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Energy and net zero secretary lays out stark picture of how climate crisis and nature depletion is affecting UK
Ed Miliband has accused the Conservatives of being “anti-science” by abandoning a political consensus on net zero as he gave MPs a stark outline of how the climate crisis and nature depletion are already affecting the UK.
In the first of what is promised to be an annual “state of the climate” report, the energy and net zero secretary set out the findings of a Met Office-led study that detailed how the UK was already hotter and wetter, and faced a greater number of extreme weather events.
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Up to five areas could enter drought status and more hosepipe bans expected after three heatwaves and lack of rain
As 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.
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UK’s energy system operator forecasts emissions a third over target by 2035, in second official warning in a month
Britain is expected to fall short of the progress needed to meet its climate targets over the next decade because it is not growing its supply of clean electricity quickly enough, according to the government’s energy system operator.
The latest 10-year forecast of Britain’s carbon emissions by the government-owned body has revealed that by 2035 the UK will be producing almost a third more carbon emissions than in scenarios where it is on track to meet its legally binding climate targets by 2050.
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Jane McCarthy, who has terminal cancer, withheld payments for three years in protest at Buckinghamshire council’s fossil fuel investments
A 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.
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Increasing frequency of heatwaves and flooding raises fears over health, infrastructure and how society functions
Record-breaking extreme weather is the new norm in the UK, scientists have said, showing that the country is firmly in the grip of the climate crisis.
The hottest days people endure have dramatically increased in frequency and severity, and periods of intense rain have also ramped up, data from hundreds of weather stations shows. Heatwaves and floods leading to deaths and costly damage are of “profound concern” for health, infrastructure and the functioning of society, the scientists said.
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Rosario in Sante Fe likely be to 10C above normal, as Japan braces for Tropical Storm Nari
An unseasonably mild start to the week is expected in northern and central parts of Argentina, where it is winter. A plume of warm air will sink southwards from neighbouring Paraguay on Monday, lingering through Tuesday, before giving way to a cold front on Wednesday.
The maximum daytime temperatures on Monday and Tuesday will be up to 5C (9F) higher than normal in these regions, while Buenos Aires is forecast to be about 7C above average on Tuesday.
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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 Argentina
On a late spring morning in the farmlands of southern Portugal, Dr Marta Acácio 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 Acácio, 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.
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Household energy bills in some Republican-leaning states could rise by more than $600 every year, analysis of the so-called ‘big, beautiful bill’ finds
The 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.
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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 lessons
The 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.
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Site had to be saved from closure after visitor slump in 00s but is now a thriving biodiversity success story
Amid the gentle hills of Carmarthenshire’s Tywi valley, the domed glasshouse of the National Botanic Garden of Wales sparkles from miles away. Designed by Sir Norman Foster, when the garden opened in 2000 it was the largest single-span glasshouse in the world, set among 230 hectares (570 acres) of themed gardens and a nature reserve – but today, the most special part of the site is actually a modest hillside where Welsh black cattle graze.
At this time of year, there is little to see in the organically managed pasture other than the cows. But in the autumn, this field boasts an astonishing 23 different species of colourful waxcap mushrooms – some of which are considered as endangered as the Siberian tiger or mountain gorilla.
Continue reading...Resident doctors in England will strike over pay for five days from 25 July.
A baby will be placed for adoption in UK after being trafficked from Nigeria. She may never know her real parents.
Seventeen children have been treated at the Liverpool hospital for the virus since June.
Martin Frizell has spoken of the social isolation faced by the couple since the former GMTV presenter was diagnosed.
Cosmetic ingredients should be listed in English to protect people with allergies, campaigners say.
The study looked at vaccines deployed during outbreaks of five deadly diseases.
Marc Lamah, dropped by a private provider, continues to operate on NHS patients in Brighton.
Know the signs and what to do if someone is unwell in hot weather.
How dangerous is UV radiation and how can you protect yourself when levels are high?
What to look for when choosing sunscreen and how to apply it to get the maximum protection.
It’s indisputable: Around the world, seas are rising at a faster rate than at any time in recorded history. But there’s more to this story than you might realize.
A Conservation International study finds key detail on restoring the world’s mangroves: a price tag.
To fix climate, all the tools need to be on the table, experts say.
For thousands of years, Mongolian nomads have herded across the country’s vast steppe grassland. But as Mongolia warms more than three times faster than the global average, their future is in question.
After more than a decade of work led by Indigenous communities, one of the most unique corners of Amazonia has been officially protected by the Peruvian government.
Years ago, construction of a road cut off the flow of water to a mangrove forest in Mexico, depriving these coast-hugging trees of what they need to thrive and proving deadly for wildlife. But look closely today, and signs of life are beginning to reappear.
A jewel of the “Coral Triangle” just got a reprieve as Indonesia announced it revoked the mining permits of four companies operating in one of the most biodiverse marine ecosystems on Earth.
UN gathering boosts hopes for sealing deal to protect open ocean, Conservation International expert says.
Hawai‘i lawmakers passed a groundbreaking bill that will impose a small tax on visitors in an effort to protect the islands from the growing risks of a warming planet.
Across the Indian and Pacific oceans, tiny atolls are facing an existential crisis. But not all islands are equally vulnerable — it comes down to ecosystem health.
