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Exclusive: Commission says alert would trigger coordinated international response that could help avoid millions dying
The climate crisis should be declared a global public health emergency by the World Health Organization, or millions more people will die unnecessarily, leading international experts have said.
The independent pan-European commission on climate and health, which was convened by the WHO, concluded the climate crisis was such a worldwide threat to health that the WHO should declare it “a public health emergency of international concern” (Pheic).
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Climate and transport organisations warn ministers not to ‘sleepwalk into crisis’ amid Iran war oil and gas shortages
Private jets should be banned and the speed limit on UK motorways reduced to 60mph as part of a pre-emptive effort to ease the looming fuel supply crisis, according to leading climate and transport organisations.
The group – including Greenpeace and Transport and Environment – are calling on ministers not to “sleepwalk into a crisis” that could lead to severe shortages of jet fuel and spiralling petrol prices at the pump in the coming months.
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Thames at Ham designated as one of 13 new swimming areas across England to be monitored for water quality
The first designated bathing water area on the River Thames in London will welcome swimmers for the official start of the bathing season on Friday as one of 13 new monitored swimming areas across England.
The Thames at Ham, in south-west London, has been designated as a new river bathing water area after campaigners gathered evidence to show thousands of people use the river for swimming throughout the year.
Canvey Island foreshore, Essex
East Beach at West Bay, Bridport, Dorset
Falcon Meadow, Bungay, Suffolk
Granville Parade Beach, Sandgate, Kent
Little Shore, Amble, Northumberland
New Brighton Beach (east), Merseyside
Newton and Noss Creeks, Devon
Pangbourne Meadow, Berkshire
Queen Elizabeth Gardens, Salisbury, Wiltshire
River Dee at Sandy Lane, Chester, Cheshire
River Fowey in Lostwithiel, Cornwall
River Swale in Richmond, Yorkshire
River Thames at Ham and Kingston, Greater London
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Butterfly Conservation poll is open until 7 June with choice of 60 species from small tortoiseshells to purple emperors
Will it be the rapidly disappearing former garden favourite, the small tortoiseshell? Or the poet John Masefield’s “oakwood haunting thing”, the charismatic purple emperor? Or perhaps the brimstone, the ultimate harbinger of spring?
The question of which is Britain’s favourite butterfly is being put to a popular vote for the first time. The charity Butterfly Conservation is running the poll, which runs until 7 June, giving people the chance to choose their favourite from the 60 species that fly around Britain every summer.
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Cranbrook, Kent: The swarm has gathered in a plum tree, looking for a new home. And I have just the place
There comes this moment in May when I’m still anticipating the fresh green of spring, but looking up at the oak see it in a lustreless summer hue. A little rain would renew its sheen, but it’s been dry for weeks and there is no reprieve from this fleeting sense of loss.
Abruptly, there comes a noise, a rising hum almost mechanical in tone, but as I look for the contraption responsible, I see instead a mass of insects flowing over the line of hawthorns. The honeybee swarm swirls in a cloud before the queen, imperceptibly landing, triggering a leisurely implosion. Guided by pheromones, thousands of worker bees join her to form a solid ball, hanging precariously from the twig of a plum tree.
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In this week’s newsletter: The public stranding of a young humpback exposes tensions between animal rights activism and other choices around biodiversity
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Timmy the whale is lost at sea, presumed dead.
In normal circumstances, the loss of a young humpback whale would be a sad yet unremarkable part of the circle of life. Dead whales help sustain thousands of marine species – and are part of the global carbon cycle.
Smuggled in syringes: how Nairobi became a nexus for the black market in giant harvester ants
Don’t reach for the bug spray: scientists find insects may feel pain after crickets nurse sore antennae
Labour must fulfil promise to introduce clean air act, charities urge
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This week’s best wildlife photographs from around the world
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The GoSun Sport-E elevates solar ovens to genuinely useful cooking appliances with a unique hybrid design
The term “solar energy” may immediately conjure images of solar panels, but you don’t need to convert sunlight to electricity to harness its power. As a self-professed solar nerd, I’ve played around with a few different alternatives, including a large parabolic mirror that could instantly set paper on fire – and cook a meal. No gas, electricity or even a wood fire needed.
When everything lined up, it almost felt magical. It’s hard to beat the sound and smell of fried potatoes sizzling on a blistering hot cast-iron pan, and I loved putting that bright Arizona sun to good use. But it also revealed some challenges. It was awkward to carry and set up, slight misalignment caused uneven cooking, wind sapped the heat, and a passing cloud could lead to a half-cooked meal.
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Glenn Murcutt pioneered architecture that was sensitive to its environment, and accomodating to changing temperatures and wildlife
The house teaches you things, Lynne Eastaway says. Today, a choir of cicadas fill the scrub with a rhythm that rises and falls. On other days, there may be visits from birds, goannas, echidnas, wombats, wallabies and kangaroos.
“The bush ends, and the house begins,” she says. “You’re not the centre; you’re just part of it. That’s the thing you learn.
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When the birds started nesting on her land at Useless Bay, Chile, Cecilia Durán Gafo decided she would protect them from people and predators
Five pairs of rubbery feet carry velvet-sheathed black-and-white bodies towards the rope line separating the king penguins from the dozen or so visitors, who look on in awe. As these emissaries shuffle over, a hundred of their cohorts parade on a nearby bank, splashing around in the water and regurgitating food into their chicks’ open beaks.
The king penguin (Aptenodytes patagonicus)makes its home almost exclusively on islands in the Southern Ocean. But it has been coming to this wind-battered bay in southern Chile’s Tierra del Fuego region for hundreds of years, probably because its shallow shores offer protection from marine predators and humans.
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