Up to five areas could enter drought status and more hosepipe bans expected after three heatwaves and lack of rainAs many as five areas of England are expected to go into drought this summer after the hottest June since records began in 1884.Three heatwaves, which tend to increase water consumption, combined with a lack of rain means that large swathes of England are heading towards drought status and the damage to the environment that entails. Continue reading...

Customs officials at Cologne Bonn airport tipped off by noticeable smell' that did not resemble confectionaryArachnophobes beware: customs officials have released photos from a seizure of roughly 1,500 young tarantulas found inside plastic containers that were hidden in chocolate sponge cake boxes shipped to an airport in western Germany.Customs officials said on Monday they had found the shipment at Cologne Bonn airport in a package that had arrived from Vietnam. A Cologne customs office spokesperson, Jens Ahland, said they had been tipped off by a noticeable smell" that did not resemble the expected aroma of the 7kg (about 15lb) of the confectionery treats. Continue reading...

Household energy bills in some Republican-leaning states could rise by more than $600 every year, analysis of the so-called big, beautiful bill' findsThe cost of electricity is poised to surge across the US in the wake of Republican legislation that takes an axe to cheap renewable energy, with people in states who voted for Donald Trump last year to be hardest hit by the increase in bills.As air conditioners crank up across the US during another sweltering summer amid an unfolding climate crisis, rising energy costs will become even more severe for households due to the reconciliation spending bill passed by Republicans in Congress and signed by Trump, who called it the big, beautiful bill", on 4 July. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Energy secretary's radical truth-telling' comes as Reform plans net zero bonfire and Tories also ditch targets

Jane McCarthy, who has terminal cancer, withheld payments for three years in protest at Buckinghamshire council's fossil fuel investmentsA woman who withheld council tax payments for three years in protest at her local authority's continued investment in fossil fuels fears losing her home.Jane McCarthy, 74, said she decided on the protest after becoming increasingly fearful about the impact of climate breakdown on future generations, particularly when she learned about climate tipping points at a local meeting. Continue reading...

Restrictions to come into effect in Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Wiltshire from 22 JulyThames Water has announced a hosepipe ban as a record dry spring and summer has severely reduced water supplies.Households in Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Wiltshire will be banned from using hosepipes to wash cars or water gardens from Tuesday 22 July. Continue reading...

The Fourth of July tragedy was described as something no one could have seen coming. But in flash flood alley', an eerily similar event 40 years ago holds important lessonsThe rain was pouring down in Texas in the early morning hours of 17 July 1987. James Moore, a reporter for a local NBC news station, was stationed in Austin when his editors called and told him to grab his camera operator and head to Kerrville, a Hill Country town about 100 miles (160km) away. They had heard reports of flash flooding on the Guadalupe River.We just jumped in the car when it was still dark ... we knew there were going to be problems based on how much rain there was," Moore said. En route, he got another call over the radio that told him to head instead for the small hamlet of Comfort, just 15 miles from Kerrville. Continue reading...

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In today's newsletter: Amid at least 129 deaths and billions of dollars of damage, there has been little reckoning about the part global heating and cuts to public services may have played in the disasterGood morning. The death toll from the catastrophic floods in Texas has climbed to 129, including at least 27 children and counsellors at Camp Mystic in Kerr County.With more than 160 people still missing, authorities warn that the number of casualties is likely to rise. On Sunday morning, some search operations were cancelled as heavy rain and strong winds battered the state once again.Israel-Gaza | An Israeli airstrike has killed at least 10 people, including six children, who were waiting to collect water in Gaza, Palestinian health officials have said. Dozens of others were killed in Gaza over the weekend in a separate strike near a food aid distribution site. Meanwhile, former Israeli PM Ehud Olmert has said that a proposed humanitarian city" would be a concentration camp for Palestinians.Health | Health officials have urged people to come forward for the measles vaccine if they are not up to date with their shots after a child at Alder Hey children's hospital in Liverpool died from the disease.UK news | Charlotte Church, veteran peace campaigners, Trade unionists, activists and politicians, are among hundreds who have signed a letter describing the move to ban the group Palestine Action as a major assault on our freedoms".Spain | Several people were hurt in a second night of anti-migrant unrest in the town of Torre Pacheco in south-east Spain after a pensioner was beaten up, authorities said.NHS | Health secretory Wes Streeting will meet representatives from the British Medical Association this week as he looks to avert five days of strikes by resident doctors. Continue reading...

Researchers in Europe found everyday plastics, especially farmers' baler twine, being used by the birds as a building material and entangling their young. It is a problem that affects other species too, say experts in the US, UK and ArgentinaOn a late spring morning in the farmlands of southern Portugal, Dr Marta Acacio set her ladder against a tree and began to climb. Four metres up, she reached the giant white stork nest that was her goal. She knew from telescopic camera shots there was a healthy looking chick inside - and now she wanted to ring it.But when Acacio, an ecologist from University of Montpellier in France, tried to scoop up the chick, it would not come away: it was tethered to the nest by a piece of plastic baler twine. She turned the chick over and recoiled: its belly was a mass of maggots. Continue reading...

Increasing frequency of heatwaves and flooding raises fears over health, infrastructure and how society functions

Of course the climate crisis must be confronted, but history, tranquility and beauty must also count for something

State authorities believe more than 160 people could still be missing as flash flood warnings remain in Kerr countyMore heavy rains in Texas on Sunday paused a weeklong search for victims of catastrophic flooding along the Guadalupe River and led to high-water rescues elsewhere as officials warned that the downpours could again cause waterways to surge.It was the first time a new round of severe weather had paused the search since the 4 July floods, which killed at least 129 people. Authorities believe more than 160 people may still be missing in Kerr county. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Translocation and deaths of seven out of 13 koalas in April, with some showing signs of septicaemia, not made public by state government

In the US, hardly a food is untouched by immigrant labor - and Ice raids will profoundly affect the food labor systemFrom his father's strawberry farm in central California, Tomas Diaz noticed a border patrol vehicle driving toward a field of workers. Diaz, himself Mexican American and a US citizen, yelled in Spanish: Run for your life! That's immigration!" As the men scattered, the agents grabbed whom they could. In the chaos, six workers escaped, and Diaz was detained for interrogation. Why did you yell at the Mexicans to run?" an officer pressed. No reason at all," Diaz calmly replied.This did not happen yesterday, but in 1953. Driven by fears of border infiltration by communists and criminal" and diseased" migrants, the Immigration and National Service (the Department of Homeland Security's predecessor) carried out Operation Wetback" from 1954 to 1957. Border patrol officers raided public spaces, workplaces and homes and formally deported about 400,000 Mexicans (hundreds of thousands more repatriated out of fear). Continue reading...

Yes, temperatures are rising. But more and more AC means more and more CO - and then more and more global heating. Let's have some long-term thinking insteadIt's way too hot. I'm cowering inside, curtains drawn, pale limbs clammily exposed, the sound of my overheated laptop fan drowning out the sound of an ancient, feeble desk fan. If it gets any hotter, I'll stagger to my air-conditioned car and drive to the air-conditioned supermarket to stand in its chilly aisles, shamelessly fanning myself over the ravaged ice-cream cabinet in the freezer aisle. I've even become nostalgic for the summer when I shared an office with a man who insisted on having the AC set to 17C, meaning I had to wear a cardigan to work in August.Ah, air conditioning, the dream. Or the nightmare? Welcome to appliance culture wars, 2025 edition. You may recall, in 2023, the US debated whether induction hobs were a communist plot; then last year Republicans tried, in all apparent seriousness, to pass the Liberty in Laundry and Refrigerator Freedom acts. This year has already featured Donald Trump pledging to make America's showers great again" (low water pressure means it takes 15 minutes to wet his beautiful hair") and now France is grappling with Marine Le Pen declaring herself its AC champion. Continue reading...

Residents of Alabama's Lowndes county are still fighting for basic sanitation after Trump's DoJ canceled a landmark Biden-era agreementThelma and Willie Perryman spend most days out front of their family trailer in rural Alabama, shooting the breeze while enjoying the birdsong - and making sure their three-year-old grandson doesn't wander into the sewage-sodden back yard.They used to barbecue on the back porch looking out at the woods on their land until a couple of years back when the contaminated wastewater seeping out from a leaky old pipe got simply unbearable. Willie, 71, ripped out the sinking porch as branches began falling off a towering old hickory tree which is now completely dead and at risk of toppling. Continue reading...

Co-produced by PHOTO Australia Melbourne and the Rencontres d'Arles, the exhibition marks the first major presentation of Australian photography at the world's longest-running photo festival

Locally heavy rainfall' of 1-3in predicted as death toll from the Fourth of July flood rises to nearly 130 peopleTexas Hill Country was back under a flood watch on Saturday, with the National Weather Service warning of locally heavy rainfall" of 1-3in with isolated amounts close to 6in possible.The flood watch, which continues through Sunday evening, comes as the death toll from the 4 July flood continues to rise - now at nearly 130 people - and authorities continue their search for the 160 more who are missing. Continue reading...

Atypical expenditure' document suggests utility's costs over 12 months outstripped the 130m it paid in finesThames Water spent at least 136m on the effort to secure emergency funding over 12 months, according to a leaked document that suggests costs outstripped the 130m the struggling utility paid in fines.The law firms Linklaters and Akin Gump received 45m and 26m respectively during the financial year to March 2025, and another 10 firms were paid more than 1m, according to a document listing atypical expenditure" for the year, seen by the Guardian. It is the first time the fees paid by Thames Water have been detailed publicly. Continue reading...

Farmers are seeking ways to fend off birds who are stirring up soil in flooded paddy fields in Ferrara provinceAn unusual bird is ravaging crops and infuriating farmers in north-eastern Italy: the flamingo.Flamingos are relatively recent arrivals in the area, and have settled into the flooded fields that produce rice for risotto in Ferrara province, between Venice and Ravenna. Continue reading...

Levels even lower than in severe drought year of 2022, data shows, with water firms urged to be proactive'England's reservoirs are at their lowest levels for a decade, new data reveals, as experts urge water companies to immediately put hosepipe bans in place.In June, reservoirs across the country were 76% full, which is below their level in the severe drought year of 2022 when they were at 77% capacity at this time in the summer. Continue reading...

Visitors and staff at Arizona's Grand Canyon and Colorado's Black Canyon national park were evacuatedFire activity is increasing across the American west, as critically dry landscapes and spiking temperatures fueled blazes in 11 states on Friday.Evacuations were ordered at two national parks - Colorado's Black Canyon of the Gunnison and the Grand Canyon in Arizona, as hot weather, low humidity and gusty winds pushed flames closer to recreation areas. Continue reading...

Campaigners condemn troubling' move that follows departure of six of largest US banks after Trump's electionHSBC has become the first UK bank to leave the global banking industry's net zero target-setting group, as campaigners warned it was a troubling" sign over the lender's commitment to tackling the climate crisis.The move risks triggering further departures from the Net Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA) by UK banks, in a fresh blow to international climate coordination efforts. Continue reading...

Guardian analysis heightens concerns on whether the air around many large factories is, or will be, safe to breatheA Guardian analysis has raised fresh questions over the way regulators and corporations measure the air quality impact of planned factories that risk emitting dangerous levels of pollution.Between 2014 and 2024, air pollution permit applications in Michigan - designed to gauge if proposed industrial projects would cause regions to violate federal pollution limits - did not meet data collection rules or best practices over 90% of the time. Some measurements were taken more than a hundred miles away from sites. Continue reading...

Scientists say Perito Moreno, which for decades defied trend of glacial retreat, now rapidly losing massOne of the few stable glaciers in a warming world, Perito Moreno, in Santa Cruz province, Argentina, is now undergoing a possibly irreversible retreat, scientists say.Over the past seven years, it has lost 1.92 sq km (0.74 sq miles) of ice cover and its thickness is decreasing by up to 8 metres (26 ft) a year. Continue reading...

UKHSA warning came into effect at noon on Friday as temperatures predicted to reach 33C over weekendAmber heat health alerts have been issued across parts of England and hosepipe bans imposed in various locations as the third heatwave of the summer takes hold.The heat health warning announced by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) came into effect at noon on Friday and covers the East Midlands, West Midlands, south-east, south-west, east of England and London until 9am on Monday. Continue reading...

Campaigners say just 5.8% of irreplaceable habitat at publicly owned sites has been fully restored in 10 yearsForestry England needs to urgently step up its ancient woodland restoration before the irreplaceable habitat is lost for ever, campaigners have said.Findings by the campaign group Wild Card suggest that in the 10 most recently assessed years Forestry England, which is in charge of the country's woodlands, has fully restored just 5.8% (2,484 hectares/6,138 acres) of publicly owned plantations on ancient woodland sites (PAWS). Continue reading...

Exclusive: 110 of 117 bodies of water tested by Environment Agency would fail standards, with levels in fish 322 times the planned limitNearly all rivers, lakes and ponds in England tested for a range of Pfas, known as forever chemicals", exceed proposed new safety limits and 85% contain levels at least five times higher, analysis of official data reveals.Out of 117 water bodies tested by the Environment Agency for multiple types of Pfas, 110 would fail the safety standard, according to analysis by Wildlife and Countryside Link and the Rivers Trust. Continue reading...

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

I love a sale - but scrolling the list of Amazon's deals is overwhelming to the point of deliriumI'm a simple girl. My idea of fun is an annual event in which people are crushed in pursuit of half-price Christmas decorations. But those days have passed. Welcome to the era of the always-on sale.If you're into capitalist nightmares, you might like EOFY sales, Oh No We Forgot EOFY sales, SOFY sales, Father's Day sales, AFL grand final sales, and my boss doesn't want me to send this email" sales. Then we go headlong into Australia's Black Friday sales, which start around the beginning of November and last until January, as is tradition (though not ours). Continue reading...

The imperative ought to be to bear down on costs for consumers, starting with a more pragmatic approach to generation targetsThe chief executive of Ofgem, Jonathan Brearley, backed zonal pricing. Fintan Slye, the head of the National Energy System Operator, also supported a system that could have led to different parts of Great Britain charging different rates for their electricity. Chris Stark, the head of the mission control" unit within Ed Miliband's energy department, declared himself to be zonal curious".But it's not going to happen. After intense lobbying from both sides of the great philosophical divide in energy-land, Miliband has killed the zonal option. The policy wonks are now obliged to go back to fiddling with internal network charges - the fees paid by generators to access the transmission network - to calculate the sweet spots to encourage more renewable generation where it's most needed, while not stifling it completely in places where, for example, it is windy. That means yet more rounds of consultation. Continue reading...

Worst-case scenario of 4.3C of warming could result in fiftyfold rise in heat-related deaths, researchers sayMore than 30,000 people a year in England and Wales could die from heat-related causes by the 2070s, scientists have warned.A new study calculates that heat mortality could rise more than fiftyfold in 50 years because of climate heating. Researchers at UCL and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine compared different potential scenarios, looking at levels of warming, measures to mitigate and adapt to the climate crisis, regional climatic differences and potential power outages. They also modelled the ageing population. Continue reading...

Ecologist says the native fish is important for ecosystems as they are a food source for bigger fish and birds such as pelicans, cormorants and gulls

President raised $239m for inauguration - more than previous three inaugural committees took in combinedThe fossil fuel industry poured more than $19m into Donald Trump's inaugural fund, accounting for nearly 8% of all donations it raised, a new analysis shows, raising concerns about White House's relationship with big oil.The president raised a stunning $239m for his inauguration - more than the previous three inaugural committees took in combined and more than double the previous record - according to data published by the US Federal Election Commission (FEC). The oil and gas sector made a significant contribution to that overall number, found the international environmental and human rights organization Global Witness. Continue reading...

Campaigners say Ofwat subservient to industry and its rampaging pursuit of profit' after illegal sewage dischargesSouth West Water has agreed to pay a 24m penalty for illegal sewage discharges into the environment from its treatment works.The regulator for the water and wastewater sector in England and Wales, Ofwat, says the company, which has 1.8 million customers in Cornwall, Devon, the Isles of Scilly and parts of Dorset and Somerset, is being penalised for dumping sewage in breach of its legal permit conditions. Continue reading...

Scottish Water boss says average Scot uses 40% more water than people in Yorkshire partly due to mistaken belief water is abundant in ScotlandScottish households are being urged to cut back heavily on their water use and instead treat it as a precious resource due to the growing threat to supplies from climate heating.Alex Plant, the chief executive of Scottish Water, said the average Scot used 40% more water than consumers in Yorkshire, partly because there was a widespread but mistaken assumption that water was abundant in Scotland. Continue reading...

Guardian makes legally mandated gold standard report widely available after administration deleted websiteThe future of the US government's premier climate crisis report is perilously uncertain after the Trump administration deleted the website that housed the periodic, legally mandated assessments that have been produced by scientists over the past two decades.Five national climate assessments have been compiled since 2000 by researchers across a dozen US government agencies and outside scientists, providing a gold standard report to city and state officials, as well as the general public, of global heating and its impacts upon human health, agriculture, water supplies, air pollution and other aspects of American life. Continue reading...

Terms like deglobalisation' have become commonplace, but what we need is true multilateralism. Erecting walls won't bring us peace and prosperity

Dr Christina Propst apologizes after Blue Fish Pediatrics said she was no longer an employee' because of postA pediatrician who is no longer working for a chain of clinics affiliated with a prominent Houston hospital system after a social media post that wished voters in a Donald-Trump supporting county of central Texas get what they voted for" amid flash flooding that killed nearly 120 - including many children - has publicly apologized.I speak to you as a mother, a neighbor, a pediatrician, and a human being who is deeply sorry," Dr Christina Propst wrote after Blue Fish Pediatrics announced Sunday she was no longer an employee there because of a social media post that the clinic said did not reflect the value, standards or mission" of the chain. I take full responsibility for a social media comment I made before we knew that so many precious lives were lost to the terrible tragedy in central Texas. Continue reading...

High levels of Pfas stemming from the base have tainted water, damaged crops and poisoned cows in the areaThe state of New Mexico is suing the US air force over its refusal to comply with orders to address extremely high levels of Pfas pollution stemming from its base, which has tainted drinking water for tens of thousands of people, damaged crops and poisoned dairy cows.Though the military acknowledges Pfas-laden firefighting foam from Cannon air force base is the source of a four mile chemical plume in the aquifer below Clovis, New Mexico, it has refused to comply with most state orders to address the issue. Continue reading...

Critics say change in biodiversity protections would harm environmental recovery and make scheme ineffectivePlans to weaken environmental regulations for small housebuilders would allow developers in England to build on an area the size of the Yorkshire Dales in the next 10 years without replacing the nature they destroy, according to analysis.Labour wants to remove the requirement for small housebuilders - those whose sites are under a hectare (2.5 acres) - to replace the nature they destroy under existing rules known as biodiversity net gain. Continue reading...

Proposal to vary electricity charges in England, Wales and Scotland based on supply and demand dropped in favour of fair and affordable' single price

There's no shortage of ideas for how to make air travel greener. But it has to start within the industry - and with workers

Commercial pilots George Hibberd and Todd Smith grapple with the reality of their dream jobs, torn between childhood ambitions of flying and theimpact of their industry on the world beneath them. From the cockpit, they witness first-hand the climate crisis unfolding below and decide to take drastic measures. As part of Safe Landing, a community of aviation workers who want the industry to do better for the climate, they begin to transform their eco-anxiety and guilt into action. With an estimated 1.2 million passengers in the sky at any time, they ask when will society confront the urgent need to reimagine aviation - before it's too lateTo read more on how former Easyjet pilot George Hibberd thinks the aviation industry can be transformed, click here. Continue reading...

Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island gives 300th climate speech on the US Senate floorThe Democratic party and the climate movement have been too cautious and polite" and should instead be denouncing the fossil fuel industry's huge denial operation", the US senator Sheldon Whitehouse said.The fossil fuel industry has run the biggest and most malevolent propaganda operation the country has ever seen," the Rhode Island Democrat said in an interview Monday with the global media collaboration Covering Climate Now. It is defending a $700-plus billion [annual] subsidy" of not being charged for the health and environmental damages caused by burning fossil fuels. I think the more people understand that, the more they'll be irate [that] they've been lied to." But, he added, Democrats have not done a good job of calling that out." Continue reading...

With forests under pressure from drought, heat, disease and deer, a study has found fewer trees across a range of species surviving to maturity. But scientists say there is still hopeTo the untrained eye, Monks Wood looks healthy and lush in the summer sun. Hundreds of butterflies dance on the edge of footpaths in the ancient Cambridgeshire woodland, which is rich with ash, maple and oak trees. Birds flit through the hedgerows as they feed. A fox ambles through a forest clearing, before disappearing into long grass.But for a number of years, it has been clear to Bruno Ladvocat and Rachel Mailes that something is missing. In 2022, Ladvocat, Mailes and their research team from Birmingham University were out sampling when they noticed that the small trees that typically cover the woodland floor were increasingly hard to find. Continue reading...

Record temperatures and seasonal downpours raise fears of a repeat of the devastating flooding in 2022Glaciers across northern Pakistan have been melting at an accelerated pace as a result of record-breaking summer temperatures, leading to deadly flash flooding and landslides.The floods and heavy monsoon rains have caused devastation across the country this summer, killing at least 72 people and injuring more than 130 since the rains began in late June. Continue reading...

Mayor urges people to exercise utmost caution as weather service says situation around Mediterranean is criticalMore than 15,000 residents of Marseille confined to their homes have been allowed out after a wildfire on the outskirts of France's second city was brought under control, but officials have warned the country faces an exceptionally high-risk summer.Fanned by gale-force winds and kindled by parched vegetation, several fires have burned swathes of southern France in recent days, including Tuesday's just north of the port city. The weather service has said the weeks ahead could be critical. Continue reading...

Greenery, shade and swimming spots won't solve the climate crisis, but they're becoming ever more criticalThree years ago, in Zurich for the first time, I crossed a bridge over the Limmat River and saw people floating down it in rubber rings on their way home from work, some casually holding beers. The Limmat is so clear that it almost begs you not only to jump in, but to drink it.Paris's Canal Saint-Martin has never produced either desire in me - but sweltering in last week's 38C heat, I wanted to close my eyes, pretend it was the Limmat, and leap. Others weren't so hesitant; there was a line of people going up one of the footbridges over the canal waiting for their turn to jump, dive, backflip or just belly-flop into the water.Alexander Hurst is a Guardian Europe columnist Continue reading...