Island's reservoirs hit record lows even before tourist season starts as Cypriots are warned every drop counts'

The Congo River basin is one of the planet's most biodiverse ecosystems. But it is also home to a growing population and relentless trade in timber and charcoalYou can't be scared of the storms," says Jean de Dieu Mokuma as the sun sets on the Congo River behind him. With the current, once your voyage has begun, there is no turning back." Mokuma, along with his wife Marie-Therese and their two young children, is piloting a cargo of timber downstream lashed on to a precarious raft and tied to a canoe.Families wake up at dawn on rafts of logs and merchandise that are being transported down the Congo River by boat to Kinshasa, the DRC capital Continue reading...

Analysis reveals big regional disparities as critics say Labour's proposed levy could slow uptake of EVsDrivers in the south-west of England would pay nearly four times as much as those in London as a result of Labour's mileage-based tax on electric cars, according to analysis of official data.The 3p-a-mile road charge, announced in the autumn budget and due to take effect in 2028, is expected to raise 1.1bn a year, partly offsetting the loss of fuel duty revenues as drivers switch from petrol to electric vehicles. Continue reading...

The president's destructive policies enrich fossil fuel billionaires, while Beijing has bet big on the green transitionDevastating wildfires, flooding and winter storms were among the 23 extreme weather and climate-related disasters in the US which cost more than a billion dollars last year - at an estimated total loss of $115bn. The last three years have shattered previous records for such events. Last Wednesday, scientists said that we are closer than ever to the point after which global heating cannot be stopped.Just one day later, Donald Trump and Lee Zeldin, the head of the US Environmental Protection Agency, announced the elimination of the Obama-era endangerment finding which underpins federal climate regulations. Scrapping it is just one part of Mr Trump's assault on environmental controls and promotion of fossil fuels. But it may be his most consequential. Any fragment of hope may lie in the fact that a president who has called global heating a hoax" framed this primarily as about deregulation - perhaps because the science is now so widely accepted even in the US. Continue reading...

Wetter winters are set to become the norm, so unless we're farmers or flood victims, we need some coping strategies to keep our spirits upThere's a lot of complaining about the weather currently and I get it, it's wet. Here in York the river is getting above itself yet again and the council has fenced off large puddles in the park for health and safety reasons, to widespread mockery. Things currently taking in water include the letterbox (yesterday the postman told me with a manic laugh that he was leaving for the Philippines), the hens, my shoes and our car, which is growing moss around the windows. On the inside.But does it merit all the moaning? I don't mean farmers, for whom it's a catastrophe, flood victims or the poor folk of Cardinham, North Wyke and Astwood Bank, who endured a biblical 40 days straight of rain. They're entitled to rend their garments and corral their pets into boats, two by two. But maybe the rest of us, just dealing with it being quite wet", could get a grip. When life gives you rain, make rain-ade (do not drink rain; it's full of forever chemicals)! After all - OK, not the cheeriest thought - this could be as good as it gets in future, given accelerating climate breakdown. At the very least, these wet patches will probably happen more often, so we need coping strategies. Here are mine. Continue reading...

Critics accuse administration of cooking the books' by claiming US would save $1.3tn from climate finding reversalThe Trump administration claims its latest move to gut climate regulations and end all greenhouse gas standards for vehicles will save Americans money. But its own analysis indicates that the new rule will push up gas prices, and that the benefits of the rollback are unlikely to outweigh the costs.On Thursday, the president and his environmental secretary, Lee Zeldin, announced the finalized repeal of the endangerment finding, a legal determination which underpins virtually all federal climate regulations. He claimed the rollback would save the US $1.3tn by 2055. Continue reading...

Some districts are adding programs in clean energy and sustainability, while one state is infusing environmental lessons into culinary education and constructionOn one end of the classroom, high school juniors examined little green sprouts - future baby carrots, sprigs of romaine lettuce - poking out of the soil of a drip irrigation system they built a few weeks prior.On the opposite end of the room, a model of a hydropower plant showed students how the movement of water can stimulate electrical currents. In this class in South Carolina's Greenville county school district, students primarily learn about one topic: renewable energy. Continue reading...

After a fast kick-off in Australia, e-scooter hire crackdowns fuelled by safety concerns have seen shared ebikes pull ahead

Senators said repeal was particularly troubling' and was counter to EPA's mandate to protect human healthMore than three dozen Democratic senators have begun an independent inquiry into the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) following a huge change in how the agency measures the health benefits of reducing air pollution that is widely seen as a major setback to US efforts to combat the climate crisis.In a regulatory impact analysis, the EPA said it would stop assigning a monetary value to the health benefits associated with regulations on fine particulate matter and ozone. The agency argued that the estimates contain too much uncertainty. Continue reading...

Bouquets imported to Europe found to be heavily contaminated, often with chemicals banned in EU and UKStay away from roses this Valentine's Day, environmental campaigners have warned after testing revealed them to be heavily contaminated with pesticides.Laboratory testing on bouquets in the Netherlands, Europe's flower import hub, found roses had the highest residues of neurological and reproductive toxins compared with other flowers. Continue reading...

Environmental groups say cynical and devastating' reversal of endangerment finding has grave implicationsThe Trump administration has dismantled the basis for all US climate regulations, in its most confrontational anti-environment move yet.The 2009 endangerment finding determined that greenhouse gases threaten public health and welfare and should therefore be controlled by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). By revoking it on Thursday, officials eliminated the legal foundation enabling the government to control planet-heating pollution. Continue reading...

Mayor of Brendola in Vicenza says he has received complaints from residents who live near industrial zonesAn Italian town is seeking a crew of sniffers to identify bad smells in its quest to improve air quality.Bruno Beltrame, the mayor of Brendola, a small town in the northern province of Vicenza, said he began the recruitment campaign for six odour evaluators" after complaints about unpleasant smells" from people living in neighbourhoods close to industrial zones. Continue reading...

Auditorium to remove bacon and sausages from cafe during stage run after request from campaign groupCampaigners are calling on theatre bosses to stop serving bacon, sausages and ham in their cafes - at least while Peppa Pig and her family are performing in the same building.Grimsby Auditorium in Lincolnshire said this week it would remove pork from the menu when Peppa Pig's Big Family Show opens next month, after a request from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta UK). The campaign group is sending the venue vegan ham as an alternative. Continue reading...

Exclusive: High levels of banned forever chemical' have been detected in rivers and groundwater at 25 sitesA string of toxic pollution hotspots has been uncovered across Cumbria and Lancashire, with high levels of the banned cancer-causing forever chemical" Pfos detected in rivers and groundwater at 25 sites.The contamination, spread across a large area, was uncovered by Watershed Investigations and the Guardian after a freedom of information request revealed high concentrations of Pfos in Environment Agency samples taken in January 2025. Continue reading...

NAACP alleges artificial intelligence firm is violating Clean Air Act and polluting Black communities in MississippiElon Musk's artificial intelligence company xAI is facing a second lawsuit alleging it is illegally emitting toxic pollutants from its enormous datacenters, which house its supercomputers and run the chatbot Grok.The new pending suit alleges xAI is violating the Clean Air Act and was filed Friday by the storied civil rights group the NAACP. The group's 40-page notice of intent to sue alleges xAI has been polluting Black communities near its facility in Southaven, Mississippi. The pollution comes from more than a dozen portable methane gas generators that xAI set up without permits, the notice alleges. Continue reading...

Negotiators disbanded on Friday without a plan for the basin supplying water to 40m people, thrusting the region into uncertaintyThe future of the American west hung in the balance after seven states remained at a stalemate over who should bear the brunt of the enormous water cuts needed to pull the imperiled Colorado River back from the brink.Negotiators, who have spent years trying to iron out thorny disagreements, ended their talks on Friday without a deal - one day before a critical deadline to form a plan that had been set for Saturday. Continue reading...

Images confirm xAI is continuing to defy EPA regulations in Mississippi to power its flagship datacentersElon Musk's artificial intelligence company is continuing to fuel its datacenters with unpermitted gas turbines, an investigation by the Floodlight newsroom shows. Thermal footage captured by Floodlight via drone shows xAI is still burning gas at a facility in Southaven, Mississippi, despite a recent Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ruling reiterating that doing so requires a state permit in advance.State regulators in Mississippi maintain that since the turbines are parked on tractor trailers, they don't require permits. However, the EPA has long maintained that such pollution sources require permits under the Clean Air Act. Continue reading...

Thomas Woldbye says part of airport's problem is UK passengers walk on the left while others walk on the rightHeathrow airport has revealed a crowding problem that a third runway cannot solve: British and foreign travellers walk on different sides, and keep colliding, according to its chief executive.Thomas Woldbye said that while Heathrow serviced more passengers in a smaller overall area than comparable European hubs, part of the London airport's trouble was the differing continental sense of direction. Continue reading...

EPA's records show one environmental consent decree filed in last year - 26 were filed in year one of first Trump termEnforcement of environmental laws against major polluters has virtually ground to a halt under the Trump administration, a new analysis of Environmental Protection Agency records from January 2025 to January 2026 shows.Major polluters typically include companies that are among the largest in the oil, gas, coal and chemical industries. Continue reading...

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

Choice could prove difficult for Thames Water, which is trying to push through a water recycling scheme nearbyThe first designated bathing water area on the River Thames in London has been shortlisted as one of 13 new monitored swimming areas across the country.The Thames at Ham, in south-west London, was shortlisted as a new river bathing water after campaigners gathered evidence to show thousands of people use the river for swimming throughout the year. Continue reading...

Number of males at RSPB Abernethy rises to 30, after huge amount of work' by conservationists in Highlands forestsAfter decades of decline, there are signs of hope for the capercaillie, one of Britain's most endangered birds.Populations of the charismatic grouse, which in the UK is found only in the Caledonian pine forests of the Scottish Highlands, have increased by 50%, from 20 males in 2020 to 30 in 2025 at RSPB Abernethy. Continue reading...

Japan says vessel failed to comply with order to stop, with incident coming weeks after row with China over TaiwanAuthorities in Japan have seized a Chinese fishing boat and arrested its captain in a move that is likely to inflame an ongoing diplomatic row between Tokyo and Beijing.The seizure, which occurred on Thursday about 105 miles (170km) from the south-western port city of Nagasaki, came after the skipper refused an order to stop for an onboard inspection, according to media reports. Continue reading...

Report by Tony Blair Institute urges government to drop some green policies amid criticism of decarbonisation goalTony Blair's thinktank has accused Ed Miliband of driving up energy prices in his push to make Britain's energy supply more environmentally friendly.The Tony Blair Institute (TBI) published a report on Friday criticising the government's green policies and urging the energy secretary to drop some of them altogether, including almost completely decarbonising the electricity system by 2030. Continue reading...

Rollback of government's ability to limit climate-heating pollution will make families sicker and less safe', environmental advocate saysThe Trump administration has revoked the bedrock scientific determination that gives the government the ability to regulate climate-heating pollution. The move was described as a gift to billionaire polluters" at the expense of Americans' health.The endangerment finding, which states that the buildup of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere endangers public health and welfare, has since 2009 allowed the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to limit heat-trapping pollution from vehicles, power plants and other industrial sources. Continue reading...

Award was presented as president directed Pentagon to buy billions of dollars' worth of energy from coal plantsDonald Trump was crowned the undisputed champion of beautiful clean coal" during a White House ceremony on Wednesday, during which the president received a trophy after ordering the US defense department to purchase billions of dollars' worth of power from coal plants.The award was reportedly granted by the Washington Coal Club, an advocacy group with financial ties to the coal industry. Continue reading...

Leaders promise to fight back with court challenges as Trump rescinds finding foundational to US climate rulesClimate leaders gathered outside the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) headquarters on Wednesday to condemn the Trump administration's plans to repeal the legal finding underpinning all federal climate regulations, and promised to fight against the rollback.This is corruption, plain and simple. Old-fashioned, dirty political corruption," said Sheldon Whitehouse, senator for Rhode Island, at the rally. This is an agency that has been so infiltrated by the corrupt fossil fuel industry that it has turned an agency of government into the weapon of the fossil fuel polluters." Continue reading...

Continuing extreme weather has caused deaths of 16 people, evacuation of thousands and destruction of homes

Capitalism cares about our species' prospects as much as a wolf cares about a lamb's. But democratise our economy and a better world is within our graspWe have an urgent responsibility. Our existing economic system is incapable of addressing the social and ecological crises we face in the 21st century. When we look around we see an extraordinary paradox. On the one hand, we have access to remarkable new technologies and a collective capacity to produce more food, more stuff than we need or that the planet can afford. Yet at the same time, millions of people suffer in conditions of severe deprivation.What explains this paradox? Capitalism. By capitalism we do not mean markets, trade and entrepreneurship, which have been around for thousands of years before the rise of capitalism. By capitalism we mean something very odd and very specific: an economic system that boils down to a dictatorship run by the tiny minority who control capital - the big banks, the major corporations and the 1% who own the majority of investible assets. Even if we live in a democracy and have a choice in our political system, our choices never seem to change the economic system. Capitalists are the ones who determine what to produce, how to use our labour and who gets to benefit. The rest of us - the people who are actually doing the production - do not get a say. Continue reading...

After state sees four deaths and 40 hospitalizations, public health officials and foraging experts urge cautionA wet winter in California has produced a surge of wild fungi - a shroom boom that would typically have foragers cheering. But among the chanterelles and porcinis, a much more dangerous fungus called the death cap - also known as the Amanita phalloides - is causing alarm.The state health department reports that, between late November 2025 and early February 2026, there have been four deaths and 40 hospitalizations linked to consumption of dangerous mushrooms, an outbreak the department describes as unprecedented". That's far above the average for the state, which typically sees fewer than five mushroom-poisoning cases annually. Continue reading...

Marineland Antibes, the French government and animal welfare groups all agree on the need to rehome the listless killer whales but no one can agree whereIn a sprawling aquarium complex in south-eastern France that once drew half a million visitors a year, only a few dozen people now move between pools that contain the last remaining marine mammals of Marineland Antibes. Weeds grow on walkways, the stands are empty and algae grows in the pools, giving the water a greenish hue.It is here that Wikie and Keijo, a mother and son pair of orcas, are floating. They were born in these pools, and for decades they performed in shows for crowds. But since the park's closure in January 2025, they no longer have an audience. When they are alone, they log", or float at the water's surface, according to a court-ordered report released last April. Continue reading...

A dozen red roses may say 'I love you', but many conventional bouquets carry an environmental price, having been imported by air, dipped in chemicals and wrapped in plastic. Guardian Australia's Petra Stock explains how you can choose flowers that show you care for both a valentine and the environment

The government has not made enough of a dent in emissions, but global trends and a shambolic opposition offer a rare opportunity to act

Continued global heating could set irreversible course by triggering climate tipping points, but most people unawareThe world is closer than thought to a point of no return" after which runaway global heating cannot be stopped, scientists have said.Continued global heating could trigger climate tipping points, leading to a cascade of further tipping points and feedback loops, they said. This would lock the world into a new and hellish hothouse Earth" climate far worse than the 2-3C temperature rise the world is on track to reach. The climate would also be very different to the benign conditions of the past 11,000 years, during which the whole of human civilisation developed. Continue reading...

The radical project is an attempt to preserve wildlife in one of Europe's most light-polluted countries, but can they persuade local people they will still feel safe?Two yellowing street lamps cast a pool of light on the dark road winding into the woods outside Mazee village. This scene is typical for narrow countryside roads in Wallonia in the south of Belgium. Having lights here is logical," says Andre Detournay, 77, who has lived in the village for four decades. I walk here with my dog and it makes me feel safe and gives me some protection from theft."Belgium glows like a Christmas decoration at night, as witnessed from space. It is one of the most light-polluted countries in Europe, with the Milky Way scarcely visible except in the most remote areas. Continue reading...

Lead author of Australian study says breeding slowdown is linked to climate-driven changes in magnificent' whale's foraging grounds

Wildfires that left 23 people dead were made about three times more likely by global heating, researchers sayThe climate crisis inflamed deadly wildfires that left 23 people dead in Chile and devastated forests in Argentina that host some of the world's oldest trees, scientists have found.The hot, dry and windy conditions that enabled the fires to blaze across huge areas in January were made about three times more likely by global heating, researchers from the World Weather Attribution (WWA) consortium found. Continue reading...

Three-year-old black coat female, known as BEY03F, crossed into LA county around 6am on 7 FebruaryA gray wolf wandered into Los Angeles county for the first time in more than a century on Saturday morning.This is the most southern verified record of a gray wolf in modern times," Axel Hunnicutt, gray wolf coordinator for the California department of fish and wildlife, said. Continue reading...

Climate groups vow to fight rollback of 2009 finding determining CO and other greenhouse gases harm healthIn what is set to be its most audacious anti-environment move yet, the Trump administration on Thursday will roll back the mechanism allowing the government to regulate planet-heating pollution, the White House press secretary has told reporters.President Trump will be joined by EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin to formalize the recession of the 2009 Obama-era endangerment finding," Karoline Leavitt said at a press conference on Tuesday. This will be the largest deregulatory action in American history." Continue reading...

Restaurants face one-star reviews and less business in an already precarious industry. Some restaurateurs fear speaking out as immigrants themselvesAmid calls for a national shutdown on 30 January, Anton Kinloch displayed a sign on the sidewalk outside Lone Wolf, his craft cocktail bar and restaurant in Kingston, New York. In large block letters he wrote: WE LOVE ICE IN DRINKS. WE DON'T LOVE ICE IN REAL LIFE. SOLIDARITY ALWAYS."Along with his wife and business partner, Lisa Dy, he had made the difficult decision to stay open, electing instead to donate a portion of the night's proceeds to a local immigrant advocacy group. With frigid temperatures and inclement weather stymying business in the region this winter, he simply could not afford the lost revenue. But he refused to stay silent in the aftermath of the brutal killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agents in Minneapolis. Continue reading...

In Lancashire, I met people living with dangerous levels of Pfas, including in their food. The government is failing themLast week, on the morning the government published its Pfas action plan, I got a worried phone call from a woman called Sam who lives next door to a chemical factory in Lancashire. Sam had just been hand-delivered a letter from her local council informing her that after testing, it had been confirmed that her ducks' eggs, reared in her garden in Thornton-Cleveleys, near Blackpool, are contaminated with Pfas.Pfas - per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances, commonly known as forever chemicals" due to their persistence in the environment - are a family of thousands of chemicals, and I have been reporting on them for years. Some, including those found in the eggs Sam and her family have been eating, have been linked to a wide range of serious illnesses, including certain cancers. Continue reading...

US courts, scholars and Democrats are pushing back against the president's aggressive drive to boost fossil fuelsDonald Trump's aggressive drive to boost fossil fuels, including dirty coal, coupled with his administration's moves to roll back wind and solar power, face mounting fire from courts, scholars and Democrats for raising the cost of electricity and worsening the climate crisis.Four judges, including a Trump appointee, in recent weeks have issued temporary injunctions against interior department moves to halt work on five offshore wind projects in Virginia, New York and New England, which have cost billions of dollars and are far along in development. Continue reading...

Bill limits type of science used to determine health risks and gives industry major role in chemical review processA new Republican House bill proposes sweeping changes to US toxic chemical laws that would gut protections for consumers, workers and the environment, public health advocates mobilising against the legislation warn.Among other changes to the Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA), the bill would limit the type of science that is used to determine health risks, stop legally requiring the Environmental Protection Agency to ensure chemicals won't harm people, give industry a prominent role in chemical review processes, and make it more difficult legally for the agency to ban toxic substances. Continue reading...

Birdwatchers flock to Montreal for rare sighting of vagrant' bird that has made its home during a bitterly cold winterOn a quiet Montreal street of low-rise brick apartment buildings on one side and cement barrier wall on the other, a crowd has gathered, binoculars around their necks and cameras at the ready. A European robin has taken up residence in the neighbourhood, which is sandwiched between two industrial areas with warehouses and railway lines and, a few blocks away, port facilities on the St Lawrence River.Ron Vandebeek from Ottawa, Ontario, is here on a frigid February morning hoping to see the rare bird, which was first spotted at the beginning of January. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Analysts say there will be oil spill catastrophe that could be far bigger than Exxon Valdez disasterDecrepit oil tankers in Iran's sanctions-busting shadow fleet are a ticking time bomb", and it is only a matter of time before there is a catastrophic environmental disaster, maritime intelligence analysts have warned.Such an oil spill could be far bigger than the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster that released 37,000 tonnes of crude oil into the sea, they said. Continue reading...

Government also offers contracts for record number of solar schemes as it aims to create clean electricity system by 2030

Environmental groups said dicamba drift has damaged vegetable farms, trees and other critical plantsThe Environmental Protection Agency on Friday reapproved the weedkiller dicamba for use on genetically modified soybeans and cotton, a pesticide that has raised widespread concern over its tendency to drift and destroy nearby crops.The agency said dicamba was critical for farmers who would otherwise have their crops threatened by fast growing weeds. To ensure the pesticide is used safely, the agency said it imposed strong protections and limits on its use. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Campaign group calls on institutional shareholders to vote against re-election of bosses overseeing net zero row-backBank chairs who water down their lenders' climate commitments this year could face embarrassing shareholder revolts as campaigners try to hold bosses to account for environmental backtracking.ShareAction, a campaign group for responsible investment, will be issuing detailed reports to pension funds and asset managers in the coming weeks, outlining whether 34 of the world's largest lenders are sticking to their climate goals. Continue reading...

Proposals by California, Hawaii and New York lawmakers aim to hold fossil fuel industry accountable for soaring ratesAs climate disasters drive up the price of home insurance, three US states are considering empowering their state prosecutors to sue major polluters for their role in those rising costs.Lawmakers in California, Hawaii and New York have introduced measures which would authorize their attorneys general to sue fossil fuel companies on behalf of residents whose insurance premiums have soared amid climate disasters. Continue reading...

Providers report rise in demand as companies seek mental health benefits and increased sense of communityIn a growing number of workplaces, the soundtrack of the lunch break is no longer the rustle of sandwiches at a desk, but the quiet hum of bees - housed just outside the office window.Employers from Manchester to Milton Keynes are working with professional beekeepers to install hives on rooftops, in courtyards and car parks - positioning beekeeping not as a novelty but as a way to ease stress, build community and reconnect workers with nature in an era of hybrid work and burnout. Continue reading...