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Architects and designers have recycled ancient practice of collecting rainwater to make buildings ecologically friendly
When the legendary Taiwanese rock band Mayday were due to perform in Beijing one evening in May 2023, some fans were worried that the rainy weather could affect the show. Mayday were taking to the stage in Beijing’s National Stadium, also known as the Bird’s Nest, built for the 2008 Olympics. Like the real-life twig piles that give the building its nickname, the stadium is built with an intricate and highly porous lattice, made of steel.
“Don’t worry too much,” reassured an article published by the official newsletter for China’s ministry of water resources. “The Bird’s Nest also has its ‘secret weapon’!”
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This week’s best wildlife photographs from around the world
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In this week’s newsletter: US earnings would be 12% higher without the climate crisis, a study reveals – and the hotter the world gets, the greater the economic losses
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Donald Trump has long railed against emissions-cutting policy as an expensive “hoax” and “scam”. But the climate crisis itself comes with a major price tag for Americans, a new study shows.
Previous research has found that global heating has driven up utility costs, home insurance premiums and healthcare bills. But according to the new study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal, it has also slashed US incomes by more than a tenth since 2000 – a severe national economic jolt.
‘A bombshell’: doubt cast on discovery of microplastics throughout human body
The crisis whisperer: how Adam Tooze makes sense of our bewildering age
Africa’s great elephant divide: countries struggle with too many elephants – or too few
Average person will be 40% poorer if world warms by 4C, new research shows
Economic damage from climate change six times worse than thought – report
Tackling climate crisis will increase economic growth, OECD research finds
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Flood warning raised to highest level with roads washed away and rain forcing evacuation of Kruger national park
Large areas of north-eastern South Africa and neighbouring Mozambique have been inundated for several days with exceptionally heavy rainfall. Some locations in South Africa recorded hundreds of millimetres of rain over the weekend, such as Graskop in Mpumalanga, where 113mm fell in 24 hours, and Phalaborwa, which recorded about 85mm of rainfall. Rain has continued to fall across the region since the weekend.
The deluge has been driven by a slow-moving cut-off low pressure system that has remained anchored over the region, repeatedly drawing in moisture and triggering intense downpours. Further heavy rainfall is expected on Friday and over the weekend. Maputo, Mozambique’s capital, could expect daily rainfall totals to exceed 200mm by the end of Friday, while western parts of South Africa and north-western Eswatini may record more than 100mm.
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Up to 30,000 customers of South East Water had no supply or low pressure at height of incident
Water has been restored to most homes across Kent and Sussex after almost a week of disruption.
South East Water (SEW) said the outage, which began on Saturday, was the result of Storm Goretti causing burst pipes and power cuts.
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Whiteley, Hampshire: It’s a remarkably mundane place for a large communal roost, but these birds are here for good reason
At the heart of the shopping centre, a courtyard opens between the shops and restaurants. A row of ornamental silver birches rises from the concrete paving, their pale trunks reflecting the glow from the storefronts. I was passing through on my way to meet friends for dinner when a burst of sound pulled my gaze upwards. The crown of the nearest tree was alive with movement. Pied wagtails were arriving from all directions, tails flicking like metronomes as they congregated. The flock’s chatter was punctuated by clipped, high‑pitched “chizzick” flight calls, as more birds streamed into the roost site.
Most shoppers hurried by without a glance. I had time to linger, so I leaned against a pillar and watched. For 10 minutes or so, the flock remained unsettled. Birds shuffled along the branches, displaced one another, then lifted together in a brief, swirling cloud before dropping into a neighbouring tree, only to rise again. Their white faces caught the artificial light, glinting like snowflakes.
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Authorities and firefighters say the Victorian fires of January 2026 were unlike anything seen before in speed, scale and destruction. And they came much earlier than normal
Victoria has been battered by some of the most destructive bushfires in its history, with blazes tearing through 400,000 hectares across the state and claiming the life of a cattle farmer, Maxwell Hobson. Almost 900 buildings have been destroyed, including more than 250 homes, and more than 15,000 livestock have been killed, along with countless wildlife.
Both authorities and firefighters on the ground have reported the fires were unlike anything seen before in their speed, scale and destruction. They also came much earlier than the traditional bushfire season, which typically peaks in February.
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Todolí foundation produces varieties from Buddha’s hands to sudachi and hopes to help citrus survive climate change
It was on a trip with a friend to the east coast of Spain that the chef Matthew Slotover came across the “Garden of Eden”, an organic farm growing citrus varieties he had never heard of. The Todolí Citrus Foundation is a nonprofit venture and the largest private collection of citrus in the world with more than 500 varieties, and its owners think the rare fruit could hold the genetic secrets to growing citrus groves that can deal with climate change.
The farm yields far more interesting fruit than oranges and lemons for Slotover’s menu, including kumquat, finger lime, sudachi and bergamot.
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From ride-to-work challenges to waste-conscious catering, making your office more environmentally minded doesn’t have to be a slog
January marks the start of a new work year, and as Australians head back to the office, site or shop floor, it’s a good opportunity to revisit and refresh some wasteful work practices.
Most people spend a considerable amount of time at work so actions we take there can be meaningful, says Helen Oakey, chief executive at Renew, a not-for-profit that advocates for people to live sustainably.
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Exclusive: Secret report suggests fats, oils and grease accumulate in ‘inaccessible dead zone’ at Malabar plant, then dislodge when pumping pressure ‘rapidly increases’
A giant fatberg, potentially the size of four Sydney buses, within Sydney Water’s Malabar deepwater ocean sewer has been identified as the likely source of the debris balls that washed up on Sydney beaches a year ago.
Sydney Water isn’t sure exactly how big the fatberg is because it can’t easily access where it has accumulated.
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