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Estimated 150 million people in Europe could experience temperatures above 35C today
Over in the UK, firefighters are still trying to bring a large wildfire in Derbyshire under control.
The blaze, which has burned over 500 square metres of moorland and woodland on Tintwistle Moor, near Glossop, broke out on Wednesday evening, with fire crews from Manchester and Derbyshire deploying a water-dropping helicopter and six fire engines on Thursday.
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Experts worked in ocean midwater off Brazil at near-record speeds thanks to cutting-edge tech
A marine biology expedition in international waters off the coast of Brazil has discovered 31 new species in just two weeks.
The researchers believe the speed at which the species were found and identified may be a record, in part because of the cutting-edge technology designed and built by the science and engineering team. For the first time on board a ship, the researchers were able to observe the living 3D cellular structure of microbial life thanks to a technological breakthrough nicknamed the Squid.
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Three pumped storage hydroelectric power station sites in Scotland on list of 16 long-duration electricity storage plans
The energy regulator has given the provisional green light for the construction of the first new hydropower projects in more than 40 years, part of plans to reduce Great Britain’s reliance on energy imports.
Ofgem has published a list of 16 long-duration electricity storage projects, facilities that can store and release electricity for periods of eight hours or more, it has provisionally agreed can proceed.
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Emerging research suggests datacentres create a heat island effect, pushing up temperatures in the immediate vicinity by as much as 9C
The community living next to the largest datacentre park in Europe say the scorching summer heat has grown unbearable.
On days like Wednesday, said Nabeel Nawaz, the store manager of a Chaiiwala franchise in the centre of Slough, the heat is like something “pinching your body and burning your skin”.
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Conservationists emphasise importance of protecting nesting sites used by ‘strongly faithful’ red-listed species
Migratory swifts loyally return every year to their nests in buildings, according to a study, underlining the importance of providing the endangered birds with hollow nesting bricks if traditional nest sites are lost to renovations.
The swift, which is on the red list of conservation concern, is one of Britain’s most threatened species, having declined in number by 70% since 1995 because of the loss of nesting sites, often when old buildings are re-roofed or given better insulation. While Scotland this year made the installation of swift bricks – a simple hollow brick – a legal requirement in new buildings, the government in England has repeatedly refused to oblige builders to include a £35 swift brick in every new home.
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Inkpen, Berkshire: Mow, tedder, rake and bale – it all has to be done before the next rainfall, which is increasingly hard to predict
With the weather set fair and a heatwave under way, all around are literally making hay while the sun shines. Last year’s drought produced very little grass to make hay with, resulting in high prices and scarcity over winter. This year, the grass has received good amounts of both sun and rain – the ideal conditions.
Foxglove Farm and Manor Farm are busy at it, but it seems Rolf’s may have sold its crop standing, for someone else to make and take. Other farms on lower-lying, lusher fields made their first crop during the late May heatwave, but the fields here on the higher chalk needed more time to grow.
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Julie Elie worked out how zebra finches announce who they are, what they are doing and use individual signatures
A scientist who decoded the dictionary that a bird uses to communicate has won a $100,000 prize for making progress towards a world in which humans can talk to the animals – without being met with a blank response.
Dr Julie Elie at the University of California, Berkeley, was awarded the 2026 Coller-Dolittle prize for two-way interspecies communication after working out the 11 core calls in the zebra finch vocabulary and their meanings.
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Economist Prof Mariana Mazzucato says governments must ‘get back their mojo’ and believe they can change the world
Good governments have a vision. They know what they want to achieve, can articulate why, and work out in public how to get there. They don’t just spout slogans about economic growth – because growth is meaningless unless we know what it is for. They understand that there is no trade-off between solving social problems and boosting the economy, and aim to do both, while avoiding rigid fiscal rules that defeat their own purpose by strangling public investment.
If this sounds like a critique of what went wrong with Keir Starmer’s government, it is also a lot more. Mariana Mazzucato, a professor in the economics of innovation and public value at University College London, is a world-renowned economist, adviser to governments, chair of international commissions, prolific author and PhD supervisor to at least one poet. She was the thinker who inspired Starmer to fashion his political project around five key “missions”, now largely forgotten in the mire of scandals, U-turns and infighting that beset his premiership.
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In this week’s newsletter: Opinions are divided on how to mitigate risk, and whether it’s sharks or humans themselves who are the problem. Plus, Europe breaks heat records
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Shark bites are traumatic and can spark fear and anger alongside tragedy. Around the world, the trend is flat. But in Australia, shark bites are going up.
A recent number of bites, especially around Sydney’s famous beaches, has surfers, swimmers and politicians asking why. But the answers are not straightforward.
Why humidity is making UK’s record-breaking June day feel hotter
Can the UK kick its cod habit? Fish and chip shop favourite slips down the menu as prices soar
‘No one believed it’: how a YouTube video accidentally proved Libya’s sand cat really does exist
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High temperatures make some workplaces dangerous, with economists warning disruption will dent growth
Monique Mosley is used to sweltering conditions at the food factory in Yorkshire where she works, but June’s record-breaking heatwave has made conditions unbearable. “We make hot filled food products and it’s common that we see temperatures in the high 30s,” she said. “Thanks to our union, our employer is offering extra breaks, but not every workplace is the same.”
The latest heatwave to grip the UK and much of western Europe has presented significant challenges to employers and their employees, from sweltering offices, disrupted commutes and school closures to dangerous construction sites where workers are at risk of dehydration, heatstroke and other injury.
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