Expert group declares official drought amid prolonged dry spell, meaning water rationing may take placeA drought has been declared across wide swathes of England after a meeting of experts.The prolonged dry conditions, with some areas of the country not receiving significant rainfall all summer, have caused the National Drought Group to declare an official drought. Continue reading...

Lidl becomes latest retailer to halt sales of the barbecues as Met Office issues highest fire warningAll big supermarkets have now stopped selling disposable barbecues in the light of the risk of wildfires across the UK.Morrisons, Asda and Lidl on Friday joined Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Aldi, Waitrose and Marks & Spencer in temporarily removing the product from sale in all stores as an official drought was declared across large parts of south and east England and the Midlands. Continue reading...

Invasive species on islands: when signs of the pests were discovered on the Scilly isle in January, a crack squad of conservationists mobilised to save threatened seabird coloniesWords and pictures by Alexander Turner

Yorkshire Water announces ban from 26 August and Thames Water could introduce measure from FridayA hosepipe ban could be introduced as early as Friday by Britain’s largest water company, covering London and much of the south-east of England, after a drought is declared across eight areas of England on Friday.Thames Water is “ready to go” with its hosepipe ban, according to its strategy and regulatory affairs director, Cathryn Ross, who said there was a process for introducing a ban but that it could be bypassed if an official declaration of drought is made on Friday. Continue reading...

The best of this week’s wildlife pictures, including grazing camels, hot bats and a newly hatched turtle Continue reading...

Exclusive: ex-US vice-president says with $370bn package of clean energy spending ‘we have changed history and will never go backwards’America’s passing of its first ever climate legislation will prove a pivotal moment in history that will help bring to an end the era of fossil fuels, according to Al Gore, the former US vice-president.Joe Biden is poised to sign a huge $370bn package of clean energy spending, overcoming decades of American political rancor and inaction on the climate crisis. Gore said he was now sure the fossil fuel industry and its political backers will not be able to reverse the shift to a decarbonized world, even if Republicans are able to wrest back control of Congress or the White House. Continue reading...

Yes, it’s a real word. Here’s the science (and etymology) behind itIt’s baking hot in New York, which can only mean one thing for the city’s small mammal population: it’s splooting season.This week, with temperatures reaching 95F (35C), the city’s parks department urged residents not to worry about the health of squirrels seen sprawling on the ground, legs extended behind them like a person whose arms gave out halfway through a yoga class. “On hot days, squirrels keep cool by splooting (stretching out) on cool surfaces to reduce body heat,” the department tweeted. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Britishvolt’s 95-hectare site seen as great hope for car industry, but construction severely limited until FebruaryConstruction of a huge electric car battery factory that has attracted tens of millions of pounds of taxpayer cash and been hailed as a flagship project of Boris Johnson’s levelling up policy has been put on “life support” to cut spending, leaked internal documents suggest.Work on Britishvolt’s 95-hectare site near Blyth in Northumberland has been severely limited until February to minimise spending as it focuses on unlocking its next round of funding and critical power supply infrastructure, the documents suggest. Continue reading...

Candidates to be next prime minister clash over how to tackle energy crisis at hustings in CheltenhamLiz Truss’s tax cut-based approach to the energy crisis risks putting millions of Britons in “real destitution”, Rishi Sunak has warned, as the Conservative leadership candidates again clashed bitterly over economic policy.The hustings event on Thursday in Cheltenham, a key Tory-held marginal seat, also saw the foreign secretary effectively rule out any increased windfall tax on energy firm profits, as she hit out at the “depressing” sight of fields used for solar power. Continue reading...

Experts warn of current and future impact of drought as ministers are expected to make official declarationEngland is likely to be declared officially in drought on Friday, a move that will allow water companies to impose tough restrictions on water use as temperatures remain high across swathes of the UK.Hosepipe bans are likely to follow in areas that have not yet declared them, with people being urged to save water by not washing their cars, using lawn sprinklers or filling large pools. Continue reading...

Supermarkets introduce total ban as large swathes of UK suffer from lengthy dry spellSainsbury’s and Tesco have halted sales of disposable barbecues amid rising alarm about their potential to spark wildfires, as large swathes of the UK suffer a lengthy dry spell.The supermarkets are the latest to introduce a complete ban after Marks & Spencer, Waitrose and Aldi announced they will no longer stock disposable barbecues because of the potential detrimental impact they have on the environment and wildlife. Continue reading...

Bare rock is emerging between Scex Rouge and Tsanfleuron glaciers as they melt at an accelerated rateThe thick layer of ice that has covered a Swiss mountain pass for centuries will have melted away completely within a few weeks, according to a local ski resort.After a dry winter, the summer heatwaves hitting Europe have been catastrophic for the Alpine glaciers, which have been melting at an accelerated rate. Continue reading...

Vital statistics on power-generation firms suspected of having cashed in on high energy pricesBoris Johnson met executives from some of Britain’s biggest energy companies on Thursday to discuss the cost of living crisis.Johnson was flanked by the chancellor, Nadhim Zahawi, and the business and energy secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng. Zahawi said afterwards that the energy firms agreed to “do more to help the people who most need it” – but did not specify what that would entail. Continue reading...

Tudor manuscript listing aristocratic owners, and birds’ ornate markings, is described as ‘a really rare survival’Distinctive markings on the beaks of swans to denote their aristocratic ownership in the 16th century are logged in a rare Tudor manuscript to be auctioned this month.A book dating from 1566 contains images of more than 600 marks used in Norfolk and Suffolk, along with notes on the “laws and ordinances regarding swan”. Continue reading...

Drought group preparing to meet as Met Office issues highest fire risk warning for much of EnglandAn official drought could be declared for parts of England on Friday as rising temperatures and tinderbox conditions prompted the Met Office to issue its highest warning under its fire severity index.The National Drought Group – made up of civil servants, the Environment Agency, water companies and other groups including the National Farmers’ Union – is due to meet on Friday to discuss the longest dry spell since 1976. Continue reading...

Élisabeth Borne makes statement as more than 1,000 firefighters battle huge blaze south of BordeauxThe French prime minister has said France must fight “more than ever” against climate breakdown but also learn to adapt to it, as she met authorities battling a huge wildfire that continued to burn through south-western pine forests and has forced the evacuation of more than 10,000 people.As more than 1,000 firefighters battled the rampant Landiras fire south of Bordeaux, with hundreds of reinforcements expected, Élisabeth Borne said: “We must continue more than ever to fight against climate breakdown.” She added that from September, she would oversee a form of “environmental planning” to ensure France adapts to new climate situations, as well as planting new forests. Continue reading...

Drax has taken £5.6bn in subsidies from energy bill payers but business secretary says practice is ‘not sustainable’The importing of wood to burn in Drax power station “is not sustainable” and “doesn’t make any sense”, the business and energy secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, told a private meeting of MPs this week.The remarks are significant as the burning of biomass to produce energy is an important part of the UK government’s net zero strategy and has received £5.6bn in subsidies from energy bill payers over the last decade. Scientists and campaigners have long argued that burning wood to produce electricity is far from green and can even increase the CO emissions driving the climate crisis. Continue reading...

Campaigners told new deadline for decision on first new deep coalmine in more than 30 years is 8 November

While the legislation provides renewed hope, work remains to be done to ensure the funding is put to best possible useThe passage of the historic US climate legislation this weekend sparked renewed hope in environmental circles and even tears of joy in Congress. Many who have spent decades on the front lines feel that, despite its imperfections, the landmark federal funding opens up new frontiers on which to fight in a rapidly changing world.The call to arms rings especially true in the American west, where the devastating effects of the climate crisis – from drought to wildfires to heatwaves – are already hitting home. Continue reading...

Adam Bandt says allowing global offsets to be traded along with Australian ones would just delay action to cut emissions

Yellowstone, Death Valley, Kentucky – experts say extreme rainfall spurred by global heating is rendering historical norms obsoleteAn entire building and roads washed away by raging waters in Yellowstone. People desperately swimming from their homes in St Louis. Dozens dead after torrential downpours in Kentucky. The summer of 2022 has been one of extreme floods in the US, with scientists warning the climate crisis is worsening the devastation.The deadliest of the recent barrage of floods, in Kentucky, was described as “heartbreaking” by Joe Biden as he surveyed ruined houses and inundated cars on Monday. At least 37 people died after five days of pounding record rain washed down mountainsides and drowned entire towns, an event that scientists say is a once in 1,000 year occurrence. Continue reading...

Senex Energy says extra fuel will be for domestic use but plans are yet to secure state or federal environmental approvals

Port Stephens growers say entire crops have been lost, workers are being laid off and consumers face higher prices

Livelihoods are on the line with outages of up to 17 hours a day as the country’s ageing power plants struggle to copeInside a grimy flat in the heart of Mbare, one of Zimbabwe’s oldest townships, steam billows from a hissing iron.It is 7am and Nhamo Chari, 42, is racing to finish ironing a client’s clothes before the power cuts out. Continue reading...

Invasive species on islands: A drive to eradicate non-native pests is slowly restoring the rocky Caribbean outpost’s unique species

Charge of up to $23 a day would reduce number of cars entering Manhattan by 15-20%, assessment saysNew York City could introduce a traffic congestion charge of up to $23 a day late next year, which a study released on Wednesday projected would reduce the number of cars entering Manhattan by 15-20%.The city wants to charge a daily variable toll for vehicles entering or remaining within the central business district, defined as between 60th Street in midtown Manhattan and Battery Park on Manhattan’s southern tip. Continue reading...

AGL, EnergyAustralia and Origin among businesses study says not on track to meet global climate goals to limit heating to well below 2C

Federal, state and territory ministers are set to make emissions reduction a priority for the national electricity market

High temperatures and drought in the wine-growing region of Gironde force partial closure of motorwayAbout 10,000 people have been evacuated to save them from wildfires in the Gironde region of south-west France after a massive blaze that destroyed more than 15,000 hectares (37,000 acres) of pine forest in July sparked up again and tore through woodland.“The fire is rampant and has now spread to the Landes départment,” local authorities in the wine-growing départment said. The French government doubled the number of firefighters to 1,000 on Wednesday afternoon, supported by planes dropping water. Continue reading...

Mining could begin in less than a year after talks fail to produce regulatory framework despite growing calls to halt harm to oceansThe negotiations on opening the world’s first deep-sea mines ended in Kingston, Jamaica, last week with no agreement, meaning that less than a year remains before a legal clause kicks in that could see seabed mining commence without any environmental or economic regulations in place.Three weeks of discussions on the “two-year rule” at the council headquarters of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) – the UN body that oversees mining in international waters – ended in stalemate on 4 August. The two-year rule was triggered in July 2021 when the Pacific nation of Nauru declared its plan to start seabed mining. Continue reading...

Research finds UK homes rated band F for energy performance likely to have gas bills £968 higher than homes in band CPoorly insulated homes will have to pay almost £1,000 more than others on their energy bills this winter, according to research by the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU).The analysis found that homes rated band F on the energy performance certificate (EPC) system are likely to have a gas bill £968 higher than a home rated EPC band C. Continue reading...

LV=GI says it is dealing with claims worth £1.2m after the heatwave of 17 to 20 JulyOne of the UK’s largest home insurers has warned over the impact of record temperatures on claims, saying the climate crisis was already resulting in a rise in fire and subsidence cases this year.LV=General Insurance (LV=GI), which was bought by the German insurer Allianz in 2019, said it was dealing with claims worth £1.2m after the extreme heat that hit the country between 17 and 20 July. Continue reading...

Trees are advancing into the Arctic tundra and retreating from boreal forests further south, where stunting and die-offs are expectedForests from the Arctic to the Amazon are transforming at a “shocking” rate due to the climate crisis, with trees advancing into previously barren tundra in the north while dying off from escalating heat farther south, scientists have found.Global heating, along with changes in soils, wind and available nutrients, is rapidly changing the composition of forests, making them far less resilient and prone to diseases, according to a series of studies that have analyzed the health of trees in north and South America. Continue reading...

Antony Blinken announces formal working group during Kinshasa visit, while voicing concerns over auction of oil and gas permitsThe US and the Democratic Republic of the Congo have agreed to form a working group to protect the enormous Congo basin rainforest and peatlands, which are threatened by oil and gas exploration.The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, made the announcement in Kinshasa on Tuesday while expressing his concern over the sale of dozens of oil and gas permits in the DRC that included blocks in Virunga national park and the Cuvette Centrale tropical peatlands, part of an area described as “the worst place on the planet” to drill for oil and gas. Continue reading...

Invasive species on islands: Macquarie Island, a Unesco world heritage site, was being eaten alive until an ambitious eradication programme restored it

New research finds that eradicating non-native rats, cats, rabbits and goats is 88% effective in restoring biodiversityEradicating rats, goats and other invasive animals from islands is one of the most effective tools for protecting wildlife, resulting in dramatic transformations to degraded archipelagos and atolls, according to a new study.From the dodo to Daudin’s giant tortoise, island species have been disproportionately affected by extinctions, often caused by the arrival of alien species brought by colonisers that killed wildlife found nowhere else on Earth. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Downing Street has no plan to bar use of hoses as PM is also urged to drain pool at ChequersDowning Street has no plan to put a hosepipe ban in place in and around the prime minister’s residence, the Guardian can reveal, despite ministers calling for water companies to enforce restrictions.Thames Water, which supplies No 10, said on Tuesday it would be putting water rationing in place in the coming weeks due to the extended dry conditions. Continue reading...

As temperatures soar at triple digits, heat-related 911 calls have increased 34% since 2020, with first responders facing the bruntThe 911 call came in about an elderly man who had fallen outside a storage facility in central Phoenix. The fire crew, who are also paramedics, found 80-year-old Noel laid on his back on the concrete ramp under direct sunlight; he was weak, thirsty and very hot.Noel, an Englishman with diabetes and hypertension, had been moving furniture when his legs gave way. His core temperature was 104F – dangerously hot. (The typical range for a healthy older adult is 97 to 99F.) His blood pressure was also very high at 242/110, and his pulse was racing. Continue reading...

Whale had been lifted out of river as part of ambitious attempt to return it to seaA beluga whale that strayed into the River Seine and began swimming in the direction of Paris has died during an ambitious rescue effort intended to help it back to its traditional cold Arctic waters.The four-metre animal was euthanised by vets after it developed breathing difficulties while being transferred by road to the Normandy coast. Hours earlier, it had been lifted out of the freshwater of the Seine, where it could not survive. Continue reading...

‘Red tides’ are an annual hazard in Florida and other coastal areas but a monitoring project can help limit harm to humansNearly every day, Florida resident Pradeepa Siva goes paddleboarding through Doctors Pass in Naples. The thin passageway between Moorings Bay and the Gulf of Mexico is home to a couple of friendly dolphins, which Siva often sees on her outings.But the journey is about more than exercise and wildlife sightings, because when Siva paddleboards she is also participating in a government-funded science project aimed at protecting public health. As climate change brings warming ocean waters, predictions of a dangerous phenomenon known as “red tide” are on the rise. Continue reading...

Tamboran Resources, which received $7.5m to explore Beetaloo Basin, argues target may hinder ‘climate improving’ gas projects

Campaigner Feargal Sharkey says profiteering from firms that dump raw sewage into rivers an ‘obscenity’The Environment Agency’s pension fund owns stakes in a string of British water firms – despite the watchdog calling for industry bosses to be jailed over shocking pollution levels, the Guardian can reveal.An analysis of the Environment Agency Pension Fund’s investments shows it holds shares or bonds worth £28m in six of the largest water companies. Continue reading...

Charity says extreme conditions a ‘watershed moment’ and it is planning for long-term hot weatherThe National Trust has reported significant effects across its estate from the recent extreme heat including bats in distress, heather struggling to flower and historic water features drying up.At Wallington in Northumberland, bats were found disoriented and dehydrated in the daylight during the hottest days this summer, while in Cambridgeshire, a waterwheel that powers a flour mill has had to stop turning due to low river levels. Continue reading...

RSPB warns of risk to UK wild bird population this winter from 1 October release of captive-bred birdsConservationists have called for ministers to ban the release of millions of gamebirds to prevent the UK’s wild birds being wiped out by a “catastrophic” avian flu epidemic this winter.The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) said there was a significant risk that pheasants, partridge and ducks released for shooting from 1 October could spread avian influenza into wild bird populations, wreaking havoc in farmland and garden birds. Continue reading...

After nearly six hours of work, the 800kg cetacean was lifted from the river by crane and placed on a bargeThe beluga whale stranded in the River Seine in northern France has reportedly been removed from the water early on Wednesday in the first stage of an ambitious rescue operation.After nearly six hours of work, the 800-kilogram (1,800-pound) cetacean was lifted from the river by a net and crane at around 4am (0200 GMT) and placed on a barge under the immediate care of a dozen veterinarians. Continue reading...

Big oil companies are making record profits while consumer energy bills soar. We spoke to finance reporter Jasper Jolly to find out why

Climate research finds modelling used cannot predict localised extreme weather, leading to poor estimations of risk

The blaze in Matanzas province raises fears that the damaged facility will worsen the island’s energy shortageFlames have engulfed a fourth tank at an oil storage facility in western Cuba as a raging fire consumes critical fuel supplies on an island grappling with a growing energy crisis.Firefighters and specialists from Mexico and Venezuela helped fight the blaze in the province of Matanzas with boats, planes and helicopters as they sprayed foam on the containers, a first for crews since broiling temperatures had prevented them from doing so earlier. Continue reading...

Ban will hit 15 million people in London and south-east England and could last until OctoberFifteen million more people are to be hit with a hosepipe ban in London and the surrounding areas, as Thames Water has announced measures will be introduced “in coming weeks”.These bans could come across the country, including in the north-east. Leaked Environment Agency documents seen by the Guardian show that Yorkshire Water, Severn Trent and South West Water are among companies are applying for drought permits, which would allow them to put bans in place. Continue reading...

Lack of rain could have dire consequences for farming and crop harvestingThe UK is braced for drought conditions until October, with rivers forecast to be low and exceptionally low in central and southern England, according to the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology.This could have dire consequences for farming, as soil in much of the country is too dry to drill, and many crops for harvest next year and the end of this year need to be drilled by the end of October to be viable. Continue reading...