Climate Council forecasts more than 267,000 coastal properties will be damaged by flooding by 2100, costing hundreds of billions of dollars

Green leader says ministers must stop hiding the truth' about threat to UK security from climate and nature crisisZack Polanski has challenged Andy Burnham's government to publish an unredacted version of an explosive report by the UK's spy chiefs that found the collapse of overseas ecosystems would have catastrophic consequences for the UK's national security.The Green party leader in England said the prime minister should come clean about the scale and impact of the climate and nature crisis and called on the government to publish in full the report that warns the UK faces devastating security consequences. Continue reading...

In the first project of its kind, scientists are trying to answer if the future of Alaska's streams and tundra may depend not on survival of the fittest but on how species adapt togetherOn Alaska's North Slope, scientists tread carefully across clumps of tussock grasses toward a fast-flowing stream draining the imposing Brooks Range of ice and snow. Near Galbraith Creek, they string out a mist net for white-crowned sparrows. The birds have recently arrived from southerly latitudes, intent on feasting on the insects that will soon descend on the tundra like storm clouds.The Arctic summer is short-lived, and sparrows have only a few weeks to establish territories, find mates, lay eggs and raise their chicks on a steady diet of bugs. From every ensnared bird, the scientists collect blood, feather and faecal samples to see what they are eating and how that changes over the summer.Galbraith Creek on Alaska's North Slope Continue reading...

Officials say sighting a sign species - driven to extinction in state before reintroduction in 2011 - expanding its rangeA gray wolf has recently been seen in California's Mendocino national forest for the first time since the species returned to the state 15 years ago, state wildlife officials confirmed.Officials in Lake county, which is about two hours north of San Francisco, said last week the California department of fish and wildlife (CDFW) had received reports of sightings in the forest in late August. The agency verified the presence of a wolf in the far north end of the county, county supervisor Brad Rasmussen said in a statement on social media. Continue reading...

A total of six people apprehended as clean-up of rubbish stacked 10 metres high cost about 6mTwo men have been arrested after fly-tippers dumped a mountain of illegal waste", stacked 10 metres high, in Oxfordshire.Hundreds of tonnes of rubbish appeared in a field between the River Cherwell and the A34 near Kidlington in November last year. The waste tip was so large that removing it could cost more than the local council's annual budget, the area's MP said. Continue reading...

Center of storm passed west of the islands and was moving away but flooding and mudslides will continue to be a riskDamaging winds and heavy rains from Hurricane Lowell pelted Hawaii's western islands on Tuesday, knocking out power to thousands and ripping up stretches of beachside roads.Fierce winds downed trees and caused widespread power outages on the island of Kauai, home to 73,000 residents. The Kauai island utility cooperative reported that nearly all of its members were without power early on Tuesday. Continue reading...

Appeals court dismisses lawsuit from Jackson residents claiming that tainted drinking water violated their rightsA US appellate court has decided that the federal constitution does not guarantee a right to clean water.That legal opinion came in the form of a decision on Friday from the fifth circuit court of appeals to uphold a lower court's dismissal of a 2022 lawsuit from several Jackson, Mississippi, residents claiming that tainted drinking water violated their constitutional rights. Continue reading...

Climate scepticism is common at the Reform party conference, but many also criticise Labour for failing to protect Britons from hot weatherOn the second day of the Reform UK conference, in the wake of an undercover investigation alleging party officials plotted to evade the law on foreign donations, the deputy leader, Richard Tice, addressed the audience. Within minutes, a banner appeared behind him reading: Collect 5m, burn the planet."It was taken down promptly and Tice, who has repeatedly called on people to enjoy the summer's five successive heatwaves and record drought, rolled on. As Reform members at the Birmingham venue applauded Tice, there was plenty of agreement with his views. I enjoyed the heat this summer," said Jeanette Bowden, of Bexley. I don't think people need telling to take care of themselves." Her partner, James, added, without scientific backing: Carbon dioxide was much higher in the past, it was 10 times higher than this during the ice ages. It's not a human problem." Continue reading...

A total fire ban is in place for greater Sydney with extreme fire danger exacerbated by hot and windy conditions

Insurers in England and Wales tell of busy August with one reporting near-140% jump in claimsUK insurers are experiencing a surge in the number of homeowners making claims for subsidence after the hottest summer on record, with Hastings Direct reporting a near 140% jump to an all-time high for August.Insurance firms have been overrun by calls and online queries, as well as a rise in claims during the five heatwaves that followed the warmest spring ever recorded in England and Wales. Continue reading...

Experts say invasive species are creating pollinator deserts' and could have serious impact on food securityBritish beekeepers have called for a national awareness campaign about the impact of Asian hornets as they warned the invasive species was creating pollinator deserts" and threatening food security.Native to south-east Asia, the yellow-legged hornet is thought to have arrived in Europe in 2004 and has continued to spread ever since, its numbers probably boosted by increasingly warm springs and summers. Continue reading...

Interior department given three months to decide whether wolves can be removed from endangered species listDonald Trump signed an executive order on Friday directing the interior department to consider de-listing gray wolves from the Endangered Species Act and to contemplate whether the agency could make it easier to authorize killing them.The order gives interior secretary Doug Burgum three months to determine whether gray wolves and Mexican gray wolves have recovered enough for the federal government to de-list them. Continue reading...

A mysterious island has emerged in Williston Lake in Canada. A local resident shared a video of a floating 'island' with trees growing from it - which has appeared, disappeared and appeared again within two months. Satellite imagery has confirmed its existence and disappearance, and experts say the rising water level has set free trees that have been growing on woody debris on the shore Continue reading...

This week's best wildlife photographs from around the world Continue reading...

Scientists will be able to estimate the amount of heating and destruction caused by the gas ultimately drawn from the Beetaloo

Report calls for legally binding targets to cut microplastic pollution as soil is a complex living ecosystem'The accumulation of microplastics in soil presents an emerging threat to the UK's food security, according to scientists, MPs and campaigners who have called for legally binding targets to cut microplastic pollution.UK agricultural soils have been identified as among the most contaminated by microplastics in Europe, often as a result of repeated applications of sludge from water treatment works as fertiliser, according to a report published by the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) on microplastics. Continue reading...

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Majority of missing Australians were near Gyirong Port minutes before impact. Rescuers say the area is now destroyed, covered in metres of silt and debris

A battle over datacentre power sources is only part of the picture. Australia needs a much bigger electricity system to meet all future demandAnthony Albanese has been clear that he wants a set of national standards to ensure datacentre growth accelerates Australia's push to renewables and keeps a lid on power prices. At the centre of his desired policies was a BYO power" requirement - a condition that all new datacentres would be powered by 100% renewable electricity.But last week these aims collided with the Queensland and Northern Territory governments' desire to rely on their state-owned gas and coal power stations to power datacentres. Continue reading...

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Once the economic lifeblood of the region, Latrobe Valley's coal industry is in terminal decline. Jesse Thompson's photographic project aims to document this period of rapid change and examine its legacy Continue reading...

Hundreds of experts write to environment minister calling for stronger protections for unique and distinct' marine ecosystems

Capitalism and the climate crisis are conspiring to destroy the concept of seasons. I'll take solace in my pumpkin spiceHappy spooky season, everyone! Get those jack-o'-lanterns out, because Halloween is just around the corner!Just kidding, no, it's not. Continue reading...

An 1857 decree to drain swamps and plant a monoculture, detritus from the trees and global heating combined to produce the conditions for the Gironde infernoThe ruinous fires that overran parts of France this summer have burned more land than ever recorded, forced more people from their homes than at any point since the second world war and caused what scientists suspect is the country's first firestorm thundercloud. The smoke from France's biggest inferno in nearly 80 years choked Limoges, a city 125 miles (200km) from the flames, with more toxic dust than Delhi residents inhaled on the city's worst day of smog last year.The blaze that tore through forests outside Bordeaux in late July took just a few weeks to reforge France's relationship with fire, but the conditions behind it were centuries in the making. Continue reading...

Since Hurricane Sandy in 2012, a growing labor movement has addressed the climate crisis and economic inequalityRyan McElroen had spent years repairing the New York City subway underground when he got the opportunity to work in the middle of the ocean.I had no views other than the darkness at work," he said. Then I went polar opposite." Continue reading...

Similar initiatives have been launched from Barcelona to Bogota, but they have misinformation, political pressure and vested interests stacked against themTen years ago, Alastair Harper was an advocate for young people's health sitting in a stuffy meeting room in London planning an air pollution campaign. My phone started buzzing," he said. I took the call, and then told the room I needed to leave immediately.I had to get to UCLH [one of London's major hospitals]. My own child was headed there in a blue-lit ambulance because she was struggling to breathe London's toxic air." Continue reading...

Beach patrols report hundreds of stings a day as warmer waters and drought create favorable conditions for jellyfishAn unusually high number of jellyfish are crowding Delaware's beaches this summer amid climate change and other environmental factors - keeping some beachgoers out of the ocean and stinging lifeguards as well as bathers.Beach safety patrols in the state have reported hundreds of daily stings as the jellyfish have increased with intensifying environmental factors, including warmer waters, hot and dry conditions, and water circulation favorable to the invertebrates. Continue reading...

Running a farm is tough - TV's Clarkson's Farm shows that - but I know many minorities would love the chance. And we would all benefitWho'd be a farmer? Clarkson's Farm on Amazon is great entertainment but it also gives some indication of the stresses and challenges behind the farm gate. Would anyone who lacked the significant alternative income that Clarkson is lucky to have want that? Well, actually, yes.I'm an entrepreneur who owns a farm, as opposed to hands-on running the small one I bought 25 years ago, but as I look around the industry, I'm struck by a significant fact: the very reason I can be known as the Black Farmer is because I am such a rarity that it makes me readily identifiable. Continue reading...

Experts say fires caused by wrongly discarded lithium batteries, such as those in vapes, are putting lives at riskFires at recycling centres caused by wrongly discarded lithium batteries such as those found in vapes are occurring at the rate of more than 10 a week, according to new figures.Experts say the sheer volume of battery fires now occurring at waste facilities has reached a crisis that is putting lives at risk, costing 1bn a year and frustrating fire chiefs. Continue reading...

UK anthology inspired by question: Where are our black and Asian nature writers?' has boosted interest in genreA new movement of eco poets from black and brown communities in the UK is challenging the canon of nature poetry against the backdrop of the climate and biodiversity crisis.Mona Arshi, who co-edited the first UK collection of eco poetry from African, Asian and Caribbean diaspora voices, was inspired to put the anthology together after asking in a social media post that went viral: Where are all our black and Asian nature writers?"It's time to write about daffodils

The 10-year blueprint mandates water cuts of up to 40% for California, Arizona and NevadaIt's official: after years of tense negotiations and missed deadlines, there is finally a plan to govern the future of the imperiled Colorado River - or at least the makings of one.With the previous framework set to expire in October, the US Bureau of Reclamation publicly released its proposal for a new plan on Friday. Continue reading...

A record amount of sargassum has piled up along coastlines of the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico. Sargassum is a brown seaweed that causes lower oxygen levels and foul-smelling gases when it decomposes on beaches. Researchers and marine scientists have warned that the algae build-up starves underwater plant life of sunlight, affects human health and can leak arsenic into sand Continue reading...

Experts say more must be done to adapt to changing climate, after two trains derailed within 24 hours during a recent heatwaveRailway companies are racing to prepare for another brutal summer next year, as a developing El Nino could see 2027 break more heat-related records.Britain's railway system has already been under stress from extreme heat this summer, with several operators reducing timetables and train speeds. Continue reading...

Researchers hope contest - similar to Fat Bear Week - starting Monday will be latest wildlife watching crazeMonday sees the start of what researchers hope will be the latest wildlife watching craze - Fat Marmot Week.Last winter was tough for marmots living high in the Colorado mountains, where researchers say two-thirds of one population died while hibernating because of insufficient snow cover. Continue reading...

Cut in electric vehicle sales targets could add millions of tonnes of CO to emissions in UK, say green campaignersAndy Burnham has been criticised for moving to cut electric vehicle (EV) sales targets and accept North Sea drilling at a time of devastating wildfires caused by the climate emergency.The prime minister for the first time acknowledged on Friday that the climate crisis was behind hundreds of wildfires that have ripped across the parts of the UK. Continue reading...

Utility company's plant, which has only run five times, now has an estimated total cost of 500mThames Water is preparing the UK's only desalination plant to restart operations later this year - but it will not be ready until the winter, long after the current drought is likely to have passed.The utility company said that it was hoping to start operating its plant in Beckton, east London, by the end of the year", in order to help build up reservoir supplies over the winter for next summer. Continue reading...

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 Toni, the oldest living member of the pod, had been seen swimming in the Strait of Gibraltar with markings on her dorsal fin that were consistent with shots from a pellet gun". Continue reading...

High coral cover is evidence of recovery and resilience, not evidence that the disturbances causing mortality didn't happen,' scientist says

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...

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 the BBC in January 1954, predicting that tomorrow would be rather windy", but a good day to hang out the washing". For most of the 72 years since, such brief, carefully calibrated broadcasts have provided people from Aberdeen to Penzance with practical information, small talk and minor grumbles about essentially the same situation: living in a country where the weather is constantly changing, in a paradoxically unchanging way.Yet like the traditional British climate, that common weather culture may now be evaporating. Met Office considers issuing red extreme heat warning' across Britain while nation enjoys incredible summer'," said the headline above the forecast on the GB News website on Monday, caught between terror and delight at the latest heatwave. As the climate crisis has affected this country in more and more unmistakable but uneven ways, TV weather forecasters have increasingly struggled to find the right language to describe this transformation's daily consequences. Their struggle influences and exemplifies that of many Britons to understand, and work out what we think about, the apparent end of the weather patterns we expected to shape our whole lives.Andy Beckett is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

The writer - who was also shortlisted in 2023 - has won the prize for her book When There Are Wolves Again, a speculative work of eco-fiction set in near-future BritainA novel about rewilding and climate activism in Britain has been named this year's winner of the Arthur C Clarke award for science fiction.When There Are Wolves Again by EJ Swift is an ambitious study in the power of long-term hope in the face of climate breakdown", said the award's director, Tom Hunter. Continue reading...

Move by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is latest government rollback of climate science activityThe Trump administration has pulled its support for an annual report on the environmental changes across the Arctic, a region that is already heating up four times faster than the global average due to the climate crisis.On Tuesday, Kim Doster, the communications director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa), said the federal agency was withdrawing its support for the Arctic Report Card, which has provided environmental updates on the region to scientists and the public since 2006. Continue reading...

US envoy had claimed Americans could be extracting crude by as early as next yearGreenland authorities have forced a US oil company connected to Donald Trump to postpone drilling wells in the Arctic territory, defying claims by the US president's envoy that Americans could be extracting crude by next year.Amid Trump's imperialist threats, tensions have been rising on Greenland's eastern coast after the oil company brought drilling equipment ashore in July without permission, drawing a strong warning" from the government. Continue reading...

Plans for hyperscale datacenter in Palm Beach county prompt concerns over water and electricity demandsAbout 16 miles (26km) west of the Mar-a-Lago estate on President Donald J Trump Highway, near the northern edge of the Florida Everglades, developers have proposed a hyperscale datacenter on a 202-acre (82-hectare) parcel of land surrounded by water. Local environmentalists warn that the proposed 600MW datacenter in western Palm Beach county could damage the wetlands, which the federal government and the state of Florida have spent a combined $6bn to restore after decades of drainage and development.One concern is that the datacenter could exacerbate an existing issue of toxic bacterial blooms in a water system which has already been stressed by drought, fertilizer runoff and warm water temperatures. In recent summers, the bright blooms of blue-green algae have covered nearly half of Lake Okeechobee, which feeds into the Everglades. Continue reading...

Emergency services, residents and environmental groups say military dropping flares to destroy forests and cropsFirefighters and residents of south Lebanon have accused the Israeli military of lighting wildfires in the region, as forested areas burned down in blazes sparked by Israeli bombing.Environmental groups said the fires in recent weeks were part of a longstanding Israeli practice of targeting Lebanon's natural environment. Continue reading...

PM to look at imposing restriction on devices in public spaces, though campaigners fear it does not go far enoughThe government will look at banning disposable barbecues as wildfires continue to rage across the UK, Andy Burnham has said.Disposable barbecues have been the cause of a number of serious fires over the last few years, but campaigners were critical of the prime minister's failure to link those fires more broadly to the climate crisis. Continue reading...

Winds of more than 80mph, severe flooding and tornadoes swept through Indiana, Ohio, Illinois and KentuckyPowerful storms swept across the midwest on Tuesday, leaving three dead and more than 800,000 without power in four states as winds gusts of more than 80mph (130km/h) tore down trees and power lines.In Indiana, a four-year-old child died after a tree fell on his home in Geneva Township and a person died in a suspected weather-related house explosion in Portage, a city about 30 miles south-east of Chicago. Continue reading...

The gigantic aquatic acrobats are exciting Brazil's tourists as numbers recover from whaling. But some marine biologists question how booming tourism and conservation can coexistThe anticipation is palpable onboard the Boaventura II as the yacht sets off from Rio de Janeiro at sunrise. Once beyond the Cagarras Islands, rocky outcrops just three miles off Ipanema beach, the group gathers at the bow and starts scanning the horizon.They do not have to wait long. Eleven o'clock!" someone calls out, as a pod of bottlenose dolphins appears, playfully diving in and out of the water. Then, two spouts of vapour hanging in the air signal the reason for the outing: a pair of humpback whales. The majestic mammals surface to breathe with an unhurried chuff, before revealing the underside of their fluke as they dive back underwater. Continue reading...

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Firm urges customers to avoid running washing machines and dishwashers between 6pm and 8pm on Wednesday