that human and animal exposures to the chemicals impacts their bodies, said Scott Belcher, a North Carolina State University researcher and co-author. Continue reading...

The first supermoon of 2023 has been seen in Spain, Russia, Greece and Argentina and according to the Old Farmer's Almanac is called the 'full buck moon', named after the antlers of male deers which are growing at this time of year. A supermoon occurs when the full moon takes place at or near the lunar perigee, which means its closest approach to the Earth. When the full moon occurs at or around this point in its orbit, it appears larger and brighter than other full moons

Australian government stands by safeguard mechanism's design and indicates it will not change in response to lobbying

Heat dome of high pressure hovers over Louisiana, Texas and Oklahoma as thousands remain without power in Chicago with heavy rains knocking down trees and power linesThe heating of the earth's atmosphere and oceans by the burning of fossil fuels made the current extreme heatwave across the us at least five times more likely, according to a recent analysis by Climate Central, a climate science non-profit.The rolling heatwave marks the latest in a series of recent extreme heat dome" events that have scorched various parts of the world.If you have this sort of high-pressure system sitting stationary over a region, you can have these really impressive heatwaves. Continue reading...

Average temperature of 15.8C almost a full degree higher than previous highs for the monthThe Met Office has confirmed June was the hottest on record for the UK, eclipsing the last hottest by nearly a full degree.Across the month, the country recorded an average mean temperature of 15.8C, beating the previous record of 14.9C, recorded in 1940 and 1976 and about 2.5C above the usual June average. Continue reading...

Public urged to use water sparingly on Koh Samui, as authorities say they don't want it to become a disaster zone'Authorities on Koh Samui are working to tackle a water shortage that has left taps running dry often for months, saying they do not want the Thai island to become a disaster zone".A lack of rain and a resurgence in tourism has put intense pressure on supplies, prompting Sutham Samthong, a deputy mayor of Koh Samui, to urge the public to use supplies sparingly. Continue reading...

Creator of winning garden at Hampton Court flower show says US plants are ideal for changing climateYears of hot dry summers parching lawns and killing off prize blooms have caused many gardeners to switch to using gravel and Mediterranean herbs, trees and shrubs.But a newly fashionable style of planting known as prairie planting could be a way to maintain a lush garden that is good for wildlife, while withstanding drought and floods. Continue reading...

Winter storms inundated an industrial agricultural area the size of Lake Tahoe, flooding fields, homes and electricity gridsThere are portions of California's Tulare Lake, with its blue water that stretches for miles and birds bobbing around the shoreline, where it can be easy to forget that a few months ago, none of this was here at all.But then an irrigation hose or a fence post or a power line pokes through the surface, reminding passersby and authorities tasked with patrolling the lake what lies under the water. Continue reading...

Duchy hopes to at least double size of Wistman's Wood, a 3 hectare fragment of ancient woodland, by 2040Prince William plans to double the size of a tiny fragment of rainforest on his Dartmoor estate, the Duchy of Cornwall has announced.Wistman's wood is one of Britain's remaining ancient temperate rainforests", brought into the public eye after environmental campaigner Guy Shrubsole's bestselling book on the subject. Continue reading...

As Montana awaits a judgment in a historic climate lawsuit, there's a drive to place environmental provisions in state constitutionsA constitutional legal strategy is gaining traction as a way to potentially help bring about climate justice, boosted by a recent high-profile trial in which 16 young plaintiffs spoke movingly about how the climate crisis has affected their lives.That case, the first US constitutional climate trial, came to an end in Helena, Montana, earlier this month, with a verdict expected to be delivered by a judge in the coming weeks. Continue reading...

Activists denounce heavy use of water for elitist leisure pursuit' as drought continues in SpainClimate activists in Spain have filled in holes on 10 golf courses to draw attention to the huge amounts of water the elitist leisure pursuit" uses as a nationwide drought continues in the first heatwave of the year.Members of Extinction Rebellion (XR) revealed their latest direct action campaign in a video released on Sunday, saying they had targeted courses in locations including Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, the Basque country, Navarra and Ibiza. Continue reading...

Zoning requirements also mean developer of 13,000 houses can meet infrastructure needs via a voluntary planning agreement

The winners have been announced in the third edition of the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation's Environmental Photography award. They are being exhibited in Monaco on the Promenade du Lavotto, before touring internationally Continue reading...

Our outfits contain BPA, PFAS and other dangerous substances - but we still know little about their cumulative impactThe first thing that happened when Mary, an Alaska Airlines attendant, received a new, high-performance, synthetic uniform in the spring of 2011 was a hacking cough. Then a rash bloomed on her chest. Next came migraines, brain fog, a racing heart, and blurry vision.Mary (whose name I've withheld to protect her job) was one of hundreds of Alaska Airlines attendants reporting that year that the uniforms were causing blistering rashes, swollen eyelids crusted with pus, hives, and in the most serious case, breathing problems and allergic reactions so severe that one attendant, John, had to be taken off the plane and to the ER multiple times. Continue reading...

Environmental agency officials said workers are cooling the gooey material with river water and putting it into garbage bags for recyclingGlobs of asphalt binder that spilled into Montana's Yellowstone River during a bridge collapse and train derailment could be seen on islands and riverbanks downstream from Yellowstone National Park a week after the spill occurred, witnesses report.Officials with the Environmental Protection Agency said cleanup efforts began on Sunday, with workers cooling the gooey material with river water, rolling it up and putting the globs into garbage bags. It will probably be recycled, said Paul Peronard with the EPA. Continue reading...

Research suggests buried carcass unlikely to attract sharks so long as it is placed above water table and high tide mark

Kamilaroi elder Michael Cain used to collect wood for didgeridoos from Eura forest but was banned once it became Breelong national park

Drought in Mexico and depleting water supply in the Colorado River has led to a scarcity in red jalapenos, the key ingredientSriracha lovers everywhere are feeling the not so pleasant sting of the beloved hot sauce shortage, now in its second year. Drought in Mexico has resulted in a scarcity of chilli peppers - in particular, red jalapenos, the raw material of sriracha - leading Huy Fong Foods, the California-based maker of the iconic condiment, to scale back production.It is a challenging crop to grow," said Stephanie Walker, a plant scientist at the New Mexico State University, who serves on the advisory board of the Chile Pepper Institute. Jalapenos are really labor intensive, requiring people to de-stem them by hand before they go for processing." Continue reading...

Cases linked to king's Sandringham estate in Norfolk include alleged poisoning and shooting of some of UK's rarest birds of preyKing Charles's private country estate at Sandringham in Norfolk has been linked to the deaths and disappearances of a string of legally protected birds over the past two decades, a Guardian investigation has found.The cases include the alleged poisoning, shooting and disappearance of some of the UK's rarest birds of prey. One of the cases involved the mysterious loss of eastern England's last breeding female montagu's harrier, a critically endangered species whose future in the UK is now looking bleak. Continue reading...

City region is branded worst in Europe for eco-friendly transportI'd hoped we could take a Bee bike to Salford," said Sarah Rowe of the Clean Cities Campaign after meeting the Observer at Piccadilly station in Manchester. But look."Her app shows that none of the docks nearby has any bicycles, so we take a taxi. The driver gets 12 and the people of Manchester get 15 more minutes of exhaust fumes. Continue reading...

This blog has closed

Prime minister under fire as government backtracks on plan for more onshore turbines to keep voters on sideRishi Sunak is facing mounting criticism for putting politics above the fight against climate change, amid clear signs that ministers are backtracking on plans to allow more onshore windfarms in England before a general election.The Observer understands that a much-vaunted government consultation on ending what has in effect been a ban on new onshore wind projects will lead to a minimal relaxation of planning rules - because ministers do not want to anger potential Tory voters who oppose huge wind turbines in their neighbourhoods. Continue reading...

Demands for an end to the revolving door' as ex-Ofwat directors are hired by key firmsTwo-thirds of England's biggest water companies employ key executives who had previously worked at the watchdog tasked with regulating them, the Observer can reveal.Cathryn Ross, the new interim joint chief executive of Thames Water and a former head of watchdog Ofwat, is one of several ex-employees working for water companies in senior roles such as strategy, regulation and infrastructure. Continue reading...

National Parks and Wildlife Service led operation to try to save 30-tonne whale which washed ashore on Seven Mile beach

Trying to veganize food from a meat-adoring country might seem antithetical, but with the Philippines being one of the most climate-vulnerable nations, it makes senseBagnet is a savory Filipino treat that hails from the northern region of Ilocos, usually made by boiling and deep frying pork belly until it's crispy and golden. But at Cosmic, a vegan restaurant in Manila, Philippines, it's convincingly rendered using soy and starch to imitate the layers of fat and meat in the original. It's so savory that even an omnivore might reach for seconds.The bagnet is just one item on the Cosmic menu, which is full of vegan versions of what would otherwise be meat-centric Filipino favorites: the kare kare, a thick peanut-based stew, omits the oxtail and is packed with vegetables instead. The sinigang (a sour soup) and customer-favorite sizzling sisig feature tofu rather than fish or pork. And the beanuguan", Cosmic's version of dinuguan, a stew customarily made with pork offal and blood, is instead made with black beans. Continue reading...

Insects appear to have arrived along with smoke from Canadian wildfires though their species is yet to be determinedThree weeks after choking smoke from Canadian wildfires enveloped the city, an infestation of tiny flying bugs is the latest signal that some New Yorkers are interpreting as the portent of end times.Since Wednesday, New Yorkers running, biking, walking or on subways, have reported tiny insects, moving in cloud-like swarms, around parts of Manhattan and Brooklyn, in some cases making it hard to breathe. Continue reading...

The school is on stilts, the shore has advanced by 2km - and the mangroves that used to reduce the waves have been lost for shrimp farms. How long can residents stay ahead of rising sea levels?From the corridor of Khun Samut school, it's clear how far inwards the sea has crept. In the distance, beyond the still waters of neighbouring shrimp farms, sticks can be seen poking out of the blue. They were once electricity poles, powering the parts of the village that have since been submerged in the Bay of Bangkok.Over recent decades, Ban Khun Samut Chin, a coastal village in Thailand's Samut Prakan province, about 10km from the outskirts of Bangkok, has been slowly swallowed by the sea. The school, which is elevated on concrete stilts, has already been forced to retreat twice. Families have repeatedly moved their homes. Many have left altogether after finding work elsewhere. The population is getting smaller and smaller. Continue reading...

Pinkish-hued remains of winter snowfall fascinate hikers but - despite natural origin - pose questions about health and climateHigh up in the mountains, amid pinyon pine and quaking aspen trees, the remaining remnants of the winter's snow is dotted with hues of pinks, purples and oranges.Hikers, campers and church youth groups journeying by grasp it in their palms and liken it to flavored snow cones, Flamin' Hot Cheetos, pink lemonade, dissolved blood or if passersby conducted an art project using red food coloring. Continue reading...

Tory peer claims PM uninterested in environment but No 10 suggests exit had alternative motiveRishi Sunak is embroiled in an extraordinary standoff with Zac Goldsmith after the Tory peer quit the government, accusing Sunak of being simply uninterested" in the environment and the climate emergency.Lord Goldsmith resigned as a Foreign Office minister with a highly personal attack, warning that voters would punish the prime minister at the polls for his apathy in the face of the greatest challenge we have faced". Continue reading...

Advisory committee on business appointments says it has seen no evidence' that Gray's decision-making was affected despite ex-PM's claimNHS England has just published its 150-page long-term workforce plan. It's here.The government is keen to present it as an NHS plan, not a government plan, and at the moment you cannot find it prominently on the No 10 or Department of Health and Social Care websites.This is our longer-term, strategic approach to workforce planning. In a nutshell we will:1. Train more staff Continue reading...

Liv Garfield seeks backing from Labour for reforms as government considers temporary renationalisation of Thames WaterThe chief executive of the water company Severn Trent is seeking backing from industry and the Labour party for British utility firms to be reformed as social purpose" companies that would stay in private hands but give greater weight to the needs of customers, staff and the environment.Liv Garfield, who has run the FTSE 100 company since 2014, has this week written to the chief executives of utility companies in the water, energy and telecoms sectors inviting them to an off-the-record roundtable" chaired by Will Hutton, a columnist for the Observer and the co-chair of the Purposeful Company. Continue reading...

Outgoing minister attacks PM but No 10 claims he quit after being asked to apologise over privileges committee criticism

Exclusive: Thames Water crisis prompts call for rethink on party's decision to ditch nationalisation policy

Many employees in Texas have no heat protections and work in intense and prolonged sun exposure, which causes heat illnessLast week as the heat dome scorched Texas, Gloria Machuca arrived for work at a McDonald's in Houston to find the air conditioning wasn't working. The temperature inside the restaurant was similar to the temperature outside - at least 90F. It was 7.30am..Temperatures would rise another 10 degrees that day but already, Machuca said, the intense heat was making her eyes burn. She and five of her co-workers walked out on their jobs. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Quadrature Climate Foundation is run by billionaires whose fund has stakes worth $170m in fossil fuel firmsSome of the world's best-known climate campaign groups have taken millions of pounds in donations from a foundation run by billionaire hedge fund bosses whose investment fund has invested in fossil fuel companies, the Guardian has learned.Groups including the European Climate Foundation, the Carbon Tracker Initiative and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) have taken millions of pounds in grants over the past two years from Quadrature Climate Foundation, according to filings with the Charity Commission. WWF told the Guardian on Tuesday it would investigate the donation. Continue reading...

It takes just under a minute to make a single swift brick that could house generations of migratory birds. So why isn't it compulsory to install them in the UK?At first, it is hard to spot. A small hole in the eaves is often all that can be seen. It's only on closer inspection that a hollow brick can be discerned, slotted neatly into a wall. Inside might be a pair of nesting swifts that have travelled thousands of miles from Africa to the UK.At Manthorpe Building Products' factory in Derbyshire, it takes just under a minute to produce a single swift brick that could provide a safe haven for generations of these migratory birds. Granules of recycled plastic are put into an injection moulding machine and, moments later, the separate parts of the brick come out, before a worker snaps them together. Continue reading...

The best of this week's wildlife photographs, including hungry gannets, spotted owlets and a baby mongoose Continue reading...

In today's newsletter: Guardian business correspondent Alex Lawson on how things got so bad for the private water company, and where we go from here Sign up here for our daily newsletter, First EditionGood morning.For the last few years, the water industry has faced growing criticism over everything from increasingly common hosepipe bans to dumping sewage in England's waterways. Thames Water is the biggest water company in the UK and it is facing a particularly acute crisis after its chief executive, Sarah Bentley, suddenly resigned with no explanation and reports began appearing that the government and regulators had started to draft contingency plans for the potential collapse of the water provider after concerns grew about its ballooning 14bn debt pile.France | Violence has erupted for a third night over the fatal police shooting of a 17-year-old boy of north African descent during a traffic stop. An officer was charged with voluntary homicide on Thursday as an estimated 6,000 people marched in Nanterre, near Paris, in memory of the boy, identified as Nahel M. More than 400 people have been arrested across France.Immigration | A bitter legal battle over the government's plans is set to reach new heights after Downing Street insisted it would challenge a ruling that sending refugees to Rwanda was unlawful. Rishi Sunak said that the government would seek permission to appeal and insisted that Rwanda was a safe country.NHS | Thousands more doctors and nurses will be trained in England every year to plug the huge workforce gaps that plagues almost all NHS services. Amanda Pritchard, the chief executive of NHS England, hailed the long-awaited plan as a once in a generation opportunity to put staffing on a sustainable footing for years to come".Society | A critical report has found that undercover police operations to infiltrate leftwing groups in the 1970s and early 1980s were not justified and should have been rapidly closed down. Sir John Mitting also concluded that the undercover officers gathered a remarkable" quantity of information on activists who posed no threat to public order.Transport | New data has revealed that rail travel is far more carbon efficient than previously thought. The Rail Delivery Group commissioned the development of a new tool designed to calculate emissions so that it could measure its carbon footprint properly. Continue reading...

Rail industry group commissioned a new tool to calculate the industry's carbon footprint more accuratelyRail travel is far more carbon efficient than previously thought, according to a rail industry group that has commissioned a new tool for calculating emissions.The Rail Delivery Group (RDG), the association of train companies and Network Rail that works to coordinate the UK's railways, commissioned the development of the tool so that they could measure their carbon footprint properly. Continue reading...