Environment | The Guardian

Watchdog investigating South East Water contamination issue had previously warned of potential health dangerA water treatment centre that failed and led to tens of thousands of people in Tunbridge Wells being cut off from the supply had previously been served a warning by the regulator over bacteria and pesticide contamination risks.The Kent town is under a boil water notice after residents' water supplies were cut on Saturday. South East Water has told residents the water from their taps is unsuitable for drinking, giving to pets, brushing teeth, washing children , or bathing in with an open wound. Continue reading...

Plan to improve gas networks and rewire electricity systems across Great Britain likely to add 30 to average annual billHouseholds face higher energy bills after network companies were given the green light to spend 28bn on Great Britain's gas and electricity grids.The energy watchdog, Ofgem, approved more than 17.8bn of spending plans to upgrade gas transmission and distribution networks in the five years from April 2026. Continue reading...

Pace of area's temperature rise, outpaced in US only by Alaskan Arctic, apparently increased in past five yearsThe US region called New England is widely known for its colonial history, maple syrup and frigid, snow-bound winters. Many of these norms are in the process of being upended, however, by a rapidly altering climate, with new research finding the area is heating up faster than almost anywhere else on Earth.The breakneck speed of New England's transformation makes it the fastest-heating area of the US, bar the Alaskan Arctic, and the pace of its temperature rise has apparently increased in the past five years, according to the study. Continue reading...

Nootka lupins, introduced in the 1940s to repair damaged soil, are rampaging across the island, threatening its native speciesIt was only when huge areas of Iceland started turning purple that authorities realised they had made a mistake. By then, it was too late. The Nootka lupin, native to Alaska, had coated the sides of fjords, sent tendrils across mountain tops and covered lava fields, grasslands and protected areas.Since it arrived in the 1940s, it has become an accidental national symbol. Hordes of tourists and local people pose for photos in the ever-expanding fields in June and July, entranced by the delicate cones of flowers that cover the north Atlantic island. Continue reading...

Many now concerned about ability to make living in fast-changing climate after one of worst grain harvests recordedRecord heat and drought cost Britain's arable farmers more than 800m in lost production in 2025 in one of the worst harvests recorded, analysis has estimated.Three of the five worst harvests on record have now occurred since 2020, leaving some farmers asking whether the growing impacts of the climate crisis are making it too financially risky to sow their crops. Farmers are already facing heavy financial pressure as the costs of fertilisers and other inputs have risen faster than prices. Continue reading...

Move marks president's latest effort to dismantle pollution regulations and support for cleaner-running vehiclesDonald Trump announced on Wednesday that he is repealing the Biden-era federal fuel economy standards, significantly weakening fuel efficiency requirements for tens of millions of new gasoline-powered cars and light trucks.It marks the US president's latest effort to dismantle pollution regulations and federal support for cleaner-running vehicles and renewable energy. Burning gasoline is a significant contributor to global heating and transportation is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. Continue reading...

Amid concerns over greenhouse gas emissions, the Trump administration has abolished climate-friendly farming incentivesThis article was produced in partnership with FloodlightFor decades, corn has reigned over American agriculture. It sprawls across 90m acres - about the size of Montana - and goes into everything from livestock feed and processed foods to the ethanol blended into most of the nation's gasoline. Continue reading...

Massive cloud over Tanami desert in Northern Territory reminiscent of Uluru, onlookers say

Fertilising arable land with human waste leaves array of toxins that could re-enter food chain, study findsMore than 520 chemicals have been found in English soils, including pharmaceutical products and toxins that were banned decades ago, because of the practice of spreading human waste to fertilise arable land.Research by scientists at the University of Leeds, published as a preprint in the Journal of Hazardous Materials, found a worrying array of chemicals in English soils. Close to half (46.4%) of the pharmaceutical substances detected had not been reported in previous global monitoring campaigns. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Brazil's environment minister talks about climate inaction and the course we have to plot to save ourselves and the planetSoon after I returned home to Altamira from Cop30, I found myself talking about dinosaurs, meteors and ambassadors of harm" with Brazil's environment minister, Marina Silva.No one in government knows the rainforest better than Marina, as she is best known in Brazil, who was born and raised in the Amazon. No one is more aware of the sacrifices that environmental and land defenders have made than this associate of the murdered activist Chico Mendes. And no one worked harder to raise ambition at Cop30, the first climate summit in the Amazon, than her. So what, I asked, had it achieved? Continue reading...

Pew Charitable Trusts finds plastic pollution will more than double globally by 2040 unless action taken

Deal expected to pave way for further scientific study, boost conservation and open up access to Dorset chalk figureThe mystery of when, how and - perhaps most importantly - why a giant naked figure was carved into a dizzyingly steep hillside in the English West Country has been a source of wonder and intrigue for centuries.Future generations may come closer to solving the puzzle of the Cerne Giant after the National Trust stepped in to buy 340 acres of land around the 55-metre (180ft) figure. Continue reading...

Advertising watchdog says all three firms misled shoppers by using term sustainable' in paid-for Google advertsAds for Nike, Superdry and Lacoste have been banned in the UK for misleading consumers about the environmental sustainability credentials of their products.The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said paid-for Google ads run by all three retailers used terms such as sustainable", sustainable materials" or sustainable style" without providing evidence proving the green claims. Continue reading...

Fourteen workers who signed a petition that warned cuts put the US at risk were initially suspended in AugustThe Trump administration is reversing the reinstatement of workers at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) who were placed on administrative leave after writing an open letter of dissent.Fema in August suspended 14 workers who signed a petition warning that cuts to the agency were putting the nation at risk of repeating the mistakes made during the botched response to 2005's Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. Continue reading...

Much improved response systems are struggling to cope with ever more powerful and destructive storms

Polluting facilities in Monterrey, which has close ties to the US, are pumping toxic heavy metals into the city's air and threatening residents' health

In the tropical dry forests of northern Colombia, a small team is gradually restoring the degraded habitat of the rare cotton-top tamarinLuis Enrique Centena spent decades silencing the forest. Now, he listens. Making a whistle, the former logger points up to a flash of white and reddish fur in the canopy. Inquisitive eyes peer back - a cotton-top tamarin, one of the world's rarest primates.I used to cut trees and never took the titis into account," says Centena, calling the cotton-tops by their local name. I ignored them. I didn't know that they were in danger of extinction, I only knew I had to feed my family. But now we have become friends." Continue reading...

Hundreds of police, rangers and military personnel deployed to tackle virus threatening pork export industrySpanish authorities have deployed hundreds of police officers, wildlife rangers and military personnel in an effort to contain an outbreak of highly infectious African swine fever (ASF) outside Barcelona before it becomes a major threat to the country's 8.8bn-a-year pork export industry.Officials believe the virus, detected in the municipality of Bellaterra, may have begun to circulate after a wild boar ate contaminated food that had been brought in from outside Spain. Continue reading...

For some, the smell brings on nausea and headaches. Others fear forever chemicals' seeping into the water

Exclusive: Rising flood risks driven by climate change could release chemicals from ageing sites - posing threats to ecosystems

Residents claim raw sewage and poorly treated effluent as result of Thames Water's failings are threat to healthCommunities across south-east England are filing the first coordinated legal complaints that sewage pollution by Thames Water negatively affects their lives.Thames Water failed to complete upgrades to 98 treatment plants and pumping stations which have the worst records for sewage pollution into the environment, despite a promise to invest in them over the last five years. Continue reading...

Sri Lanka and Indonesia deployed military personnel as they raced to help victims of devastating flooding that has killed more than 1,100 people across four countries in Asia.Millions of people have been affected by a combination of tropical cyclones and heavy monsoon rains in Sri Lanka, parts of Indonesia's Sumatra, Thailand and Malaysia in recent days.In Indonesia, at least 604 people have been killed and 464 remain missing, according to the national disaster agency. The death toll stands at 366 in Sri Lanka, with 366 missing, and 176 dead in Thailand. Three deaths have been reported in Malaysia

Site removes feature after real estate agents and some homeowners say scores appear arbitrary and hurt salesZillow, the US's largest real estate listing site, has removed a feature that allowed people to view a property's exposure to the climate crisis, following complaints from the industry and some homeowners that it was hurting sales.In September last year, the online real estate marketplace introduced a tool showing the individual risk of wildfire, flood, extreme heat, wind and poor air quality for one million properties it lists, explaining that climate risks are now a critical factor in home-buying decisions" for many Americans. Continue reading...

Shrimp soundtrack will be played underwater to lure baby oysters in program aimed at fighting algal blooms

Trump promised to cut consumers' energy costs within his first year in office but gas price is up 4% on averageAmericans using gas stoves to cook during the holidays, or any other meal in the near future, are set for persistently higher bills, with the price of gas expected to keep rising into next year.US households will pay 4% more for gas power this year, on average, compared with 2024, with the industrial and power plant sectors experiencing a much higher price rise, a recent analysis from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) has found. Continue reading...

Expert cautions large pipeline of potential projects will not deliver required energy capacity unless companies make final investments

Exclusive: Pollution targets set out alongside nature recovery projects to allay concerns over housebuildingWood-burning stoves are likely to face tighter restrictions in England under new pollution targets set as part of an updated environmental plan released by ministers on Monday.Speaking to the Guardian before the publication of the updated environmental improvement plan (EIP), the environment secretary, Emma Reynolds, said it would boost nature recovery in a number of areas, replacing an EIP under the last government she said was not credible". Continue reading...

The case of a planned Cumbrian coalmine shows how governments around the world are being threatened by litigation in shadowy offshore courtsHow do you reckon our political system works? Perhaps something like this. We elect MPs. They vote on bills. If a majority is achieved, the bills becomes law. The law is upheld by the courts. End of story. Well, that's how it used to work. No longer.Today, foreign corporations, or the oligarchs who own them, can sue governments for the laws they pass, at offshore tribunals composed of corporate lawyers. The cases are held in secret. Unlike our courts, these tribunals allow no right of appeal or judicial review. You or I cannot take a case to them, nor can our government, or even businesses based in this country. They are open only to corporations based overseas.George Monbiot is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Officials in Indonesia say more than 442 people have died, while Sri Lanka suffers worst natural disaster since 2004 tsunamiAuthorities in Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Thailand are racing to clear debris and find hundreds of missing people after more than 900 died in devastating floods and landslides across the south of Asia.In the latest example of the impact of the climate crisis on storm patterns and extreme weather, heavy monsoon rains, exacerbated by a tropical storm, have overwhelmed parts of south-east Asia in recent days, leaving thousands of people stranded without shelter or critical supplies. Continue reading...

River Action says use of issuance tied to environmental benefits is corporate greenwash on steroids'Water companies have issued a fifth of the UK's green bonds" since 2017, despite a consistently poor record of sewage pollution during that time, research has shown.Privately owned water companies in England have together issued 10.5bn in bonds tied to projects that offer environmental benefits", according to analysis of financial market data by Unearthed, which is part of Greenpeace UK. Continue reading...

Use of 8m pounds of antibiotics and antifungals a year leads to superbugs and damages human health, lawsuit claimsA new legal petition filed by a dozen public health and farm worker groups demands the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) stop allowing farms to spray antibiotics on food crops in the US because they are probably causing superbugs to flourish and sickening farm workers.The agricultural industry sprays about 8m pounds of antibiotic and antifungal pesticides on US food crops annually, many of which are banned in other countries. Continue reading...

Tweaks to state laws mean many Americans will be able to benefit from small, simple plug-in solar panelsAcquiring solar panels at home can be an expensive hassle for people in the US. But small, simple, plug-in solar panels for use on balconies are soon to become available for millions of Americans, with advocates hoping the technology will quickly go mainstream.Earlier this year, Utah became the first state in the country to pass legislation allowing people to purchase and install small, portable solar panels that plug into a standard wall socket. Continue reading...

Hundreds of people still missing after heavy rain and mudslides in country's deadliest natural disaster for yearsEntire areas of Sri Lanka's capital are flooded after a powerful cyclone triggered heavy rains and mudslides across the island, with authorities reporting nearly 200 dead and dozens more missing.Officials said the extent of the damage in the country's worst-affected central region was slowly becoming clear on Sunday as relief workers cleared roads blocked by fallen trees and mudslides. Continue reading...

Labour knows it needs to win over the sea wall' cohort of coastal voters in the next election. But as anger over inequality grows, time is running outIt is a lovely sunny autumn day in Ramsgate on Britain's Kent coast, and quintessential seaside chippy Peter's Fish Factory is doing a roaring lunchtime trade. Across the road, at the entrance to the town's pier, local MP and chair of the newly reformed coastal parliamentary Labour party (PLP), Polly Billington, is having her photo taken.In between shots she shows us the community art project that adorns the fence along the entrance to the pier. It is made up of pictures, drawn primarily by local children and young people, of the 65 little ships that set sail earlier this year from Ramsgate to commemorate the 85th anniversary of the Dunkirk evacuation. Continue reading...

Tensions grow after research in England finds there may not be enough water for planned carbon capture and hydrogen projects

NSW police arrest 141 people as campaigners demand federal government cancel planned fossil fuel projects and tax existing operations at 78%

More than 350 people killed on Indonesia's Sumatra island with 162 reported dead across ThailandThe death toll from devastating floods and landslides in south-east Asia reportedly climbed past 500 on Saturday as clean-up and search-and-rescue operations got under way in Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia.Heavy monsoon rain overwhelmed swathes of the three countries this week, killing hundreds and leaving thousands stranded, many on rooftops awaiting rescue. Continue reading...

Another 191 missing after heavy rains from Cyclone Ditwah while almost 78,000 evacuated to temporary shelters amid rescue operationsTorrential rains and floods triggered by Cyclone Ditwah have killed 153 people across Sri Lanka so far, with another 191 still missing, the country's Disaster Management Centre (DCM) said on Saturday.The DMC director general, Sampath Kotuwegoda, said relief operations were under way with 78,000 people moved to nearly 800 state-run welfare centres after their homes were destroyed by the week-long heavy rains. Continue reading...

Biden earmarked billions for former coal communities in Appalachia - and his successor came and took it awayFor a moment, Jacob Hannah saw an unprecedented opportunity to make Appalachia great again.In 2022, the Biden administration earmarked billions of dollars to help revitalize and strengthen former coal communities. The objective was to lay down building blocks for the region to transition from extractive industries like coal and timber to a hub for solar and other advanced energy technologies, with a view to long-term economic, climate and social resilience. Continue reading...

Dawn Butler leads calls for humanitarian visas and fee waivers for vulnerable relatives of UK nationals affected by stormBritish MPs have joined campaigners calling for more aid and humanitarian visas for Jamaicans to enter the UK after Hurricane Melissa demolished parts of the country, plunging hundreds of thousands of people into a humanitarian crisis.The UK has pledged 7.5m emergency funds to Jamaica and other islands affected by the hurricane, but many argue that the country has a moral obligation to do more for former Caribbean colonies. Continue reading...

Exclusive: UCL scientists find large swathes of southern Europe are drying up, with far-reaching' implicationsVast swathes of Europe's water reserves are drying up, a new analysis using two decades of satellite data reveals, with freshwater storage shrinking across southern and central Europe, from Spain and Italy to Poland and parts of the UK.Scientists at University College London (UCL), working with Watershed Investigations and the Guardian, analysed 2002-24 data from satellites, which track changes in Earth's gravitational field. Continue reading...

Critics say JH Campbell coal-fired plant in western Michigan is expensive and emits high levels of toxic pollutionTrump administration orders to keep an ageing, unneeded Michigan coal-fired power plant online has cost ratepayers from across the US midwest about $113m so far, according to estimates from the plant's operator and regulators.Still, the US energy department last week ordered the plant to remain open for another 90 days. Continue reading...

French government-owned company to receive funding for Hinkley Point C and Sizewell C

Temperatures dip to -8.5C in Poland and 250mm of rain falls in 24-hour period across Sri LankaTemperatures plummeted this week across the eastern half of Europe, with the Alps dipping as low as -20C and to -8.5C in the Polish town of Zakopane in the Tatras Mountains.Heavy snow also affected other parts of Poland with 15-20cm (about 6-8in) of snow falling in much of the central swathe of the country and more than 40cm in the south towards the mountains. Continue reading...

Alarming shift since 2010 means planet's three main rainforest regions now contribute to climate breakdownAfrica's forests have turned from a carbon sink into a carbon source, according to research that underscores the need for urgent action to save the world's great natural climate stabilisers.The alarming shift, which has happened since 2010, means all of the planet's three main rainforest regions - the South American Amazon, south-east Asia and Africa - have gone from being allies in the fight against climate breakdown to being part of the problem. Continue reading...

Researchers using aircraft to sample exhaust plumes say infringements persist - even in stricter zonesA new study has found that a significant proportion of ships are breaching air pollution limits.Although the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has set regulations for shipping pollution since 2005, it is hard to know what happens once ships are at sea. Continue reading...

Minister Steven Guilbeault says Indigenous nations were not consulted and the pipeline would have major environmental impacts'Mark Carney has agreed an energy deal with Alberta centred on plans for a new heavy oil pipeline reaching from the province's oil sands to the Pacific coast, a politically volatile project that is expected to face stiff opposition.The move proved politically damaging within hours, with the minister of Canadian culture, Steven Guilbeault, who is the former environment minister, announcing he would leave cabinet. Guilbault, a former activist and lifelong environmental advocate, said he strongly opposed the plan. Continue reading...

In what are dangerous times for democracies around the world, parliament's overhaul of nature laws in the EPBC Act shows ambitious reform remains possible

Experts lay out scale of changes needed in first-of-its-kind national emergency briefing' in WestminsterA host of eminent scientists have warned politicians, business and community leaders that the UK risks severe climate-related risks to its economy, public health, food systems and national security.According to its organisers more than 1,000 corporate bosses, senior civil servants and civic leaders were set to assemble in the Methodist central hall in Westminster for the first-of-its-kind national emergency briefing" on Thursday morning. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Unknown culprit suspected of spraying glyphosate on protected trees hoped to stop peat erosion and floodingTrees planted as part of a nature restoration project on Prince William's land in Dartmoor national park have been deliberately poisoned with herbicide, sparking outrage and a hunt for the culprit.The willow trees, on Duchy of Cornwall land, were planted as part of a project to stop peat erosion, store carbon and reduce the risk of flooding. Continue reading...