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Fifteen years after a tsunami caused the Fukushima nuclear accident, only bears, raccoons and boar are seen on the streets. But the authorities and some locals want people to move back
Norio Kimura pauses to gaze through the dirt-flecked window of Kumamachi primary school in Fukushima. Inside, there are still textbooks lying on the desks, pencil cases are strewn across the floor; empty bento boxes that were never taken home.
Along the corridor, shoes line the route the children took when they fled, some still in their indoor plimsolls, as their town was rocked by a magnitude-9 earthquake on the afternoon of 11 March 2011 which went on to cause the world’s worst nuclear disaster since Chornobyl.
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Scientists expect 41% of the projected global population to face the extremes, with ‘no part of the world’ immune
The number of people living with extreme heat will more than double by 2050 if global heating reaches 2C, according to a new study that shows how the energy demands for air conditioners and heating systems are expected to change across the world.
No region will escape the impact, say the authors. Although the tropics and southern hemisphere will be worst affected by rising heat, the countries in the north will also find it difficult to adapt because their built environments are primarily designed to deal with a cooler climate.
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Initiatives such as London’s ULEZ can be a model for other cities. But even more could be done to save lives and protect us from deadly toxins in the air
Breathwork is everywhere, whether it’s in yoga studios, corporate retreats or self-help reels. We’re told to “just breathe”. Be mindful. Lower our stress levels. Inhale. Exhale. In the yogic tradition, bringing clean air into our lungs and our body (pranayama in Sanskrit) is about purifying and detoxing, and then exhaling what we don’t need. That all sounds great if you live on a remote island or in the middle of a forest – but what if that air isn’t cleansing us, but making us sick?
According to the World Health Organization, 99% of the global population is exposed to air-pollution levels that exceed its health-based guidelines and air pollution is now the world’s single largest environmental risk, linked to nearly 7 million premature deaths each year. This isn’t an issue of future climate collapse or one that will affect future generations. This is about today – and the damage polluted air is doing to our hearts, lungs, brains and blood vessels.
Prof Devi Sridhar is chair of global public health at the University of Edinburgh
Fit Forever: Wellness for midlife and beyond
On Wednesday 28 January 2026, join Annie Kelly, Devi Sridhar, Joel Snape and Mariella Frostrup, as they discuss how to enjoy longer and healthier lives, with expert advice and practical tips. Book tickets here or at guardian.live
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Ripon City Wetlands and Welburn, North Yorkshire: First a starling and then a robin arrived like visitations. I am truly grateful for them both
I’ve heard it said that birds come to people who’ve lost someone dear. It seemed a nice thing to believe, but I never really imagined it might be true. But neither did I imagine losing my only sibling at the age of 53. Nic’s childhood nickname, Twinkle, was apt. She was the brightest, kindest person I’ve ever known, and the ferocity of the cancer that took her in barely a month just before Christmas blindsided us all.
A few days after she slipped away, we went with friends to watch a starling murmuration. It’s something we do most years, but never before have we seen a bird tumble from the throng and crash at our feet like a feathered meteorite. I scooped her into my hat. Sometimes all a stunned bird needs to recover is a warm, safe place to rest. But it wasn’t to be, and so now that impossibly beautiful body is buried* under our damson tree. Star. Sister. Bird. Blossom. All the same interchangeable stuff.
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Britain among 10 countries to build 100GW grid in North Sea linking countries through subsea cables
The German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, has said he wants the North Sea to become the “largest reservoir of clean energy worldwide”, as he announced plans to accelerate efforts to link up offshore wind power projects with Europe.
The UK and nine other European countries have agreed to accelerate the rollout of offshore windfarms in the 2030s and build a power grid in the North Sea, in a landmark pact to turn the ageing oil basin into a “clean energy reservoir”.
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The variety and scope of entries to the global Walk of Water photography contest reflect the intimate connection between water and humanity
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Environmental charity to prioritise water capture and storage as it urges gardeners to prepare for ‘new normal’
The Royal Horticultural Society has unveiled emergency plans to protect its gardens from major water shortages in the future.
The environmental charity, which owns and operates five renowned public gardens in England, said on Saturday it will invest in more water-capture and water-management projects in 2026 after severe droughts last year.
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Funding cuts, conspiracy theories and ‘powder keg’ pine plantations have seen January’s forest fires tear through Chubut in southern Argentina
Lucas Chiappe had known for a long time that the fire was coming. For decades, the environmentalist had warned that replacing native trees in the Andes mountain range with highly flammable foreign pine was a recipe for disaster.
In early January, flames raced down the Pirque hill and edged closer to his home in the Patagonian town of Epuyén, Argentina, where he had lived since the 1970s. Thirty people with six motor pumps fought for hours, hoses stretched for kilometres, but “there was no way”.
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As the temperature nears 49C in the Mallee region, residents take refuge in air-conditioned rooms
In the slanting, late-afternoon summer sun, the fields around the small Australian town of Ouyen – almost 450km north-west of Melbourne – turn the colour of honey. The edges shimmer with silver, that old cruel trick of feigning water where it hasn’t rained for weeks.
Summer is always hot out here in the sparse, flat Mallee, but this year is shaping up to be particularly harsh. Just two weeks ago, on Thursday 8 January, Ouyen got to 47.5C. On Monday it reached 44.3C.
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Therapy lights, sunrise alarm clocks and infrared saunas can all help shake the winter blues as the weather drops
As a lifelong Canadian, I’m no stranger to that familiar sinking feeling in my chest as the days get shorter, dimmer and colder. I suffer from seasonal affective disorder (Sad), which also affects about one in 20 people in the US.
“Sad is a type of depression that happens at certain times of the year, usually in the fall and winter when there’s less sunlight,” said Dr Stefanie Mazer, a licensed psychologist and founder of the psychology practice Mindwise, Inc. Changes in sunlight can affect your body’s internal clock and levels of serotonin and melatonin, which influence mood and sleep, Mazer explained. People with Sad often feel low energy, sadness and irritability, with noticeable changes in sleeping or eating.
For gentle wake-ups in the morning:
Hatch Restore 3 Sunrise Alarm Clock
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